MOSCOW, February 25 - RAPSI, Sergei Feklyunin. The Moscow Commercial Court has scheduled a hearing for a defamation lawsuit between MTS and businessman Yevgeny Grafeyev on March 20, the court told RAPSI on Monday.

Previously, Grafeyev filed a claim against the telecom company demanding the return of his shares in the Omsk company, Mobilnye Sistemy Svyazi (Mobile Communication Systems), along with 10 million euros in moral damages.

MTS, in turn, is demanding that Grafeyev retract earlier statements that allegedly affected the company's business reputation. The company filed a lawsuit against Grafeyev on February 13.

On August 17, 2001, Grafeyev sold his 1,250 privileged and 250 ordinary shares in the Omsk operator to MTS for 4.668 million rubles ($157,500), reads the claim.

Grafeyev alleged that MTS threatened, blackmailed and forced him into signing the purchase and sale contract, which resulted in a 21 million loss for him. MTS argued that it acted in good faith and had the documents to prove it.

Three lower courts in the Moscow Region refused to hear Grafeyev's claim because the plaintiff could not offer any evidence that violence or threats had been used against him. Therefore, the period of limitation was up in August 2002, a year from the signing of the deal.

In August 2012, Russia's Supreme Commercial Court refused to reverse the lower courts' rulings and rejected the plaintiff's supervisory appeal.

According to the news agency PRIME, MTS claimed that Grafeyev continued to spread and publish information that defamed MTS even after the hearing, although the court ruled that the information was untrue.

Grafeyev told RAPSI that the first case has not been concluded yet, as he has asked the court to review it due to the emergence of additional facts.

MTS is the leading communications company in Russia. According to the latest estimates in November, the company serves over 69 million customers in Russia and 105.27 million, including its subsidiaries in former Soviet Union republics.