Collegiums of the Supreme Arbitration Court issued a ruling on refusal to transfer to the Presidium a case on exemption of 20% shares of Arkhangelsk Pulp and Paper Mill from the Austrian holding company "Pulp Mill" in favor of the Federal Agency for Management of State Property.

Themis’s representatives said they had not found any reason to doubt the decisions of the previous three courts that had recognized the right of ownership of shares for foreign businessmen.

This denial puts an end to decades of litigations initiated the company Basic Element of Oleg Deripaska, in the experts’ view. The businessman was personally interested in the victory of the Federal Property Agency, as in this case, according to the agreement concluded between him and the agency, APPM management would be done on a reciprocal basis.

However, "Basel" denies its interest in the proceeding. Sources in the company explained to "Fontanka" that the holding company lost interest in the fight after the decision of the Moscow Arbitration Court in favor of "Pulp Mill", and left the trial continuation at the mercy of Federal Property Management Agency.

However, the bandwagon does not trust these assurances too much. Shareholders of the Pulp Mill yet have no doubt that the war for the assets will continue, but already outside the courtrooms.

Such fears of shareholders are entertained, inter alia, by the prosecution of their partner, ex-head of APPM, Vladimir Krupchak. The new wave of interest of law enforcement officers to him coincided with the decision of the Moscow Arbitration Court on dismissal of the Rosimushchestvo’s lawsuit to seize the shares.

In early December 2009 the Octyabrsky court granted the application by the investigating authorities to arrest Krupchak in absentia. The criminal case against ex-deputy under Article 160, Part 3 (embezzlement of large scale) was instituted at the ID under Department of Internal Affairs of the Arkhangelsk region in 2000. The investigation suggests that Krupchak committed machination while privatizing shares of Arkhangelsk Pulp and Paper Mill. However, the lawyers managed to secure a review of the decision to their client’s arrest. And in January 2010 the St. Petersburg City Court overturned the sanction of the Octyabrsky District Court.

As mentioned above, the "Forest war" began in 2001. Then Oleg Deripaska set his subordinates the task of creating a new timber holding with a capital of 800 million dollars. The assets of “Ilim Pulp” - Kotlas Pulp and the group "Titan" - Arkhangelsk Pulp and Paper Mill were to become centers of the company. But the task turned out to be not so simple - in 2003, Deripaska obtained only the second-tier companies in timber business: the Baikal PPM, Selenga PPM, Archangelsk timber № 2, Omsk paperboard mill, Luzsky wood-processing factory and several enterprises in Karelia. The shareholders of the large plants stubbornly refused to yield their property to the oligarch.

In 2002, Deripaska’s representatives came to Arkhangelsk PPM. They suggested the owners to sell shares in an amicable way. But they had got a refusal. The key shareholders led by Krupchak responded to the claims rather nervously and began to seek for the protection of a well-known businessman, a Petersburger - Vladimir Kogan (experts that are aware of the situation suggest that Krupchak made such a decision because he was informed of a good relationship between Kogan and Putin).

Soon Kogan obtained 20% stake in Arkhangelsk PPM. Then his friendship with Krupchak came to an end. St. Petersburg businessman started acting in conjunction with the "Basic Element". Moreover, ostensibly they struggled for assets of the company on behalf of the state. In 2003, the consortium managed to buy another 12.5% stake in APPM from a German trader Wilfried Heinzel AG. This is only a half less than the stake of the company Pulp Mill Holding, which is closely associated with Krupchak. Vladimir Krupchak argues that he has no relationship to Arkhangelsk PPM; and the shares are owned by a foreign investor owning the German companies "Jacob Jurgensen Papier GmbH” and “Tsellshtof", "Conrad Jacobson GmbH.

Information:

Arkhangelsk PPM is - one of the leading Wood-Chemical enterprises of Russia and Europe. During the first 9 months in 2009 the total pulp and paper production in Russia consisted of the share of cardboard - approximately 18%, cellulose - 11%, prentices book - 35%. The shareholders structure of the company is, as follows: more than 500 individuals and entities; 63.5% of shares are owned by Pulp Mill Holding GmbH (Austria), 33,6% - by the offshore companies, representing the interests of the company “Basic Element”.