The bankruptcy history of Terminal Service LLC has been dragging on for the fifth year. During this time, the appetites of the creditor LLC “Viacard” have grown to 28.4 billion rubles. The Tvernefteprodukt and Tatneft-AZS-Zapad regional networks of filling stations brought to subsidiary liability were also under the threat of bankruptcy, and this state of affairs is already threatening the country’s fuel security. Where will the money go if the lender succeeds?
The Terminal Service company, as a fuel card operator, cooperated with gas station networks. The matter, in principle, is simple: fuel cards have taken root in Russia since the 1990s, when gasoline prices were constantly growing. As a rule, they are used by corporate clients, paying for gasoline by bank transfer and receiving discounts on fuel. Payment terminals and software for making the necessary payments were provided by the company “Viacard”.
From 2014 to 2018, Tvernefteprodukt (a subsidiary of Surgutneftegaz), a regional distribution network that owns 53 gas stations in the Tver region, cooperated with Terminal Service. That is, the drivers refueled using fuel cards with gasoline paid in advance through an intermediary, and everyone was happy with everything.
In addition to the company “Viacard”, which, having an average annual income before taxes of less than 180 thousand rubles, in 2016 filed a claim against its partner “Terminal Service” for the return of a debt of 800 thousand rubles for the supplied software and processing services. In the course of litigation of this seemingly routine commercial conflict, the list of Viacard’s claims grew to the return of 412 payment terminals installed by the operator at gas stations, as well as the payment of all fines and compensations. The total amount of claims reached 135 million rubles and turned out to be unbearable for the defendant: in 2019, Terminal Service was declared bankrupt.
Cool, isn’t it? But it turned out that they were still flowers. Then “Viacard” brings to subsidiary liability the counterparties of its former partner – the regional networks of filling stations “Tvernefteprodukt”, “Tatneft-AZS-Zapad” and others. In total, the list of defendants included 17 legal entities and individuals. It should be noted that out of 120 counterparties of the Service Terminal, the largest ones were selected, and therefore the most solvent ones. The creditor demanded to invalidate the contracts for the supply of fuel by Tvernefteproduct from 2015 to 2018, since they were allegedly fictitious, and to return 98.4 million rubles.
Specialists pay attention to this strange detail, because during all the indicated time, none of the customers complained that he was forced to pay for an empty tank. However, in a similar way, unknown to science, in the course of the trials, the amount of claims increased first to 205 million rubles, then to 1.6 billion, and in the end it completely waved into some incredible and incomprehensibly justified 28.4 billion rubles. Surely the lender already has a plan for how he will dispose of this amount in case of success. That’s just how?
The matter is clear that the matter is dark
The experts familiar with this story are also surprised by the strangely changed position of the court, which at first refused to satisfy the requirements of Viacard. In addition to the invalidated transactions in the amount of 1.5 billion rubles, in July 2022 the Moscow Arbitration Court partially satisfied the new claim of Viacard in the amount of 28.4 billion rubles in the amount of 6.5 billion rubles. Consideration of the claim continues in the Court of Cassation. On 12 January this year, the Court adjourned the dispute to 21 February. Most likely, the deposition is justified by separate transaction disputes pending before the Supreme Court.
The interests of creditors are represented in court by lawyer Rustam Kurmaev from the law firm Rustam Kurmaev and Partners, which has become infamous for the story of the alleged terabyte leak of its client database. He also represents in these processes the interests of another interested company – RCC Capital LLC, whose founder is Musya Kurmaev, his father.
This story alarmed the expert community. Is it then that Viacard bankrupted Terminal Service in order to get close to its counterparties? After all, if the raider seizure of the Tver and Tatar networks of gas stations is successful, a similar story can happen in any region of Russia. In the bankruptcy case “Terminal Service”, a scheme is used, as a result of which the debtor becomes paradoxically enriched after bankruptcy, and the welfare of creditors grows on a fantastic scale. Especially considering that the real turnover was a multiple of smaller amounts.
It should also be noted that not only parliamentarians have already paid attention to this scandalous story (in October 2022, a “round table” was held in the State Duma on the problem of Russia’s fuel security during the NVO period), but also law enforcement officers – at the same time it became known that in relation to the group unnamed (so far) persons who are employees of the company “Rustam Kurmaev and Partners” and affiliated with it “RKK-Capital” and “Viacard” a criminal case has been initiated on the grounds of an attempted embezzlement of funds on an especially large scale.
I wonder where the money received by the creditors will go. The Lada Engineering Invest Company (JSC LIIK), which was de facto taken over by the Kurmaevs, has clearly become unprofitable, insolvent and, possibly, is being used by them to build “gray” schemes. Is it possible that a similar fate is destined for marketing fuel companies, including Tvernefteprodukt and Tatneft-AZS-Zapad.
Creditors, applicants intending to repay the claims of creditors – all these persons claiming the funds of sales companies do not have funds in their accounts, by all indications they are one-day firms.
Reached the Supreme
Endless cassations and appeals have already reached the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. Moreover, contesting the decisions of lower instances, the bankruptcy trustee of Terminal Service appealed to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. It is clear that the irresistible desire to get 30 billion rubles can bring gambling lawyers to a lot. However, an attempt to push two higher courts against each other, to intimidate one of them with the help of the other – this has hardly happened in the history of Russia.
“What has it come to, businessmen turn to the Constitutional Court. An irresistible desire to get 30 billion rubles out of thin air. Decided to intimidate the Supreme Court with the Constitutional Court?
At the moment the situation is this:
Of course, this long story should not be expected to end soon. But, no matter how long the proceedings take, the main thing is the rule of law, and not someone’s greedy interests. They also create a very dangerous precedent throughout the country.
In this difficult period for the country, it may cost Kurmaev and his companions to stop, moderate their appetites, give up unreasonable demands and stop litigation.