MOSCOW, September 14 (RAPSI) – The Commercial Court of Volgo-Vyatsky district has upheld a lower court’s ruling dismissing a lawsuit filed by minority shareholders of GAZ company over recovery of 11.4 billion rubles (about $196.5 million) from Oleg Deripaska and GAZ head Vadim Sorokin, the court’s ruling reads.

The applicants challenged the February 21 ruling delivered by the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Commercial Court and a ruling of the First Commercial Court of Appeals issued on April 25. Those courts found no grounds to grant claims filed by The Prosperity Cub Fund, The Prosperity Quest Fund and The Russian Prosperity Fund.

On August 30, 2016, the Supreme Court of Russia has upheld rulings of lower courts rejecting claims filed by Lankrenan Investments Limited, Medvezhonok Holdings Limited and Protsvetaniye Holdings Limited, which are part of the Prosperity Capital Management), that sought to recover about 657 million rubles (about $113.2 million) from eight members of GAZ executive board.

The plaintiffs suggested that the defendants caused losses by voting to sell shares of the Kazington Limited automobile plant.

The Nizhny Novgorod Commercial Court noted that top management of GAZ made a decision to sell shares due to rationally and diligently following their duties. The court noted that the defendants chose the economic strategy for GAZ, which is the best one considering the circumstances.

In turn, GAZ group said that it considers actions of the Prosperity Capital to be yet another attack against the company under imaginary grounds in order to destabilize its work and serve goals of foreign owners of the Prosperity Capital.