Publications

Our Client is a large Kazakhstani mining and metallurgical company, one of the largest producers of chrome raw materials and ferroalloys in the world.

The Client ordered a Russian contractor company, established jointly by a Russian and a South African company, to carry out works in the smelting shop. According to the contract, the Client transferred an advance payment to the contractor, but due to COVID-19 restrictions the works were not performed and the advance payment was not returned.

As a result of PB Legal team's actions, the Arbitrazh Court of the Moscow region awarded the advance payment in favour of the Client. However, the controlling persons of the contractor company withdrew most of the assets in their favour, therefore the Court decision was unenforceable. In order to recover the advance payment, PB Legal team initiated bankruptcy of the Russian contractor, in the course of which the insolvency administrator challenged the transactions on withdrawal of assets in favour of an affiliate, recovered unjust enrichment, and filed an application for bringing the controlling persons to subsidiary liability.

Thereafter, the controlling persons of the Russian contractor proposed to the Client to enter into a settlement agreement under which they would voluntarily repay the debt. The settlement agreement was approved by the court and the opponents have already transferred part of the funds under it.

Additionally, a company from South Africa, one of the Russian contractor's shareholders, was a subcontractor under the contract with the Client. Due to the fact that the Russian contractor transferred to this company an advance payment, the insolvency administrator filed a claim for recovery of the advance payment and losses. Under the terms of the settlement agreement the right of claim against the company from South Africa was transferred to our Client, and PB Legal team filed an application for procedural succession on Client’s behalf.

The project was led by Alan Bayramkulov and Pavel Chistyakov.

Our Client is a large Russian dairy manufacturer known for producing cheese, cottage cheese and butter.

The client asked us to represent its interests in the courts of the Russian Federation in disputes with a foreign supplier and a guarantor bank. The supplier violated its obligations under the contracts for the supply of industrial equipment, citing the EU sanctions against Russia. The same motivation was used by the guarantor bank to refuse to pay the Client the sum of the guarantees securing the supplier's obligations.

PB Legal team prepared a strategy to protect the Client's interests and filed lawsuits against the supplier and the guarantor bank. At our request, the court took interim measures against the assets of the guarantor bank. In June 2024, the Arbitrazh Court of Moscow ruled in favour of our Client to recover the sum of the guarantees of EUR 4,820,000 and the interest of EUR 170,000 from the guarantor bank.

The project was led by our lawyers: Konstantin Galin, Igor Startcev, Yulia Isakova, Ilya Belyaev.

‘Vedomosti’ published a commentary by Alexander Panin, Managing Partner of PB Legal | Panin, Bayramkulov & Partners, on the new version of the draft law adopted by the Ministry of Economic Development regarding expansion of the regulation in the area of corporate contracts (shareholders' agreements).

The Ministry of Economic Development has prepared several draft laws envisioning the creation of the new regulation in the area of corporate agreements by expanding their role in the company's activities. Amongst other things, the Ministry proposes to reform the mechanism for determining the penalty payable due to violation of the terms of a corporate agreement, to introduce a new institute of a will substitute court decision on the outcome of the vote of the board of directors, as well as to introduce special implements of alienation of shares, including those in favor of third parties.

The Ministry points out that the draft law will contribute to the optimization of companies' activities on the market and reduce the risks of corporate conflicts.

In the published commentary, Alexander Panin noted that the proposed mechanisms promote a more effective use of the corporate agreement in practice. According to Alexander Panin, the law will create guarantees of compliance with the agreement of the parties and will allow them to achieve greater protection.

More details of the publication can be found on the link.

Dear friends, we are happy to share great news with you!

“Kommersant” has presented its annual survey of the best legal practitioners in Russia. PB Legal | Panin, Bayramkulov & Partners was highlighted with four categories:

• Arbitration Litigation: commercial dispute resolution: High-End - Group 2.
• Arbitration Litigation: corporate dispute resolution: High-End - Group 1.
• International Litigation - Group 1
• Sanction compliance - Group 2
• Agriculture: Key Dispute Resolution in the Industry - Group 1
• Financial and banking sector: advising leaders in the financial and banking sector - Group 2

Moreover, “Kommersant” has published an individual rating of the best lawyers, where PB Legal's team was also listed:

Partner of PB Legal Alan Bayramkulov was recognized in the categories: “Commercial Dispute Resolution”, “International Dispute Resolution”.

Managing Partner of PB Legal Alexander Panin was recognized in the categories “International Dispute Resolution”, “Corporate Dispute Resolution”, “Sanction compliance”.

You can read more about the ranking and the list of the best lawyers via this link.

"RBK" published a comment by Managing Partner of PB Legal | Panin, Bayramkulov & Partners Alexander Panin on the draft law proposing to transfer the authority to register personal funds from the Ministry of Justice to the Federal Tax Service. The draft law also proposes to exempt personal funds from regular financial inspections and reports.

Personal funds operate in Russia as an alternative to foreign private funds and trusts, but are not popular due to the complicated procedure of state registration and regular inspections. The draft law of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade will significantly simplify the process of establishing personal funds, which are a convenient tool for transferring assets from foreign countries to Russia in the context of sanctions pressure on Russian individuals.

Alexander Panin noted that changes in the legislation on personal funds may encourage the business community to prefer this domestic institution to foreign equivalents, the use of which has recently become increasingly risky and difficult due to the growing pressure of anti-Russian sanctions.

You can read more about the publication at the link.

Moscow City Arbitrazh Court enforced the decision of the ICAC at the RF CCI (MKAS) for the benefit of our Client.

Our Client is the largest agricultural enterprise in the Tver region. PB Legal team has successfully helped our Client to recover from an unconscientious counterparty the amount of unearned advance payment under the contract, penalties and costs of arbitral proceedings in the ICAC at the RF CCI. To date, we have successfully completed the case and enforced the ICAC award.

The complexity of the dispute was precisely at the exequatur stage: PB Legal team managed to elaborate a strategy that allowed us to fully satisfy our Сlient's claims. The Moscow City Arbitrazh Court ordered to issue a writ of execution and recovered from the opponents the full amount of the penalty without reducing it.

Alan Bayramkulov, Konstantin Galin, Igor Startsev and Yulia Isakova worked on the project.

At the claim of a foreign company from an "unfriendly" jurisdiction, the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property cancelled the trademark of our Client because it contradicted another trademark with an earlier priority. The foreign company also filed complaints for recovery of damages from the companies that had used the Сlient's cancelled trademark.

Our Сlient is Denis Simachev, a famous Russian fashion designer, artist and restaurateur. PB Legal team elaborated a strategy to protect his brand rights. As part of the implementation of this strategy, we filed an opposition with the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property regarding the granting of legal protection to the trademark of a foreign company.

Alan Bayramkulov prepared an expert legal opinion on Russian intellectual property law issues, which supported the necessity of cancellation of a foreign company's trademark. This expert opinion became the key to the dispute: on its basis, the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property cancelled the trademark of the foreign company, which allowed our Client to retain his rights to the brand.

Cancellation of the opponents' trademark will allow the Client to use his brand in creative and commercial activities.

Alan Bayramkulov and Pavel Chistyakov worked on the project.

Dear friends, we are happy to share great news with you!

On December 8 the results of the "Pravo-300" rating were published, in which PB Legal | Panin, Bayramkulov & Partners has been actively participating for many years.

This year, the PB Legal team is recognised in the following categories:

• Group II – International Litigation;
• Group III - Arbitration Litigation (major commercial disputes - high market).

Our achievements are the result of high-quality and productive work of a team of professionals who are passionate about their work!

We thank the organizers of the «Pravo-300» rating and hope for further active cooperation! You can find the results of the «Pravo-300» rating at the following link.

Cypriot court recovered a substantial amount of funds that had been withdrawn from the company as a result of the illegal actions of the former beneficiaries and management for the benefit of our Client.

PB Legal team succeeded in obtaining a judgment from the Nicosia District Court (Republic of Cyprus) for the recovery of over RUB 200 million (the value of the withdrawn assets) for the benefit of our Client, a major Russian energy company.

The dispute was complicated by the necessity to notify the foreign defendants. Alan Bayramkulov (Partner of PB Legal) prepared an expert opinion on Russian law, which enabled the Cypriot court to decide on the proper notification of the foreign defendants and, as a result, to order the recovery of funds from them.

Alexander Panin and Alan Bayramkulov worked on the project.

"Kommersant" published a commentary by Alexander Panin, the Managing Partner of PB Legal | Panin, Bayramkulov & Partners, on the draft of the Government Resolution prepared by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, which proposes the use of an automated selection regime for trustees in bankruptcy based on a score system in insolvency cases initiated by the tax authorities.

In 2021, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation submitted a draft bill to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly proposing significant changes to bankruptcy proceedings. The reform primarily involved a reduction in the number of bankruptcy proceedings, an increase in the application of the automated selection regime for trustees in bankruptcy and other new rules for the work of trustees in bankruptcy. To date, the bill has not yet been adopted.

In the published commentary, Alexander Panin suggested that the adoption of this Government Resolution may have a positive influence on bankruptcy proceedings, as the automated selection regime for trustees in bankruptcy is aimed at selecting independent and competent trustees in bankruptcy, while a simple random selection does not guarantee the selection of a competent trustee in bankruptcy.