MOSCOW, March 5 - RAPSI. The Moscow Commercial Court ruled on Monday to collect from Strakhovaya Gruppa $16.4 million in loan debt for the Bank of Moscow, the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com) reports from the courtroom.

A pretrial session was to be held on Monday, but the insurer fully accepted the bank's claims. The parties did not object to hearing the case on its merits and the judge passed the award.

Both the plaintiff and the defendant declined to comment on the dispute.

The court is in the middle of considering two more Bank of Moscow lawsuits against the insurer: for 1.418 billion rubles ($48.4 million) and for 1.16 billion rubles ($39.6 million).

Strakhovaya Gruppa is a major shareholder of Stolichnaya Strakhovaya Gruppa, holding a 50 percent minus one share stake. Stolichnaya Strakhovaya Gruppa manages an insurance holding that includes Strakhovaya Gruppa MSK, the Moscow Reinsurance Company and MSK- Life.

The Bank of Moscow is restructuring its finances with the assistance of the Deposit Insurance Agency and the VTB Group, which holds a 94.8-percent interest in the bank. An inspection initiated by VTB, the bank's new shareholder, uncovered bad loans in its credit portfolio.

The Deposit Insurance Agency allocated a 295 billion ruble ($10 million) loan to the bank at the expense of Central Bank reserves. The loan was granted for 10 years at a discounted rate. The loan was then invested in federal loan bonds, which helped to close the gap in the banks finances.

In December, VTB raised its share in the Bank of Moscow from 80.57 to 92.22 percent by acquiring shares from Strakhovaya Gruppa MSK