MOSCOW, November 7 - RAPSI, Dmitry Shchitov. An appeals court has upheld a $178.21 million award to Alfa-Bank in its lawsuit against the MosCityGroup (MCG) development company and two foreign firms, the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI) reported on Monday.

The Moscow Commercial Court held for the bank on August 31 in its claim against MCG, Sanovia Enterprises Ltd. and Surinol Trading & Investments Ltd. Meanwhile, the court dismissed MCG's counterclaim to recognize the guarantee period as unfixed.

MCG and two other defendants acted as guarantors for the $167 million loan granted by Alfa-Bank to the Timiryazevskoye company in April 2008.
Timiryazevskoye is the third party in the case.

The bank initially sought $198.36 million, but the claim was later reduced. The bank's lawyer said the debtor repaid the loan interest in March.

The defendants earlier said the lawsuit accounts for the same debt claimed by the bank in another case. The defendants' lawyer referred to the Moscow Commercial Court's February decision to award Alfa-Bank $198.365 million in its lawsuit against MCG subsidiaries Estafeta and Timiryazevskoye, including $167 million in principal debt.

The claim related to the loan agreement signed between the bank and Timiryazevskoye in April 2008. The loan was scheduled to mature in April 2009. Estafeta was a guarantor for the loan. The defendants claim the bank's present lawsuit is related to the same loan agreement.

MCG was founded in 2006. Its project portfolio is 7 million square meters.