Sberbank reportedly sues ex-owner of Antipinsky refinery Mazurov

Sberbank reportedly sues ex-owner of Antipinsky refinery Mazurov
By bne IntelliNews July 16, 2019

Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, has sued the former owner of the troubled Antipinsky refinery, Dmitry Mazurov, accusing him and former head of the refinery Gennady Lisovichenko of large-scale embezzlement, Vedomosti daily reported on July 15.

The amount of embezzlement has not been disclosed, but sources in New Stream told Vedomosti it stood at about $600mn. Mazurov was detained on July 13 in Sheremetyevo Airport, and his case is being heard by the Tverskoy court in Moscow.

As reported by bne Intellinews, the troubles of Russia's largest independent vertically integrated refinery Antipinsky led Sberbank to prepare to bankrupt the company, while London courts froze €225mn ($253mn) worth of assets and oil products of the company over a claim from VTB Bank, Russia's second largest.

Reportedly, Sberbank claims that Antipinsky has provided faulty information in its financial statements, concealing third-party liabilities collateralised under the New Stream company of Mazurov. The bank also claims that refinery has carried out numerous deals with affiliated parties below the market conditions, syphoning the proceeds abroad and worsening the solvency of the company.

Last month, unconfirmed reports claimed that Azerbaijan’s national oil company SOCAR and Sberbank had created a joint venture for oil refining at the Antipinsky facility. It is expected that the JV, in which Socar will have 60%, will process oil at the Russian facility while it remains in a state of bankruptcy, according to Kommersant daily.

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