#6005
#12
gazeta.ru
January 3, 2002
New Year Brings No Reconciliation to TV-6 Shareholders
The New Year Holidays were marked by a new series of mutual attacks between the management of the TV6 television company and the minority shareholder Lukoil-Garant. Lukoil-Garant, owned by Russia’s oil major Lukoil is believed to be acting by orders of the authorities and the TV-6 is now sheltering the team of journalists forced to leave what was once the only independent national broadcasting network – the NTV.
On Thursday, January 3, the Moscow Arbitration Court plans to examine a claim filed by Lukoil-Garant to discharge Yevgeniy Kiselev from the post of the general director of TV6.
Yevgeniy Kiselev’s team came to the TV-6 channel in spring 2001 at the invitation of Boris Berezovsky, who is said to control 75% stake in the TV-6, whereas Moscow government holds 10% and Lukoil-Garant, Russian oil major’s private pension fund owns 15%.
Berezovsky has gained controversial reputation: this one-time Kremlin insider is believed to mastermind the creation of Russia’s leading Unity party and victorious election campaign for President Putin. However, currently Berezovsky is out of grace and wanted by Russian prosecutors on fraud and money-laundering charges. Staying abroad, the tycoon has launched a large-scale media and political campaign criticizing the authorities and first of all President Putin and seeking to regain influence and, probably take revenge for what had happened.
The TV-6 channel with Kiselev’s team of most professional journalists in Russia is sure Berezovsky’s main weapon in this struggle. The weapon, which he may lose now because of the Lukoil-Garant’s relentless attacks.
Lukoil-Garant has asked the court to invalidate the decision of the extraordinary meeting of MNVK (Moscow Independent Broadcasting Corporation – the company that broadcasts on the channel) shareholders held on May 14, 2001. At that meeting Yevgeniy Kiselev was elected director general after his dismissal from the similar position by new owners of NTV.
Lukoil claims Yevgeniy Kiselev was elected in violation of the company’s charter and Russian legislation on joint stock companies.
The suit was filed by Lukoil-Garant in June 2001. However, proceedings were put on hold pending the ruling on the related case. As a reminder, at the same time Lukoil demanded closure of the company due to poor financial performance.
And on the first working day of January the Arbitration Court of Moscow resumed proceedings. That happened almost immediately, after on Saturday, December 29 the Federal Arbitration Court of Russia reviewed and upheld TV6’s protest against the ruling by the Moscow Arbitration Court ordering liquidation of the company.
Thus, the Federal Arbitration Court satisfied the claim and annulled the rulings passed earlier by the courts of the 1st and 2nd instances and sent the case back to the Moscow Arbitration Court for further consideration.
As a reminder, the Arbitration Court of Moscow on September 27 satisfied Lukoil-Garant’s suit and ordered the liquidation of the company.
On November 26 the appellate instance of the Moscow Arbitration Court left the ruling in force, whereupon TV6 lawyers took the matter to the Federal Arbitration Court.
Throughout the months of litigation the parties in a conflict incessantly attacked each other in press.
TV6 team, and, of course the major owner of the channel insisted that Lukoil’s moves to close the company were a part of the Kremlin-orchestrated attack on the freedom of press.
Lukoil said it considered the dispute to be purely of economic nature, claiming there was no politics behind it.
On Saturday, after the Federal Arbitration Court passed its ruling, Yevgeniy Kiselev said in an interview with Ekho Moskvy radio station that he was very satisfied. He also expressed confidence that there was no need for the company to worry about the outcome of further rulings.
A day later, speaking in his Itogi programme on TV6 Kiselev praised the judges of the Federal Arbitration Court for not succumbing to the pressure from the authorities. “And I know that the pressure was very strong,” Kiselev said.
On his part, commenting on Saturday ruling Boris Berezovsky told Ekho Moskvy that in his opinion for the fist time in the past two years the authorities have faltered and will now have to take the public opinion into account.
Back to the Top Next Article
- Back to the Top -