The Russian bank protests against a decision made by extraordinary commissioner Ramjak to exclude it from Agrokor’s council of creditors.
Sberbank’s chief Herman Gref said that the exclusion of Sberbank from Agrokor’s council of creditors, formed as part of the Agrokor’s extraordinary administration process, represented blackmail, reports N1 on November 15, 2017.
“This wrongful decision by extraordinary commissioner Ante Ramljak can be understood as a blackmail,” Gref said, pointing out that on 10 November the extraordinary administration contested Sberbank’s claims in the amount of 1.13 billion euros, thereby excluding Sberbank from the council of creditors, explaining that the decision was made due to the fact that Sberbank had filed a request for repayment of its claims abroad.
“Such acts by the extraordinary commissioner are, mildly speaking, absolutely incorrect. That accepting or rejecting our claims depends on whether we have exercised our right to submit a motion to a court, that can be understood as blackmail,” said Gref. “You will agree that a blackmail by the extraordinary commissioner against one of the key creditors is a very weird situation,” he added.
Gref pointed out that Sberbank advocated for transparency in the process of Agrokor’s restructuring. “Of course, we will protect our rights in courts. If we are prevented from exercising our creditor rights, we will appeal to a court. We have publicly emphasised our constructive position, but as a major company, we cannot tolerate such disregard of our rights. As long as this is the case, we will defend our rights in courts, and nothing can change our position,” Gref said.
Agrokor’s extraordinary administration has not accepted Sberbank’s claims because the claims are subject to court proceedings. According to the published data, out of 16.3 billion kunas of claims which have been disputed by Agrokor, about 9.3 billion kunas refer to claims involving judicial proceedings, of which 7.4 billion kunas relates to enforcement procedures.
Agrokor extraordinary commissioner Ante Ramljak said last week that he believed there was a possibility for the largest single creditor, Sberbank, to accept a compromise and enter the council of creditors, after a court in London accepted the law on Agrokor’s extraordinary administration procedure, so no legal process launched in London would be able to proceed. This also applies to Sberbank, which sued Agrokor in London for debt repayment.
Ramljak said the extraordinary administration had not made any aggressive moves towards Sberbank. “There is a possibility that Sberbank will accept a compromise and agree on the next steps in this process. I think there is good will on their part,” Ramljak said last week at a news conference.
Translated from N1.
