MOSCOW, November 17 - RAPSI, Alyona Yegorova. A federal commercial court will hear on December 1 a cassation appeal filed by Istok's 10 subsidiaries against a $20 million award in favor of UniCredit Bank against ten Istok subsidiaries, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI) on Thursday.

Istok is a major Russian alcohol beverages producer, and the leader in the Russian sparkling wines market.

On April 28, the court sided with the bank in its lawsuit against the 10 subsidiaries.

Earlier, UniCredit told RAPSI that all the defendants acted as co-guarantors under the bank's loan to Istok. Court records show that Unicredit issued the loan on April 2, 2008. The parent company has participated in the proceedings as a third party.

The Commercial Court of North Ossetia Republic put Istok into administration on October 28, 201. The proceedings are currently suspended until the litigation over the validity of Istok's creditors meeting is completed.