Baikal saga goes on with the airline's owner, the state, joining in

Published: 9/22/1999

Further details are emerging of the Baikal Airlines ‘sale" of three Il-76s to East Line (www.concise.org 10th August 1999). According to reports in the local press in Irkutsk, the Vostochno-Sibirsky Prosecutor's Department is showing a keen interest in the case, given that the airline is 71.47% state owned and the alleged unauthorised sale of assets at knockdown prices was contrary to its interests. Appearing in the Moscow Arbitration Court, where East Line is registered, the Vostochno-Sibirsky Transport Prosecutor demanded that the transaction be declared invalid. In Irkutsk, after initially arresting the aircraft, the Irkutsk Arbitration Court decided that East Line did not prove ownership and the aircraft was therefore released to Baikal on July 30,1999. Reports from within Baikal Airlines suggest that the former Director General of AO Baikal, Vladimir Kovalenko, who is accused of being responsible for the illegal sale, has been in Moscow trying to persuade East Line to withdraw its claim. The case is due to be reconsidered by the Irkutsk Arbitration Court later in September.

Article ID: 892