MOSCOW, May 28 (RAPSI) – Deutsche Bank has withdrawn a $500 million lawsuit against three companies controlled by Valars Group that used to be one of Russia’s largest agricultural producers and grain traders, according to court records.

Therefore, the case was closed  by the Rostov Regional Commercial Court.

On March 12, the 15th Commercial Court of Appeals upheld an appeal filed by Deutsche Bank and sent the lawsuit back to the lower instance court for review.

The plaintiff asked the court to collect $198.1 mln from Agrofirma Razdolye and Rassvet, and $298.1 mln from Razvilenskoye. Earlier, the defendants filed a motion that the lawsuit be postponed since the relevant documents had not been signed by duly authorized representatives.

Last summer, the bank filed about a dozen lawsuits at the commercial courts in the Rostov Region and the Stavropol Territory seeking several billion dollars in debt from the Valars Group affiliates.

Also, last April, a Rostov court dismissed three Deutsche Bank lawsuits for some $700 million from companies after the bank dropped the claims against Zarya ($298.2 mln), Primorsky ($198.1 mln) and Stepnoi ($198.1 mln).

Valars Group was created in 2006 and split into agricultural holding company Valinor and trader Valars in 2011. Its main beneficiary was Cyprus-registered Valars Management Limited. At the time of its reorganization in July 2011, 51 percent of Valars Management Limited belonged to businessman Kirill Podolsky and a group of top managers at Valars.