When examining a specific case, the arbitration recalled the legal positions of the Russian Supreme Court: compared to a civil proceeding, in bankruptcy cases there are stricter rules for proving the existence of a debt.
“Verification of the reliability of debts is carried out using payment documents,” explained Maria Spiridonova, a member of the Russian Bar Association. “Documents make it possible to establish the existence and fulfillment of the obligation. At the same time, they are important. Elements of the documents that are necessary for the authenticity of the documents themselves are verified.”
As Aida Sabirzyanova, a member of AJUR, head of the bankruptcy practice of Yalilov & Partners, noted, unfortunately, they often try to hang so-called “additional debts” on a bankrupt person.
“The objectives of this category of creditors are different: to gain control of the bankruptcy proceedings and reduce the influence of the majority creditor; to have the possibility of participating in the distribution of the bankruptcy estate, etc.”, he says. business conflict”.
He points out that the bankruptcy procedure does not guarantee the cancellation of debts, since the bankruptcy law contains a list of circumstances whose presence will prevent getting rid of the accumulated debt.
“Creditors, by submitting an application to be included in the debtor’s creditors’ credit register, understand that they will retain the right to claim against the debtor even after the completion of the procedure, if there are indications of bad faith in the actions. of the debtor,” says Aida Sabirzyanova.
According to the director of the arbitration, Darya Koptyaeva, the court resolved this dispute in accordance with substantive and procedural law.
“In the case at hand, a bank whose credits are guaranteed by a pledge of property rights (credits) is most interested in including a large amount of the principal debt, interest, fines, sanctions and even default interest, since , according to the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of June 26, 2023 N 307-ES22 -27054 Only the secured creditor and the debtor himself are entitled to the proceeds from the sale of the only home,” he says. “Thus, the inclusion of the creditor’s credits, even the inflated ones, cannot violate the rights of other creditors. Only that of the debtor.”
Vladimir Shalaev, a lawyer and partner of Pravovaya Gruppa LLC, explains that banks are priority creditors in bankruptcy cases, “because, as a rule, firstly, they have a pledge, and secondly, they are endowed with a special status to file an application for a declaration of bankruptcy debtor without prior receipt of a court decision on debt collection.
If the debt arises from a loan agreement or other type of special bank agreement, the lawyer continues, the bank can file for bankruptcy without waiting for the court decision to take effect and, in principle, without initiating debt collection proceedings. . This, as a rule, indicates that the activities of banks are controlled by the state, that is, the Central Bank, there should be no discrepancies.
“In general, the situation when non-existent debts are included in the creditors’ credit register is very common, since all debtors are interested in preserving their property,” says Vladimir Shalaev. “Affiliated companies or external creditors generally make debts on paper and include them in the register. Courts are now actively examining evidence of questionable claims and may therefore refuse to be included in the register of creditor claims in principle or reduce priority There are also higher standards of proof for affiliated creditors, which courts often mention If for an ordinary creditor, for example, to provide a bill of lading, it is sufficient to confirm the fact of economic activity, then the The interested party must also provide shipping documents, documents for the purchase of goods, a purchase book and a sales book, as well as other documents that confirm the legal relationship of the parties, for example, correspondence, testimonials and any other documents that may serve as confirmation.
