OREANDA-NEWS. The A1 Investment Company, a member of the Alfa Group Consortium, and the IBRC bank, belonging to the Republic of Ireland, held a press conference dedicated to the establishment of a joint venture aimed at recovering loans secured by real estate portfolio in Russia and Ukraine. Rights of claim to 12 real estate objects in Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Ufa, Kazan and other Russian cities as well as in Kiev have been transferred to the joint venture. These objects were used as security against loans in the amount over USD 500 mln, issued to Quinn Group.

Philip McDonagh, Irish Ambassador to the Russian Federation, said, "The lawful return of these assets to the Irish people is an extremely important issue for the Government of Ireland. For this purpose, the nationalized bank IBRC has established a joint venture with the Russian company Alfa Group. Partnership with Russia and such a renowned company as A1 appears to be the best solution. I really hope that the commercial agreement concluded by the bank and A1 will be pervaded with this very spirit of practical cooperation and they will succeed at declaring rights of various objects to the benefit of the Irish state."

Alexey Kuzmichev, Chairman of A1 Advisory Committee, said, "A1 is an experienced private Company that has been working on the market for over 20 years and has a vast experience of court and out-of-court settlement of conflicts, always in accordance with the law. In this case we are working in several jurisdictions to achieve the required result, i.e. the full satisfaction of the requirements on return of property to its rightful owners."

According to an agreement signed in February 2013, governing the relations between IBRC and A1, the rights of claim on the loans shall be assigned to A1 which will recover these utilizing its legal expertise in the Russian Federation and Ukraine and will subsequently conduct the sale of said assets. Commenting on the details of the agreement achieved, Mikhail Khabarov, the President of A1, noted that A1’s fee would comprise 25 to 30% of the cost of assets recovered and sold later on. Mr. Khabarov also added that legal fees and other expenses on the project related to the recovery of debt from Quinn Group would be incurred by A1.

Andrew O'Leary, representative of KPMG, IBRC’s liquidation manager, who was also present at the press conference, confirmed that the process of external management introduced at the beginning of 2013 does not influence the agreements signed with A1 on behalf of IBRC. He specified that the bank’s liquidation would be finished only after the final assessment and sale of all assets, including objects transferred to the joint venture with A1.

Quinn Group, once one of the most successful diversified companies in Ireland, created by the businessman Sean Quinn and owned by his family, earlier received loans, secured by real estate in Russia and Ukraine, from Anglo Irish Bank in the amount USD 500 mln and failed to pay them back. In spring 2011 the company’s real estate assets were transferred to Anglo Irish Bank, which also found itself in a crisis situation and was nationalized and restructured into a new bank – the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC). This subsidiary of the Republic of Ireland applied to A1’s managerial and legal expertise to restore its lawful rights to these problem assets.