Collection through bankruptcy – introduction of the monitoring procedure and receivership

Foreword! If you are now on this page of our website, it means that previous attempts to “knock out” the debt from the debtor by “encashment settlement accounts of debtors”, “cooperating with bailiffs” and “recovering from controlling persons” did not lead to the desired result, but …

Not everything is lost! Bankruptcy is a monitoring procedure and receivership, the next collection tool available to you if the amount of the principal debt is more than 300 thousand rubles, and you are ready to go all the way.

Important point! Before starting the process of collecting debts from foreign firms, no matter what country the debtor is from, through bankruptcy proceedings, one should mega-thoroughly check and evaluate the assets of the debtor for their presence and real value.

Because if the debtor has an “empty” balance sheet or his assets are not enough to satisfy your claims, and the amount of your debt is less than 50% of the total accounts payable, and you are not the first creditor in the case to initiate bankruptcy proceedings, you should not start.

It should also be understood that the process will be “long-term” and costly. In this case, you need to “have” a friend-arbitrator. Otherwise, the chances are minimal!

A bit of obligatory theory.

Observation. Used in bankruptcy cases against debtors. The goal is to ensure the safety of assets. Components of the procedure: analysis of the financial condition, compilation of a register of creditors’ claims, holding the first meeting of the creditors.

Receivership. It is applied in bankruptcy cases to debtors “already bankrupt”. The goal is, let’s say, “sharing in turn”, fair satisfaction of the requirements of all creditors who have declared the existence of such.

Now we act!

• The first step is the same as in the vicarious liability procedure. We publish messages of intent on the fedresurs.ru website, and after 15 calendar days, we go to arbitration to file an application to declare the debtor bankrupt.
• The second step is litigation. The court hearing will raise the question of who will finance the bankruptcy. According to the law, it is paid at the expense of the debtor’s property, if there is none, the first creditor pays by depositing + -250 thousand rubles to the court’s deposit account (the second option is to provide written guarantees of payment).
• The third step – waiting. Observation lasts about 4 months, and after it receivership begin, lasting 6 months. After that, bidding begins – the sale of the debtor’s assets, the money from which is actually used to satisfy the requirements of creditors.

Useful nuances

• At any stage of the bankruptcy procedure, the law gives the parties the right to terminate the proceedings by signing a settlement agreement!
• The controlling persons of the debtor can also be brought to subsidiary liability in the process of bankruptcy proceedings, if there are legal grounds.
• Need to be prepared for surprises from the debtor who wants to establish control over the bankruptcy, for example, the appearance of debt that has arisen, “backdating”.
• The process of collecting debts is already expensive, so you should not save on the help of a lawyer, advice provided on time can help you collect debt faster and without unnecessary expenses.

08.02.2022

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