MOSCOW, June 27 (RAPSI) - The Ninth Commercial Appeals Court upheld a decision of the first-instance court granting the recovery by Investbank of  €11.1 million from Latvia's Baltijas Aviacijas Sistemas (BAS), court officials told RAPSI. 

The court therefore dismissed BAS and Air Baltic Corporation appeals.

On November 9, 2012, the Moscow Commercial Court ruled to exact €2.3 million in favor of Investbank. This July, it will continue to examine Investbank lawsuits to the Air Baltic Corporation on exacting €11.1 million and €2.3 million.

In 2011, the bank signed loan agreements worth €2.1 million and €9.9 million with BAS.

The first loan was set to mature on July 4, 2012, and the second on June 29, 2012. The guarantor was Air Baltic. BAS agreed to pay monthly interest, but the bank went to court, seeking early repayment after the payments stopped in November 2011.

Earlier, Air Baltic alleged that the surety contracts in Investbank's case against the airline had been forged. The airline said an internal audit had been carried out, and that no contracts identifying Air Baltic as a loan guarantor to BAS had been located.

Latvijas Krajbanka, a third party to the case, said that it had pledged for the loans, and that the liabilities under the loan agreements had already been fulfilled.

The Latvian bank's lawyer stated that Investbank withdrew over $72 million and €10 million from its corresponding accounts on November 25, 2011.

The bank asked Investbank why the funds had been withdrawn but received no reply.

The bank thus appealed to the Bank of Russia, which said the funds were withdrawn to fulfill security agreements that possibly included the agreements with Air Baltic.

The plaintiff's representative claimed that the funds could not have been withdrawn in November 2011 because the loan was not set to mature until summer 2012.