The court and the new managers of the bankrupt Kayum Neft, which the fiscals associate with the ex-owner of Yugra Bank Alexei Khotin and the infamous Rus-Oil holding, cut off the beneficiaries from controlling the processes within the asset. One of the company’s key counterparties, Yukatek-Yugra, was denied the restoration of the operator’s contract. The reason for this decision was the “merging of structures” and attempts to prevent the transfer of documents to the bankruptcy trustee. As a result, according to industry representatives, in fact, the forceful seizure of the oil business, which took place earlier and, apparently, was supported by the state corporation Deposit Insurance Agency, was legalized. Observers consider this scenario logical, pointing out that now Khotin is almost completely cut off from the movement of funds of the company, which, by the way, has sold several tens of billions of rubles worth of oil since the beginning of the bankruptcy procedure. At the same time, market participants are confident that a similar confrontation can now be expected at the facilities of Negusneft, Dulisma and assets in the Surgut region of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. In parallel, state-owned bankers, who have already announced multibillion-dollar obligations, will interfere in the processes.
The Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug Arbitration actually recognized the legality of the forcible seizure in Urai of the facilities of the bankrupt Kayum Neft JSC (registered in Nyagan, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug). Market participants come to such a judgment after the publication of the court ruling that considered the complaint of Yukatex-Yugra LLC against acting. bankruptcy trustee Alexei Posashkov.
“If you carefully study the document, we will see a reference to a fait accompli that does not contradict the law. The court practically confirmed the legality of the seizure, as well as the opposition of individuals to the work of Posashkov, which led to this seizure. It turns out that before the change of power to Kayum Neft, the bankruptcy trustee 4 times – and this is in the text of the court – unsuccessfully tried to gain access to the documents. Most likely, Olga Fedotova, who was later invited by Posashkov to work in an oil company, did not give them out and even hid them in one of the villages close to Urai, ”the interlocutors of the publication who are familiar with the work of the asset voice their personal judgment.
In particular, we are talking about the following wording in the court document: “de facto control over the property of the debtor (“Kayum Nefti”. – Approx. ed.) was obtained acting. bankruptcy trustee in the presence of opposition from Yukatex-Yugra LLC.
Meanwhile, as indicated in the case file, Posashkov did not receive the necessary documents either from the former head of Kayum Neft, Alexander Barybkin, or from the company’s counterparty. It is noteworthy that in response to the question of the court during the meeting, which took place on April 17, about the reasons for the failure to comply with the arbitration ruling, Barybkin’s representative said that he could not give explanations on the issue raised. This story, according to observers, explains the forceful seizure of oil assets.
The appearance of details in the judicial plane is connected with the complaint of Yukatex-Yugra. The operator’s contract with the organization was terminated due to the fact that these obligations prevent the restoration of the debtor’s solvency, and their fulfillment will entail losses for Kayum Neft JSC.
At the same time, representatives of Yukatex-Yugra indicate that instead of a company with licenses and experience, the bankruptcy trustee attracted LLC Innovative Oil and Gas Technologies, established 4 days before the date of termination of the operator agreement with Yukatex-Yugra, as a new operator.
At the same time, the tax authorities indicated that Kayum Neft’s revenue from the sale of oil since the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings amounted to more than 41.3 billion rubles. However, these funds were not credited to the company’s accounts. They are accumulated on the settlement accounts of affiliated counterparties, to whom Kayum Neft JSC carries out shipments. By the way, as fiscal officials note, the debtor and its affiliates continue to work according to this scheme at the present time.
“Abandonment of the operator agreement with Yukatex-Yugra is a logical step. It must be understood that Kayum Neft and its counterparty are one and the same. One office, one accounting department, one chief engineer, geologist and other employees. The legal separation is formal. All production, money flow, personnel would remain under Khotin. Or rather, there would be full control over the processes. Under the new conditions, Yukatex-Yugra would simply harm Kayum Neft, which is proved by the history of the documentation. So the new potential owners simply had no choice. And taking on the debt and legal burden of an affiliated counterparty for a normal company is unnecessary problems. It is more logical to create a new, clean one,” the industry experts argue.
One way or another, market participants believe that after this trial, there was a clear understanding “that the scheme with the physical seizure of objects works in the presence of bankruptcy and unwillingness to cooperate with the Federal Tax Service, the prosecutor’s office and other government agencies.” In addition, according to them, this means that a similar scenario can be expected at specific facilities of the Rus-Oil holding. First of all, insiders point to the risks of an aggravation of the situation at JSC Negusneft, NK Dulisma and assets in the Surgut region.