A Moscow firm failed to "shake down" 27 million from "Kirovpeiper".

      Earlier the bankruptcy trustee of Moscow-based "SK Prof" appealed to the Arbitration Court of the Kirov Region, demanding recovery from "Kirovpaper" of the cost of the paper-making machine (PMM) in the amount of 27.14 million rubles. The defendant disagreed and also argued that the statute of limitations had been missed.

      The court records recount a long history of the transfer of property in Murygino from one owner to another. Among other things, they indicate that in 2014 "SK Prof" acquired part of the property, including the PMM. Several years later it was declared bankrupt. The bankruptcy trustee found that the machine was still listed on the company’s books and is located in Murygino. He went to court seeking to compel the current owner of the factory, "Kirovpaper", to return it. However, the court refused, citing that since its purchase the PMM had undergone major modernization and therefore could not be said to be the same property owned by the plaintiff. Attempts to overturn this decision in the appellate and cassation courts failed.

      The bankruptcy trustee of "SK Prof" then turned to experts and asked them to appraise the PMM. It turned out to be worth more than 27.14 million rubles. He then returned to court and demanded that "Kirovpaper" pay him that amount. The court concluded that the statute of limitations had been missed and dismissed the claim. A representative of "SK Prof" appealed to the appellate court, arguing that, in his view, "Kirovpaper" was unlawfully using the PMM in its operations and that the limitation period had not expired. However, both the appellate and cassation courts reached the same conclusions as the court of first instance and dismissed the complaints.