MOSCOW, October 18 - RAPSI. The Moscow Commercial Court will hear on December 3 the validity of an application for Uniastrum Leasing's bankruptcy, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com) on Thursday.

The application was lodged by Soglasiye Stroyinvest.

In an earlier statement, Uniasrtum Bank said the bankruptcy application is unrelated to the company's financial status, and aims to manipulate public opinion using paralegal methods.

According to the bank, Soglasiye Stroyinvest is a bankrupt debtor of Uniastrum Leasing.

The court has estimated the company's debt to Uniastrum Leasing at 56.9 million rubles ($1.8 million), out of its total debt of 346.9 million rubles ($11.3 million).

According to Uniastrum, the application filed by Soglasiye Stroyinvest is surprising as the bank had not been issued any claims or writs of execution as required by law.

Established in 2003, Uniastrum Leasing has been part of the Bank of Cyprus group since 2008. Its balance sheet total amounted to 890 million rubles ($29 million) as of July 1, and its six-month sales profit in 2012 reached over 24 million rubles ($779,000).