The St. Petersburg ombudsman risks losing part of his assets

The dispute concerns a 30-year-old contract and may result in the withdrawal of shares and property in favor of the state.

The Arbitration Court of the city of St. Petersburg and Leningrad region, at the request of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation, seized the shares and property of a stevedoring company – JSC "Commercial Center, Transport and Forest".

According to Alexander Arbouzov, Partner of Duvernoix Legal, the arbitration court in this case did the right thing by issuing a ruling on interim measures. "Failure to take such measures in case of satisfaction of the claim may lead to significant damage to the interests of the Russian Federation. The claim concerns the ownership of a business, and therefore it is logical that the plaintiff asks for the time of its consideration not only to arrest the shares in order to prevent their possible alienation or encumbrance, but also to prohibit payments of a corporate nature," the lawyer says.

However, he emphasizes that the situation with the seizure of property does not look so unambiguous. The activity of JSC "Commercial Center, Transport and Forest" is associated with the storage and warehousing of goods, and the prohibition on the disposal of movable property, as well as individual administrative actions in relation to real estate, may complicate the activities of the enterprise. "Maybe, the ban should be terminated in respect of some types of tangible assets," the expert believes.