MOSCOW, October 27 (RAPSI) – The Moscow Commercial Court has proceeded with a claim by Aziya-invest Bank seeking to put a 176 million ruble ($2.8 million) debt on the list of creditors’ claims with regard to Lenur Islyamov, an alleged organizer of the food blockade of Crimea, RAPSI learnt in the court on Thursday.

The Moscow Commercial Court declared Islyamov bankrupt on July 18.

On March 16, the court introduced a procedure for restructuring of Islyamov’s debt upon the application of Sberbank of Russia. According to the bank’s representative, the businessman’s debt under two loans is estimated at 1.1 billion rubles ($17.4 million). Islyamov was a loan guarantor for the Queen Group Company that received these credits. The company later has been declared bankrupt.

Moreover, Aziya-invest Bank turned to court seeking to include Islyamov’s 493.6 million rubles debt ($7.8 million) on the register of claims.

Islyamov owns TV company ATR, transportation company SimCityTrans, and retail chain ICom selling Apple products. SimCityTrans is a largest Crimea haulier, carrying out its operations in Simferopol and across the peninsula.

In June, the Commercial Court of Crimea has suspended SimCityTrans operations for 90 days on the grounds that the company committed a serious administrative offence with regard to licensing regulations.

In May 2014, Islyamov, who at that time was Deputy Chairman of the Crimean Council of Ministers responsible for repatriates, water provision and utilities, was dismissed as failing to cope with these responsibilities.

The Crimean investigators launched a probe into Islyamov and in November 2015 raided the offices of companies he controlled on the peninsula.

Earlier, Crimea's Prosecutor’s Office informed that two men (Mustafa Dzhemilev and Refat Chubarov) behind the peninsula blockade had been put on the international and one (Lenur Islyamov) on the federal wanted lists.