There is no statute of limitation period for Bashneft

On Saturday, the Moscow Commercial Court issued a decision on the claim to the General Prosecutor's Office against the main shareholder of Bashneft AFK Systema, in which it recognized that the asset must be withdrawn in favor of the state because of irregularities in the privatization in the 1990s. The document, according to independent lawyers, includes a number of "dangerous precedents", particularly with regard to the statute of limitations. The Government has proposed to include Bashneft in the list for the new privatization, but the court's decision creates risks for future purchasers of the asset.

The Moscow Commercial Court explained in its decision, published on Saturday, why it’s necessary to withdraw the Bashneft’s shares from AFK Systema (the General Prosecutor filed the appropriate claim on September 24, on October 30 it was satisfied). The court upheld the arguments of the General Prosecutor’s Office of the illegality of the alienation of Bashkir fuel and energy complex’s property by authorities of the region without the consent of the federal Government and rejected the main argument of AFK System about the passage of the statute of limitations. For this it was necessary to recognize that the General Prosecutor’s Office got to know about the violation in the privatization only due to information from the Investigating Committee on May 20 and September 5, 2014 (after the initiation of criminal proceedings against the former owner of Bashneft Ural Rakhimov and owner of AFK Vladimir Yevtushenkov).