Russian Green Tycoon Mulls Suing His Ex-Bank Over Lost $57M

MOSCOW, February 6 (RIA Novosti) – A billionaire environmentalist and former lawmaker is considering suing a bank he formerly owned and had its license revoked earlier this month, his office said Thursday.

Gleb Fetisov’s office said the collapse of My Bank has cost him more than 2 billion rubles ($57 million).

My Bank had its license revoked Friday over failure to honor credit obligations and false reporting. Russian finance officials said 90 percent of the lender’s assets had been siphoned away.

Fetisov sold My Bank in December to a group of individuals reportedly close to the bank’s chairman, Mikhail Miriskom. The price for the sale has not been made public.

The transaction took place shortly after reports that clients at the mid-size bank were having difficulty withdrawing money. My Bank, which had about 9.6 billion rubles’ worth ($276 million) of retail deposits, then forbade the withdrawal of money or the opening of new accounts.

My Bank’s problems were present long before Fetisov exited the bank’s owning structure, central bank Deputy Chairman Mikhail Sukhov said Friday.

My Bank became the latest victim of a banking sector purge orchestrated by central bank head Elvira Nabiullina since June that has seen 34 of Russia’s approximately 850 banks stripped of their license.

Fetisov, 47, is the chairman of Green Alliance People’s Party and sat in 2001-2009 on the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament.

He made a fortune in the banking industry. Forbes Russia last year estimated his assets at $1.9 billion.