Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Jan. 24 / Trend D.Azizov /
The court will appoint an interim manager to the company and introduce judicial supervision, a source in the Commercial Court told Trend.
According to the agency interlocutor, the Tashkent Commercial Court considered the Uzdunrobita's (MTS subsidiary in Uzbekistan) statement on bankruptcy in connection with the bank's failure to pay financial claims.
A register of Uzdunrobita's debts will be made and a meeting of creditors will be held within a month.
As reported last week, Uzdunrobita filed a statement on its bankruptcy to the Tashkent Commercial Court.
A statement on bankruptcy was filed in connection with inability to perform community obligations. According to the sentence of Tashkent City Criminal Court dated September 17, 2012 and the verdict of the appeal board of the Tashkent Court as of November 8, 2012, the amount of financial claims to Uzdunrobita was determined at $ 600 million.
According to the legislation of Uzbekistan, bankruptcy case has to be considered within three months after acceptance of the statement on bankruptcy. In exceptional cases, consideration of the bankruptcy case may be extended for a period of two months.
In June last year, Uzbek regulatory agencies started audition on the activities of Uzdunrobita, the largest mobile operator in the country.
In particular, the Prosecutor General's Office authorized the seizure of original documents and the inventory and mass arrests and questioning of employees were carried out. At the request of state communications inspection Uzdunrobita ceased its activity on the territory of Uzbekistan.
In August, Tashkent Economic Court supported the Uzbek Communications and Informatization Agency's request to revoke all licenses of Uzdunrobita, accusing the company of operating its branches without licenses.
In September Tashkent City Criminal Court sentenced four Uzdunrobita managers to fines and correctional work, and took a decision to pass all property of Uzdunrobita to the state.
In November the board of appeals of Tashkent Criminal Court partially granted Uzdunrobita's complaint, reversing the lower court's decision on transfer of its assets to the state.
The board determined the amount of financial claims to Uzdunrobita at $ 600 million with the possibility to pay this amount in installments over a period of eight months.
The total amount of claims against the company determined by Prosecutor General's Office, competition authorities, Communications and Informatization Agency and the tax authorities surpasses a billion dollars, which equals the amount of MTS investments in the development of business in Uzbekistan.
Currently, most of the company's employees have been dismissed. However, the company has kept technical staff to maintain the equipment in working order.
