KOMMERSANT. The Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) that is conducting an inspection at the Bank of Moscow intends to apply to the Bank of Russia and ask whether or not it is reasonable to inspect the lending institution’s former subsidiary, Russian National Commercial Bank. This bank is run by former executives of Mint Yard Capital that, according to unofficial information, managed non-core assets of the former Bank of Moscow CEO Andrey Borodin. DIA believes that tens of billions of rubles could have been withdrawn from the Bank of Moscow through bank accounts at Russian National Commercial Bank, business daily Kommersant writes.
DIA first deputy general director Valery Miroshnikov told the newspaper that his agency intends to request CBR to assess the participation of Russian National Commercial Bank in shady deals and asset withdrawal from the parent bank, the Bank of Moscow. “We are conducting an inspection at the Bank of Moscow and in the next few days we’ll forward a letter for the Bank of Russia to inspect Russian National Commercial Bank as a bank that opened accounts for special companies that raised credits from the Bank of Moscow," he specified. In line with the act of inspection of the Bank of Moscow by CBR itself (the inspection ended in early July), as of June 1, 2011 funds lent to 92 special borrowers topped Rub 100 bln. In addition, the Bank of Russia pointed out that these deals involve Russian National Commercial Bank that was controlled by the Bank of Moscow (50.1%) during the peak of payments (2010).
However, in a month after the dismissal of Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov and shortly before VTB Bank showed interest in buying the Bank of Moscow, the latter pulled out of its subsidiary, selling the equity stake to its shareholders. Not a single shareholder holds a stake exceeding 20% and this means deals were transacted without approval of CBR.
