Banking
On 25 October 2013 the Bank of Russia approved Regulation No. 408-P “On the Procedure for Assessing Compliance with the Requirements to Qualification and Business Reputation…”
The Regulation was registered by the Ministry of Justice on 26 December 2013.
This issue reviews the most important recent changes to the regime of challenging transactions made by debtors in anticipation of insolvency. These changes were introduced in the Resolution adopted at the Plenary Session of the Supreme Commercial Court of the Russian Federation (the “Supreme Commercial Court”) No. 63 “Certain Matters Relating to the Application of Chapter III.1 of the Federal Law “On Insolvency (Bankruptcy)”1 dated 23 December 2010 (the “Resolution”).2
28 June 2013 the Russian President signed Federal Law No. 134-FZ amending a number of laws in relation to combating illegal financial operations.
The Law amended, in particular, the Law on Banks and Banking Activity, the Anti-Money Laundering Law, the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Offenses, the Law on State Registration of Legal Entities, the Bankruptcy Law, laws regarding certain financial organizations, and the Tax Code. Below is a summary of the key changes (save for those made to the Tax Code).
Summary
A new set of uniform rules for challenging transactions in insolvency and clarifying the circumstances in which debtors must file for insolvency has been introduced in Russia.
Background
- INTRODUCTION
A simple, clear and effective insolvency regime is a vital element in attracting both domestic and foreign investment in a jurisdiction like Russia. To be effective, an insolvency regime has to balance the interests of various classes of creditors, as well as the interests of creditors generally in relation to other interested parties, such as shareholders or participants. An insolvency regime is expected to give the debtor an opportunity to discharge its obligations and continue its business activity.
In light of the coronavirus pandemic, the Russian Federal Law "On Insolvency (Bankruptcy)" (the "Bankruptcy Law") has been amended to allow the Russian Government to introduce a moratorium on filing of insolvency claims.
Hogan Lovells Publications | 27 March 2020
Coronavirus FAQ: Key legal considerations for Russia
Moscow authorities strongly encourage employers to introduce remote working (work from home) regime where possible. Please make sure you carefully document the new working regime in the addenda to the employment contract or have special internal policy governing this.
Readers will recall, on April 1, 2020 the RF President signed RF Law No. 98-FZ, amending RF Law No. 127-FZ On Insolvency (Bankruptcy) of October 26, 2002 (the Law) and authorising the Government to impose a moratorium on creditors’ initiation of bankruptcies to stabilize the economy in exceptional cases (a Moratorium).
Immediately thereafter, by Decree No. 428 of April 3, 2020 as part of the COVID-19 relief program, the Government adopted such a Moratorium until 7 January 2021 (the COVID Moratorium).
New Federal Law No. 266-FZ dated 29 July 2017 (the Amendment Law) introduces notable changes to Russia’s insolvency rules. Importantly, the law does away with the original provisions on vicarious liability of controlling persons in RF Law No. 127-FZ on Insolvency of 26 October 2002 (the Insolvency Law). The Amendment Law expands this concept in a series of new clauses. The rules came into force 30 July 2017.
In October 2016, the Chamber for Commercial Disputes at the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation considered the cassation appeal of Eurasian Trading Company LLC (hereinafter – the Trading Company) in Case № А57-16992/2015 against the court’s refusal to introduce monitoring procedures with respect to RBP JSC (hereinafter – the Debtor) and decision to dismiss the application by the Trading Company without consideration.