The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) intends to fight a legal decision to impose external administration over the assets of Danube Logistics SRL, the operator of Giurgiulesti International Free Port in Moldova.
This is stated in the message of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. It notes that the Bank is deeply concerned by the order of a bailiff in Chisinau on 25 February 2021 and will continue to seek to protect its rights as a senior secured creditor. The EBRD is currently the largest creditor of Danube Logistics SRL, as well as the primary economic beneficiary of Danube Logistics Holding BV’s shareholding in Danube Logistics SRL. The EBRD considers that the appointment of an external administrator by the bailiff interferes with the running of the company, having a direct negative impact on its ability to continue to operate and repay its debts, as well as conflicting with EBRD’s legitimate interests as a lender holding security over the shares in Danube SRL and as an economic beneficiary of those shares. It is emphasized that, separately, the EBRD has joined proceedings in several court cases centred on Danube SRL’s ability to make payments to its parent company, upstream dividends and/or sell its shares. None of these cases are founded on monetary claims against Danube SRL or the company’s ability to manage its day-to-day business affairs, but revolve around a personal claim of Bemol Retail SRL, a third party, on a former general manager of Bemol,” the EBRD said in a statement. Earlier, Danube Logistics Holding BV stated that it condemns the attempt to illegally seize control over the Giurgiulesti port, noting that on February 25, bailiff Roman Talmaci, by his conclusion and at the request of Bemol Retail, established de facto, unlawfully and illegally, the compulsory management of Danube Logistics under the pretext of collecting debts from one of the beneficiaries of the company. It is emphasized that compulsory control was established in the saddest traditions of raider attacks in Moldova, on Friday evening, without notification, without giving an opportunity to react. The bailiff categorically ignored the fact that the only shareholder of the Moldovan company is the Dutch company Danube Logistics Holding BV, and the main beneficiary of the Dutch company's share in Danube Logistics is the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. At the moment, in accordance with the participation agreement, the EBRD owns the right to 65% of the possible proceeds in the event of the sale of the stake and 65% of the dividends from the participation of Danube Logistics Holding BV in the authorized capital of Danube Logistics. Danube Logistics CEO Mathias von Tucher said that the Moldovan judicial procedures underlying Roman Talmaci's actions have nothing to do with Danube Logistics and Danube Logistics Holding BV and are the subject of a lawsuit submitted to the European Court of Human Rights. These two limited liability companies do not own the assets of the debtor Bemol and are not responsible for any of its personal debts. Control over Bemol belongs to the former investor of Danube Logistics, a citizen of Azerbaijan Rafiq Aliyev. Since 2014, both international and Moldovan courts have rejected numerous actions by Aliyev's companies, by which he demanded to cancel the sale of a stake in Danube Logistics to Danube Logistics Holding BV in 2011. Since September 2019, Bemol has been trying to gain through bailiffs the control over the stake that to Danube Logistics Holding BV in Danube Logistics. // 03.03.2021 - InfoMarket.
