MOSCOW, February 26 (RAPSI) – A bankruptcy abuse prevention bill designed to amend the federal law on insolvency (bankruptcy) and the Administrative Offences Code has been submitted to the State Duma. The bill was drafted by a group of deputies led by Sergei Gavrilov, Head of the State Duma Committee on Property (Communist Party).

Under the bill, bankruptcy receivers and financial liability authorities can file a suit with a commercial court to declare a debtor bankrupt if said debtor has not honored his/her obligations for three months.

The debtors who file for bankruptcy may not choose a bankruptcy receiver. In this case, a bankruptcy receiver shall be suggested by a self-regulatory organization chosen by the commercial court. Creditors whose claims amount to at least 10% of the total registered claims or exceed 1 million rubles ($28,110) can challenge the debtor’s transactions.

Amendments to the Administrative Offences Code provide for increasing fines for arbitration managers and the debtor’s officials. They also introduce administrative liability for persons hired by the manager, namely the registrar, the auction organizer and the online trading platform operator.