MOSCOW, May 4 (RAPSI) – Vladimir Kekhman, the former head of JFC Group, the largest fruit importer in Russia, has appealed against a decision of the St. Petersburg commercial court, which refused to prohibit sale of the company’s assets, the court ruling reads.

The petitioner has appealed against the court’s decision of April 13 in the Thirteenth Commercial Court of Appeals.

In his petition requesting to grant interlocutory injunctions, Kekhman asks the court to prohibit Igor Maslov, the JFC bankruptcy commissioner, to hold a respective tender before the act of court on the results of dispute resolution with regard to the procedure, terms and conditions of the company’s assets sale becomes final.

Kekhman has pointed out that in the framework of a tender held on March 23 to sell the debtor’s assets the sales of 23 out of 25 lots were declared void. According to the appellant, these results were a consequence of inadequate preparation of the tender regulations on the part of the bankruptcy commissioner. As Kekhman notes, these deficiencies have negatively affected the demand for assets and limited public access to tenders. “Holding of a new tender and sale of the debtor’s assets in its framework will result in impossibility to enforce the act of court on dispute resolution,” – the appellant has stated.

In September 2015, JFC Group was declared bankrupt by a Russian court. Kekhman appealed the ruling but his complaint was dismissed.  In October 2015, Sberbank filed with the Commercial Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region a bankruptcy claim against Kekhman.

Kekhman has filed an appeal with the Thirteenth Commercial Court of Appeals against a court ruling to introduce a procedure of debt restructuring against him on the claim of Sberbank. The Commercial Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region included a claim by the bank for more than 4.3 billion rubles ($57 million) on the creditors’ list.

Kekhman’s representative claimed that former head of JFC had no obligations to Sberbank because he had already been declared bankrupt by The High Court of Justice of England in 2012 and Sberbank received its share from sales of Kekhman’s property. A Sberbank’s representative, on the other hand, claimed that the bank was not involved in the process and did not receive any compensation. According to the Sberbank’s representative the bank could obtain rulings of several Russian courts on debt recovery from Kekhman.

Representative of Kekhman said that the ruling of The High Court of Justice of England was recognized by Sberbank and was to be complied with in Russia.

Bankruptcy hearing has been scheduled for May 19.

London's High Court declared Kekhman bankrupt in October 2012.

JFC Group filed for bankruptcy in March 2012 and consequently entered a period of supervision. By that time its debt claims amounted to a total of 18 billion rubles ($271 million). A court has included on the creditors’ list of JFC a 3.2-billion ruble ($48 million) debt to Promsvyazbank and Uralsib, debt to Bank of Moscow and bank “St. Petersburg” totaling 5.8 billion rubles ($87 million) and a 4.5- billion ruble ($68 million) debt to Sberbank.

Kekhman is currently leading Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater and is holding a position of the St. Petersburg’s Mikhailovsky Theatre's artistic director.

Established in St. Petersburg in 1997, JFC Group comprises fruit production, procurement, storage, distribution, and sales companies. Its ultimate holding company is JFC (BVI) Limited, which operates through companies in Russia, the British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Ecuador, Luxembourg and Panama. JFC Group filed for bankruptcy in March 2012 and consequently entered a period of supervision. By that time its debt claims amounted to a total of 18 billion rubles ($237 million).