Yesterday, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation announced that it’s looking for a way to overturn the deal that Lukoil made with Otkritie Holding, as the bank wants to recover part of the money it spent to bail out Otkritie bank. But the Bank of Russia is not the only one who wants its money back. Otkritie itself has to receive money from its former owners and some lenders. Until 2019, 300 billion rubles(approximately $4.22 billion) were paid to BOR and Otkritie.
The move comes three years after the central bank used several trillion rubles to save three private banks, Otkritie included. In 2017, Lukoil sold the diamond-mining business Arkhangelskgeoldobycha to Otkritie Holding for $1.45 billion.
The federal bank already filed a lawsuit to contest the diamond deal. If it wins, the agreement allows the state to reduce the funds it spent on the bailout.
The bank seems unbothered by this, as its executive continues the preparations of selling 20% of the bank’s stake. The plans should be definitive mid-2021, and specialists already discuss a three-year strategy targets.
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Sources: spglobal.com, reuters.com, nasdaq.com