Czech state seizes 174 million that a Russian bank wanted to get from Pilsen Steel

The state has finally seized about CZK 174 million that the Russian bank VEB.RF (Vnesheconombank in Russia) wanted to get from the bankrupt Pilsen Steel steelworks and forges. The bank used to control the smelters. The Financial Analytical Office (FAU) decided to freeze the money earlier, because VEB.RF was placed on the EU sanctions list after the Russian troops invaded Ukraine last year. The bank filed a complaint against the seizure of the money, but it was rejected by the Ministry of Finance. According to Czech TV (CT), the decision has been final since last week.

VEB.RF has provided loans to bankrupt steel mills in the past. It now wanted to recover the money in insolvency proceedings from the proceeds of the sale of part of Pilsen Steel. "The Financial Analytical Office has decided that the release of the proceeds to the secured creditor is subject to international sanctions," insolvency administrator Jaroslav Brož told ČT. According to the TV channel, the FAU said it would manage the proceeds that VEB.RF wanted to receive for the duration of the anti-Russian sanctions. A representative of the former Russian owner of the engineering plant declined to comment, according to CT.

Pilsen Steel went into bankruptcy in June 2019. 87 creditors have entered the insolvency proceedings, saying the company owes them CZK 9.4 billion. But the administrator at the time denied about 7.8 billion, including the claims of the three largest creditors - Russian banks Vnesheconombank, VEB Kapital and the International Investment Bank. The new owner of Pilsen Steel and Pilsen Estates in 2020 was Max Aicher Pilsen, a company from the German holding Max Aicher. The purchase price was not disclosed by the insolvency administrator at the time.

Source: CT and CTK