Kemerovo arbitration seized funds from the Ministry of Finance of Belarus – Kommersant

The Arbitration Court of the Kemerovo Region seized 964.3 thousand Belarusian rubles (26.9 million rubles) held in an account with Belarusbank and owned by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Belarus. This measure was taken to secure the claim of the famous Kemerovo businessman Igor Prokudin, who owns a package of Belarusian Eurobonds (5.2 thousand pieces) with a coupon rate of 5.875%.

Mr. Prokudin demands payment of the coupon income due to him. The funds were credited on February 24, 2023 to a separate account in Belarusbank for the payment agent Citibank NA. However, the payments were not actually made, and therefore the entrepreneur filed a claim in Kemerovo arbitration in the amount of 430 thousand Belarusian rubles.

Initially, the court left the claim without consideration, citing the lack of jurisdiction of the claims due to the issue of securities in Belarus. Mr. Prokudin filed an appeal, pointing out that the securities were issued in Ireland, the main claims were made against the London bank Citibank NA, and by order of the Russian government, the UK was classified as an unfriendly country where the plaintiff had limited access to British justice.

By the decision of the Seventh Arbitration Court of Appeal the complaint was satisfied, and the claim was sent to the Kemerovo Arbitration Court for reconsideration. This time the claim was accepted, the first hearing on it was scheduled for July 1, 2024. The defendants in this case are Citibank NA and OJSC Joint Stock Savings Bank Belarusbank, and the specified requirements amount to 964.3 thousand Belarusian rubles.

Read about the chances of Russian investors to receive payments on Belarusian Eurobonds in the Kommersant publication. “Belarus remained in debt”.

Igor Lavrenkov, Kemerovo