The Arbitration Court of the Northwestern District upheld the decisions of lower courts and supported the lawful position of the lawyers of EPAM Law, who represented the interests of the founders and former top managers of the airline Transaero — Tatyana Anodina, Olga Pleshakova, and Aleksander Pleshakov.
The case was one of the most significant and complex proceedings in Russia concerning the pursuit of subsidiary liability. The claimants — the bankruptcy trustee and PJSC VTB Bank — sought to recover over 249 billion rubles from the clients, citing dozens of alleged violations. Over eight years, EPAM Law lawyers consistently implemented a defence strategy that included conducting comprehensive economic court expert analyses, collecting and presenting a vast volume of financial and corporate documents, establishing preclusive facts across several separate disputes, and analysing and refuting all allegations against their clients.
As a result, courts of all three instances confirmed that:
- The airline showed no signs of insolvency during the period of EPAM Law clients’ management;
- The airline’s financial statements were accurate and compliant with legal requirements;
- Transactions conducted by EPAM Law clients were economically justified and did not harm the company or its creditors;
- The deterioration of the airline’s financial performance was caused by external macroeconomic factors, including sanctions and currency fluctuations.
"The decision of the cassation court confirmed the lawfulness of our clients’ position and validated the effectiveness of our long-term, systematic efforts to protect their interests in one of the most significant bankruptcy cases in modern Russian history. For the Pleshakov family and Tatyana Grigorievna Anodina, this is not just a legal victory but a restoration of justice," emphasised EPAM Law Partner Evgeny Gurchenko.
Under the leadership of EPAM Law Partner Evgeny Gurchenko, the clients’ interests were represented by Counsel Aleksander Svashenko and Senior Associate Yulia Sevostyanova.
