English court recognises Russian bankruptcy order

A bankruptcy order had been made in respect of an individual by a court in Moscow. The bankrupt was no longer living in Russia and there was no evidence that he was carrying on business at the time of the bankruptcy order. The applicant had been appointed as the bankrupt’s trustee in bankruptcy and applied for recognition of the Russian bankruptcy order.  

The application for recognition was opposed by two companies, Q & M. Q & M were shareholders in a public limited mining company and were pursuing a High Court claim to compel the mining company to provide replacement share certificates on the basis they were lost (the “Eurasia Proceedings”). The mining company suspected that the ultimate beneficial owners of the shares had not been disclosed and so the Eurasia proceedings had been stayed to allow any third parties with a claim on the shares to come forward. The applicant trustee in bankruptcy had come forward, asserting that the shares formed part of the bankruptcy estate.

Q & M opposed the recognition application on the basis that recognition was being sought by the applicant as a springboard for asserting a proprietary claim to the mining company shares.

The court held that: (a) Q & M had no standing to oppose the application as they had no legitimate interest in the bankruptcy; they were only attempting to frustrate the applicant’s challenge to ownership of the shares in the Eurasia Proceedings; (b) the Russian bankruptcy order, and the appointment of the applicant as trustee in bankruptcy, should be recognised as there was no fraud, breach of natural justice or evidence that the bankruptcy offended the principle of English public policy in circumstances where the bankrupt had submitted to the jurisdiction of the Russian court and fully engaged in the bankruptcy process with legal representation; and (c) the applicant should be joined to the Eurasia Proceedings so the applicant could make a claim to the ownership of the shares to aid the purpose of getting in and distributing the bankruptcy assets. 

The court, therefore, granted the application for recognition. 

Vesnin v Queeld Ventures Ltd [2025] EWHC 104 (Ch)

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