MOSCOW, August 10 - RAPSI. The High Court of Justice has extended the arrest of Marshall Capital Partners Managing Partner Konstantin Malofeyev's assets, which include a 10 percent stake in Rostelecom, a source familiar with the case told the PRIME business news agency on Friday.

"VTB Capital plc has confirmed its readiness to consider Malofeyev's case on its merits to the High Court of Justice," the source said. "The arrest has been extended until the case has been considered."

VTB has abstained from commenting on the case.

VTB's London subsidiary seeks to recover $225 million from Malofeyev in the High Court of Justice. In 2007, the bank provided a $225 million loan to Rusagroprom to purchase six diary enterprises and three related companies from Nutritek. Neither the loan nor the interest were repaid. As a result of litigation in Russia, the bank recovered only $40 million by enforcing the security.

The plaintiff maintains that the defendant knowingly misled the bank by overestimating the cost of the companies to be purchased and concealing Rusagroprom's affiliation with Nutritek. The bank alleges that Malofeyev was the beneficial owner of both firms. The court froze his assets of nearly $200 million in August. Malofeyev denies any affiliation with Rusagroprom.

MCP is the largest minority shareholder (with a seven-percent share) in the Rostelecom national telecommunications operator. MCP manages assets worth $1.5 billion.
Malofeyev is believed to be MCP and Rostelecom's primary beneficiary.