MOSCOW, February 15 - RAPSI. The Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of the Khanty-Mansi Non-Government Pension Fund's lawsuit against the Yugra-Finans Management Company to recover $60.11 million.

The court also said the court dismissed on February 13 the funds appeal against the Moscow Commercial Court's decision.

The Khanty-Mansi Non-Government Pension Fund and the Yugra-Finans Management Company entered into a pension funds trust management agreement in 2008. In 2010, the plaintiff notified the defendant of the agreement's termination.

The fund maintains that Yugra-Finans is obligated to repay the assets, so the pension reserves will not decrease. The management company argues that it returned all the money and securities in its disposal when it received the termination notice, as under the agreement the plaintiff assumed all the assets value impairment risks.

The Federal Service for Financial Markets held a check in YugraFinans based on an appeal filed by the Prosecutor General's Office. Law enforcement authorities became interested in the pension funds' investment scheme, as the Khanty-Mansi Non-Government Pension Fund experienced difficulties in executing its obligations.

YugraFinans managed more than one-third of the pension fund's assets worth 8.7 billion rubles ($290.5 million). The funds assets cost a total of 24 billion rubles ($801 million). YugraFinans also managed almost 7 billion rubles ($233.8 million) of the fund's finances.

The Khanty-Mansi Non-Government Pension Fund was established in 1995. It is one of Russia's top-five non-governmental pension funds.