Bank St. Petersburg will receive funds recovered from the bankrupt pharmaceutical distributor Biotek
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Bank St. Petersburg, which tried to become a major creditor of the pharmaceutical distributor Biotek of ex-senator Boris Shpigel, is losing this status. The arbitration court decided that the bank could receive its funds only after satisfying the claims of all creditors included in the register. The court also recognized Biotek’s affiliation with the bank and noted that the distributor, already in a pre-bankruptcy state, directed significant sums to pay dividends and bonuses, purchase antiques and private business jet flights.
On November 7, the Moscow Arbitration Court decided that Bank St. Petersburg will receive funds recovered from the bankrupt pharmaceutical distributor Biotek after satisfying the claims of all creditors included in the register, according to court materials. In addition, the court reduced the amount of the bank’s claims from 396 million rubles. up to 103.3 million rubles. Bank St. Petersburg announced its disagreement with the court’s decision and will appeal it. The temporary manager of the pharmaceutical distributor Biotek, Anna Dmitrichenko, did not respond to Kommersant’s request.
The court’s decision means that the bank’s chances of actually collecting the debt are “significantly reduced,” said Orchards adviser Vadim Borodkin. “The bank’s chances are illusory,” agrees Roman Ambartsumov, a lawyer in the bankruptcy practice of the law firm Lemchik, Krupsky and Partners. In addition, the bank, unlike other bankruptcy creditors, will not be able to vote at meetings or claim repayment at the expense of persons controlling the debtor brought to subsidiary liability, adds Mr. Borodkin. The property that was pledged to the bank will be included in the bankruptcy estate and sold at auction, adds Mr. Ambartsumov. The bank did not comment on what was the subject of the collateral, but from the court ruling it follows that we are talking about real estate.
Biotek, according to DSM Group, at the end of 2020 took tenth place in the ranking of pharmaceutical distributors in the Russian Federation, having sold products for 41.1 billion rubles. But in March 2021, the founder of the company and ex-senator Boris Shpigel and his wife Evgenia, the actual owner of the company, were detained in the case of transferring a bribe to the ex-governor of the Penza region Ivan Belozertsev. Already at the end of 2022, the company received a loss of 1.6 billion rubles. In November 2022, the drug supplier Ellara filed a bankruptcy claim against Biotek. Bank St. Petersburg was one of the first applicants for inclusion in bankruptcy. In March 2023, surveillance was introduced at Biotek.
If included in the register, Bank St. Petersburg could become one of the largest creditors of Biotek, it follows from court documents. This status is also claimed by Promomed, included in the register with a claim of 418.2 million rubles, and Pharmstandard, whose application is for 613.4 million rubles. still under consideration. Promomed told Kommersant that the debt arose under supply contracts and these obligations are not encumbered with collateral. Pharmstandard did not respond to Kommersant’s request.
Pharmstandard and Promomed, together with the interim manager, insisted on the affiliation of St. Petersburg and Biotek, since the chairman of the board of the bank, Alexander Savelyev, and the ex-president of the pharmaceutical distributor, Vadim Semenov, could be connected through a chain of legal entities.
The bank issued loans to Biotek structures in May 2020, but the collateral agreements were drawn up in 2021. But even then Biotek was “in a state of property crisis” and the bank knew about it, the court’s ruling says. Thus, in 2020–2021, Biotek spent almost 692 million rubles from accounts in St. Petersburg. for the payment of dividends and bonuses, 107 million rubles – for the purchase of antique books and silver items, 19.5 million rubles – for private business jet flights, 11.5 million rubles – for an interest-free loan to the chief accountant, follows from the materials court.
However, according to Vadim Borodkin, the decision on affiliation “raises a number of questions” in terms of evidence, so the bank has a chance to challenge this decision on appeal. Otherwise, adds Roman Ambartsumov, this will also create for the bank the risk of being brought to subsidiary liability for Biotek’s debts.
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