In Moscow, assets of former head of Otkritie Bank arrested: villa in Cyprus and property in New York under restrictions

The Moscow Arbitration Court, as part of the bankruptcy case of former president of Otkritie Bank Ruben Aganbegyan, has imposed interim measures on his foreign assets. The restrictions affect a villa in Cyprus, a land plot and an apartment in Manhattan (New York), as well as shares in a Cypriot company.

According to Russian media, the foreign property was identified by the financial manager during the bankruptcy procedure. The manager claims that Aganbegyan, who is outside Russia, is evading the transfer of assets and is acting “in bad faith toward creditors.”

It is reported that the apartment with a land plot in western Manhattan was purchased in 2017 for $1.5 million. According to the manager, the funds for the purchase were provided by Aganbegyan himself. A similar situation, he says, concerns the unfinished 181-square-meter villa in Cyprus.

Despite a property division agreement concluded between Aganbegyan and his wife Veronika Misyutina, the court declared it invalid. In addition, the manager stated that the debtor owns 160 shares of a Cypriot company with a nominal value of one euro each. According to data from the Russian register of legal entities, this structure owns a Moscow-based company involved in trade and management, as well as the Ivanovo Machine-Building Plant, which is currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings.

The court fully satisfied the manager’s motion, prohibiting any transactions involving the disposal of the specified assets.

Ruben Aganbegyan was declared bankrupt in the spring of last year at the initiative of PJSC National Bank Trust.