Alexandr Karlovskiy

Defending ATAC (Auchan Group) in a dispute over a property owner’s claim against a client as an allegedly dishonest tenant seeking compensation for use of the premises for the entire rental period. We have proved that charging exorbitant inspection standards can disrupt the rental market. Anyone in the market would have to conduct a full investigation to see if the owner of the leased item has any problems that could lead to a future challenge to its title to the item. The Commercial Court of the Moscow Region reversed the lower courts’ judgments that had previously granted the claim against the client and remanded the case for a new trial.

Successfully defending a leading global producer and supplier of HBI and iron ore products in a dispute over the dissemination by certain media and anonymous internet resources regarding allegedly unlawful actions during the client’s share buyout from minority shareholders. We succeeded in having the information disseminated recognised as inaccurate and discrediting the client’s business reputation, as well as in having the information refuted and removed.

Successfully defending a client in a dispute over the enforcement of a contract for the sale and purchase of land plots worth appr US$7m. The claim was brought by a counterparty with whom the client had failed to agree on the list of land plots to be transferred. The firm’s team succeeded in getting the interim measures against almost all the land plots demanded by the claimant lifted, as well as in convincing the court that the disputed contract was not concluded due to non-compliance with the requirements for individualisation of the subject matter of the contract.

Successfully defending the business reputation of Modum-Trans due to the fact that inaccurate, defamatory information was disseminated regarding alleged wrongdoing during the conduct of business by the client, its participants and management. In order to defend the client, we proved that the Telegram channel where the inaccurate information was published belongs to the defendant, a media outlet that had previously disseminated inaccurate information about the client.
Thanks to the team’s efforts, the disseminated information was recognised as inaccurate and defamatory, and was refuted and removed.

Representing the client in a dispute in ICC arbitration over the client’s claim against its counterparty, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of wind turbines. The client won tenders for the production of “green” electricity and started the construction of wind farms. The wind turbines were to be produced, supplied and maintained by the opponent. However, due to the sanctions, the respondent terminated its contracts with the client, that resulted in substantial losses for the client.

Defending a client – a major railcar leasing operator – in a dispute with two transportation companies to which our client had leased railcars under a long-term relationship. Due to the fact that the transferred railcars were actually and legally arrested in Ukraine due to sanctions, the lessees refused to pay the rent, including by referring to the force majeure circumstance confirmed by a certificate of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation.

Participation in preparing expert reports for the High Court of England in ABFA Commodities v Petraco dispute. Our client – Petraco Oil Company SA (one of the oldest independent oil trading companies in Europe) – filed a claim for damages caused by unlawful interim measures for petroleum products that were never delivered to it. The opponent filed a counterclaim for recovery of damages, insisting that our client had “intercepted” previous oil deliveries from the Antipinsky Oil Refinery, which were allegedly intended for the opponent, and also demanded recognition of its ownership of the petroleum products subject to the interim measures.
Maxim Kulkov’s reports included analysis of highly controversial issues of Russian law, such as interference in another’s contractual relations expressed in the form of a double sale of a generic thing. Guided by Maxim’s expert reports and oral testimony given during two days of cross-examination, the court preferred his conclusions to those of the opponent’s expert.

Participation in preparing an expert report on Russian law issues in a dispute heard in the BVI court and related to a borrower’s provision of false accounting statements and misrepresentation regarding the financial parameters of a transaction when obtaining a bank loan. Funds originally intended to finance a coal mining company were eventually withdrawn through complex ‘round-tripping’ transactions.
The dispute is complicated by issues of causal connection between the actions of the joint defendant and the claimant’s losses in a situation where the defendant was not the organiser of the unlawful scheme but only participated in an individual stage thereof, and by the fact that it was actually a technical company whose will was carried out by third parties.
The case is important for the whole legal system because it raises issues such as ‘harm’, ‘causation’, ‘wrongfulness’ and ‘joint infliction of harm’ in the context of joint liability for auxiliary and occasional participation of an offender in unlawful schemes.

Participation in preparing an expert report on the concept of "trust" in Russian law in a dispute between top manager of one of the world’s leading producers of phosphate-based fertilizers and an opponent who filed a claim against our client demanding the transfer of the client’s shares, which it allegedly holds in a trust in favour of the claimant.

Advising the client and participation in preparing an expert opinion in support of a claim filed in the High Court of England against Vneshprombank beneficiary Mr Bedzhamov, a Russian tycoon hiding in England. With the support of Maxim and the team, the client obtained a judicial seizure of Mr Bedzhamov’s assets worth more than RUB 117bn.

The client’s claims are based on the withdrawal of Vneshprombank’s assets by its beneficiary, Mr Bedzhamov, who de-facto exercised corporate control of Vneshprombank through his sister, Ms Markus, who was the president and shareholder of Vneshprombank.
The case raises a lot of issues of cross-border insolvency that remain unresolved, including the possible general tort and corporate liability outside of bankruptcy proceedings of the Bank as well as in a different jurisdiction, together with the legal nature of the moratorium on filing claims outside of the bankruptcy case. The decision will therefore become a reference point for resolving similar disputes in the future.

The expert also considered the following debatable issues: (1) the statute of limitations for claims against a beneficiary of a company; and (2) competition of corporate and other grounds of claim.

Successfully supporting of the client’s transaction for the buyout by Russian management of the Russian business of a major international leasing company. The transaction involved third-party investment, including an application to the Government Commission on Monitoring Foreign Investment to obtain permission for the transaction, taking into account the counter-sanctions restrictions imposed by Russian presidential decrees.

Supporting a part of the client’s global acquisition of assets of a world leader in optical solutions. The transaction covers about 60 jurisdictions, in each of which the local consultant provides business due diligence and support of applicable corporate procedures. The transaction is complicated by a sanctions component, as well as by the use of a rare asset transfer structure involving the transfer of property instead of the company shares, which complicates business due diligence procedures and asset transfer mechanisms.

Successfully supporting the management of a Russian subsidiary of a world leader in agricultural and construction equipment production in its buyout of 100% of the shares in the Russian business from the parent company. This is one of the buyouts on the Russian market related to the withdrawal of large foreign companies from Russia for political and sanctions reasons.