MOSCOW, August 16 (RAPSI) – The Moscow Commercial Court handed down a judgment Friday in favor of Russian Investbank in its EUR 11.1 million claim against Latvian Air Baltic Corporation (airBaltic), RAPSI learnt in the courtroom.

The dispute arose out of loan agreements – worth €2.1 million and €9.9 million – which the bank had signed with Latvia's Baltijas Aviacijas Sistemas (BAS) in 2011. The first loan was set to mature on July 4, 2012, and the second on June 29, 2012. AirBaltic was the loan guarantor. BAS agreed to pay monthly interest, but the bank went to court, seeking early repayment after the payments stopped in November 2011.

AirBaltic alleged that it had not entered into any guarantee agreements. The company said an internal audit had been carried out, and no contracts identifying Air Baltic as a loan guarantor to BAS had been located. Besides, representative of the company claimed that it never received any notifications about its obligations.

On Friday airBaltic filed an application seeking the recusal of the presiding judge, which was rejected.

Investbank has been already awarded EUR 13.5 million in its dispute with BAS.