MOSCOW, June 17 (RAPSI) - Russia's Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) acting as the bankruptcy receiver for Mezhprombank, has filed a 1.3 billion rubles ($40.9 million) claim against Snc Villacota 3, a French company allegedly affiliated with the bank's former owner, Sergei Pugachov, Izvestia daily reports on Monday.

The plaintiff seeks to retrieve an outstanding debt from a loan agreement between the company and Mezhprombank, which was stripped of its license in October 2010, the court told Izvestia.

In 2011, the DIA won an 8.3 million euro case against this company and another lawsuit to arrest a French property owned by the company.

Mezhprombank issued a loan to the French company in 2007, when it was controlled by former Federation Council member Pugachov. In November 2010, the Moscow Commercial Court recognized Mezhprombank as bankrupt, as its overall debt exceeded 90 billion rubles ($2.8 billion).

After that, the appointed receiver - the DIA - filed a lawsuit against Snc Villacota 3 and won the case. The DIA also secured a French court decision to arrest Chateau de Gairaut, a historical castle in Nice owned by the company, as a security measure.

The property's value is currently estimated at 30 million euros. As a result of Snc Villacota 3's unsecured loan from Mezhprombank, the company's outstanding debt totals 13.6 million euros.