Russia's number two bank VTB will pursue the new owners of assets acquired with loans granted by Bank of Moscow which have not been paid back, or which are held as collateral against previously granted loans, Bank of Moscow said in a statement on Thursday.
VTB, which owns a 46.48 percent stake in Bank of Moscow, says it will pursue such assets regardless of the circumstances of their acquisition, Bank of Moscow said.
"Bank of Moscow has been informed of current attempts to sell assets acquired with loans issued by Bank of Moscow, or which are collateral on loans previously granted by the bank," it said in a statement warning potential buyers of the risks in acquiring the assets.
A Bank of Moscow official told RIA Novosti the lender suspected that a former top manager was carrying out such deals.
In March, the Audit Chamber, questioned some loans which were issued without collateral or under a low liquid collateral, following a check of Bank of Moscow's 2010-2009 operations.
The Moscow government sold its stake in Bank of Moscow to VTB after President Dmitry Medvedev fired former Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov last fall over a lack of trust.
Luzhkov ruled the country's wealthiest city for 18 years, during which his wife Yelena Baturina became Russia's richest woman with a $2.9 billion fortune earned in the city's construction business.
Former Bank of Moscow President Andrei Borodin, a close ally of Luzhkov, resisted the acquisition of his bank by VTB but in late March finally sold his jointly-owned 20.3 percent interest.
In mid-April, Borodin was suspended from the bank's management due to a criminal probe into a 12.7 billion ruble loan ($455 million) to an obscure real estate company. The police say the money came from the city budget and ended in a personal account belonging to Baturina. Bank of Moscow said it violated no rules when granting the loan.
Last week, Borodin, who is currently in London for what he says is medical treatment, was voted out as president at a Bank of Moscow shareholders' meeting.
On Monday, Audit Chamber Chairman Sergei Stepashin promised to put pressure on Borodin and sue him for $1 billion. Forbes magazine claims Borodin has a fortune of around $1 billion, while other media have reported that he sold his Bank of Moscow stake for around that sum.
MOSCOW, April 28 (RIA Novosti)
