MOSCOW, September 27 – RAPSI. The Moscow District Federal Commercial Court upheld a lower court's ruling against a lawsuit by Ametech, producer of artillery weapons, to recover $82.9 million from Rosoboronexport, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com) on Thursday.

The court turned down Ametech's appeal against the Moscow Commercial Court’s March 5 decision not to collect 2.58 billion rubles ($82.9 million) from the export intermediary. The decision came into effect in June. The court ruled against the plaintiff's appeal on Thursday. 

Ametech Chief Engineer Vladimir Vishnevsky told RAPSI that the company was unable to complete a 2001 order from a foreign customer on schedule due to a lack of financing. When Rosoboronexport provided the necessary funds, it was too late to fulfill the order.
Ametech sought to recover 1.63 billion rubles ($55.63 million) from the arms dealer in lost profit, as the order would have brought Ametech $50 million.

It also demanded 120 million rubles ($4.1 million) in penalties for "non-production financing," which extended the time for the order fulfillment by six years.

Ametech was unable to pay the company employees for two years, Vishnevsky added.
As a result, Ametech sought partial compensation amounting to 16 million rubles ($546,150). He noted that its activities have not been financed since May 2009.

The defendant refused to meet the claims, stating that the plaintiff misunderstood their contractual relations. Ametech sought the funds from Rosoboronexport, although it only acted as an intermediary between the customer and the contractor, who was responsible for the contract's implementation, the defendant added.

According to the defendant, the statute of limitations expired in 2007, as the Ametech CEO said the company's rights had been violated in 2004. The plaintiff claimed the violations began two years ago.

Ametech is a research and engineering conglomerate and laser-guided artillery weapons manufacturer.

Rosoboronexport is a global arms market leader. Rosoboronexport is the only Russian government importer and exporter of defense and dual purpose products, technology and services. It deals with 80 percent of the country's military equipment exports.