Russian shareholder and creditors of MegaCom have completely restored their legal rights.
A criminal case is completed and indictment has been served to the associates of Maxim Bakiyev on the case of misappropriation of property and 51% stake in MegaCom mobile operator.
Penwell Business Limited, representing interests of Russian entrepreneur Mr Gleb Ognyannikov, reports that in accordance with the ruling of Inter-district Court of Bishkek registration of a 51% share of "BiMoCom Ltd" in the name of Forntek Enterprises Limited and all subsequent holders was invalidated. Thus, Penwell as the only legitimate owner of a controlling stake in MegaCom has completed all actions necessary for registration of its stake at the Ministry of Justice of the Kyrgyz Republic. Previously it was reported that resolutions of several courts of the Kyrgyz Republic confirmed the legitimate right of Penwell Business Limited for 51% stake in Kyrgyz mobile operator MegaCom. 49% of MegaCom is controlled by the government of Kyrgyz Republic.
During 2008-2009 Penwell Business Limited was unlawfully dispossessed of its controlling stake in MegaCom as a result of fraudulent actions of corrupt ex-President Bakiyev’s group. Violation of the rights of Russian investors in the past took place with the connivance and manipulation of the local judicial system against legitimate interests of investors and creditors of MegaCom.
Furthermore, according to official statement of the General Prosecutor's Office of Kyrgyz Republic, it has completed investigation of criminal cases concerning misappropriation of property and 51% stake in MegaCom, resulting in criminal charges brought against 19 persons associated with Maxim Bakiev, including Alexey Alexandrovich Eliseev, Eugene Gourevitch and others. Criminal investigation established that these persons had fabricated certain documents with the purpose of illegal transfer of ownership of 51% stake in “BiMoCom Ltd”. Subsequently, these individuals started procedure of fictitious bankruptcy of "BiMoCom Ltd” to transfer the business and assets of MegaCom through the chain of sham transactions to CJSC “Alfa Telecom”. In early December 2010 the prosecution has established the degree of involvement in the case of each of the accused persons and has transferred the case to Court for consideration of its merits. Shares of both "BiMoCom Ltd. and CJSC “Alfa Telecom” are under arrest.
Penwell believes that the transfer of MegaCom criminal case to Court is a landmark event – thus the law-enforcement authorities gave an unambiguous legal assessment of the fraudulent actions involving MegaCom. During 8 months of investigation the General Prosecutor's Office and Financial Police of the Kyrgyz Republic conducted an extensive systematization of several criminal cases, allowing to establish full range of implicated persons and revealing the criminal intent to illegally seize MegaCom. 27 volumes of evidence collected in the case (more than 8000 pages) will be a weighty and eloquent argument in the Court of law. Efficient and intensive work of law enforcement and judicial authorities of the Kyrgyz Republic demonstrates the principled stance on handling cases strictly within the legal field.
Further, Penwell reports that in accordance with the ruling of the Inter-district Court of Bishkek "BiMoCom Ltd" is no longer considered bankrupt, based on the actual absence of indicators of financial solvency of the company. It was proved that the bankruptcy of "BiMoCom Ltd" was fictituous and was aimed at misappropriation of the property complex of MegaCom mobile operator. As previously reported, wrongful decisions of Kyrgyz Courts taken in 2009 to collect $80 million from "BiMoCom Ltd” have been cancelled and BiMoCom's indebtedness to Investbank of “Issyk-Kul" has been declared fictituous. In addition, several court rulings have confirmed that transfer of telecommunications equipment owned by RTC-Leasing through an auction was illegal and therefore “BiMoCom Ltd” is lawful tenant of the said equipment under the terms of the leasing agreement.
Recently Alexey Eliseev and Eugene Gurevich, accused in the case of misappropriation of assets and 51% stake in MegaCom, tried to shield themselves and present the case in a different light through the press and Internet sites. Defendants' intent to somehow rehabilitate themselves before the general public is clear and obvious. Russian shareholder of the operator MegaCom Mr Gleb Ognyannikov commented on the situation: "Attempts of the accused to present the misappropriation of MegaCom as an ordinary shareholder conflict have nothing to do with the real situation in the past when our rights were violated without regard to law and basic standards of doing business. In addition to stealing the shareholding in the joint venture, this group of individuals committed several criminal acts - stole the equipment and tried to eliminate the real debtedness to Russian creditors”. Penwell Business Limited Company urges all interested parties to carefully evaluate statements of the accused in the criminal case of MegaCom, designed to confuse the public, the investigation and court. We are confident that the modernized Kyrgyz judicial system will give proper assessment of populist statements of the accused in the court.
Penwell Business Limited expresses its satisfaction with the restoration of its lawful rights and intends to actively work together with Kyrgyz state towards further development of telecommunications market in Kyrgyzstan.