MOSCOW, August 21 - RAPSI, Sergei Feklyunin. The Moscow Commercial Court will hear on August 29 the Defense Ministrys appeal against the antitrust watchdogs decision that it broke competition law, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com) on Tuesday.

The regulator opened the case upon Sberbanks request.

Sberbank reported in April 2011 that a number of defense and industrial complex companies were seeking loans for public orders exclusively from VTB bank upon the ministry's orders.

In September, Sberbank provided to the watchdog copies of letters from Remvooruzheniye, Spetsremont and Voentorg to their subsidiaries asking them to urgently close their accounts, credit facilities and payroll plans in the other banks and to move to VTB. According to the letters, the request was made upon the ministry's orders dated August 29, 2011.

During the investigation, a number of companies did not admit that they had received orders to move to a new bank. They explained their transfer by economic reasons.
The watchdog ordered the Defense Ministry to revoke its instructions and to post an explanation online that defense companies can choose their own banking institutions.