Belgian businessmen are pulling a billion from the Rosneft field in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The court announced the withdrawal of funds and damage to creditors
Expensive power plants disappeared at the RN-Purneftegaz site. Foreign beneficiaries are claiming hundreds of millions of rubles of Russian energy assets. Power Solutions nv, a company registered in the Belgian Weinegem, attempted to present large financial claims to enterprises of the Alliance Generation holding, working for Rosneft structures at the Barsukovsky field in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The Belgians also reported leased gas generators that they say disappeared from the operators' sites. Meanwhile, payments for the use of expensive equipment were not made for several years.
However, in Alliance Generation, as well as in Alliance-Energy affiliated with it, these claims are categorically rejected. During proceedings in several instances, serious suspicions surfaced of intentions to implement “gray schemes” against the backdrop of the bankruptcy of a controlled company and plans to withdraw liquid property in the amount of up to a billion rubles. Although Power Solutions has already suffered a defeat in two instances, the “western partners” are likely to go all the way, appealing the last ruling in the cassation.
The Arbitration Court of the Moscow District has started considering the cassation appeal of the Belgian company Power Solutions nv against the decision and resolution of the previous instances regarding the dispute with Alliance Generation LLC and Alliance-Energy LLC, operating at the Barsukovsky field in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, operated by RN-Purneftegaz.
The plaintiff aims to recover more than 383.1 million rubles of debt under concluded lease agreements, more than 62.6 million as a penalty, and also to obtain the return of 14 Cummins gas piston units previously purchased by Power Solutions for 609 million rubles from Trade Center LLC.
Barsukovskoye field
To clarify, LLC Alliance Generation, registered in Moscow, is currently in the stage of bankruptcy proceedings. The company specializes in the production of electricity, and the same Belgian Power Solutions nv and IS Industrials Solutions Ltd registered in Cyprus (equally shared 50%) act as its founders.
During the trial, it was revealed that back in June 2017, the Belgian company entered into a lease agreement with Alliance Generation, under which it transferred 14 gas generators with a capacity of 1925 kVA each for the Badgers project in the YaNAO. This fact was documented in the acceptance and transfer documents, as well as the insurance contract with SOGAZ.
Subsequently, the equipment was transferred under the power supply contract to Alliance-Energy LLC, where Alliance Generation was obligated to supply electricity and capacity. It appears that the fate and circumstances of the operation of the leased Power Solutions units did not matter for several years.
However, in 2021, the Belgians said they hadn't been paid for a long time (since 2019) and then went to the Moscow Arbitration Court because Alliance Generation had been bankrupt for over six months by the time of the lawsuit.
It's interesting that the property transfer documentation wasn't directly submitted to the court, even though Power Solutions claimed the installations were at Alliance-Energy and were used for RN-Purneftegaz's technical facilities. Also, upon reviewing the contract, it was found that it lacked the characteristics needed to identify the gas piston units being transferred, their actual number, and terms of use.
In August of last year, there was an inspection at the Alliance-Energy gas piston station involving the plaintiff, RN-Purneftegaz, and the operator. Surprisingly, the equipment with the serial numbers provided by the Belgians was not found at the site.
Meanwhile, the arbitration noted that the key condition for reclaiming property from illegal possession is the ability to identify and single out the specific item. This was not found in this case.
On the other hand, Alliance-Energy presented arbitration documents proving that all the equipment at Barsuki belonged to them by right of ownership, not the Belgian company. So, the court decided to reject the claims for the return of the installations and rent collection.
The arbitration also emphasized that the plaintiff is the founder of Alliance Generation LLC, and Alliance Energy Group JSC is the main participant in Alliance-Energy LLC. Additionally, the ultimate beneficiary does not have formal powers and tries to conceal their controlling status. This can influence the debtor.
Based on this, other significant points were revealed during the proceedings. The plaintiff's actions seem to artificially increase the debtor's receivables, causing damage to the bankruptcy case of Alliance Generation LLC. The plaintiff's move was aimed at withdrawing the debtor's assets and disputed property.
The Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal confirmed the original decision, and now the parties are entering a new round of cassation. Meanwhile, the interlocutors of the agency in the professional community express their own opinions regarding the conflict.
