MOSCOW, April 19 - RAPSI. The Moscow Commercial Court has rescheduled on Thursday until June 29 its hearing of the Gazprombank's lawsuit against the Taganrog Motor Works to recover 47.5 million euro and $700,500 in debt under loan agreements.
According to the bank, it issued two loans in 2008 - one for 118.4 million euro and the second for $14.4 million. Both loans were set to mature in December 2009. The company has partially repaid the principal debt and made its most recent interest payments in November 2011.
The bank emphasized that throughout this period it met the debtor halfway. It abstained from imposing fines, did not collect penalties and applied a floating interest rate to encourage the debtor to repay its debt. The bank also issued letters of credit to the company last year.
According to the plaintiff, its experts have performed due diligence demonstrating that over the last 18 months the company's "production activities were shifted to another location."
"In our view, this means that it is getting ready for bankruptcy," the bank said.
Earlier, it was reported that the loans were backed by three pledge agreements. The bank has also asked the court to levy execution on collateral -- such as goods in circulation like cars and real estate.
Established in 1997, the Taganrog Motor Works was launched as a joint venture with the South Korean Hyundai in 2001. It can simultaneously produce up to six different car models on its primary conveyor. Its production capacity is 180,000 vehicles per year.