A preliminary hearing was held in Sverdlovsk Region Arbitration Court today regarding the claim laid by the region’s public prosecution authorities on the legitimacy of purchasing a Mercedes for the needs of Sverdlovsk Region Government’s car park.

The defendants in the case are OOO Stern, Sverdlovsk Region Government Car Park, and the regional State Orders Department. Sverdlovsk Region’s division of Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service was involved in the case as a third party. The case was considered by Justice Marina Toropova.


The claims have remained essentially the same and boil down to the statement that placing a state order for and signing a contract for the delivery of the automobile in question for Sverdlovsk Region’s needs was illegitimate.

Sverdlovsk Region carried out a tender for the purchase of a premium class automobile at the end of 2010. Only one applicant (and the only one who managed to apply) was allowed to take part in the auction. The public prosecution authorities insist that this was a violation of the existing laws.

Nevertheless, the deal went through, with OOO Stern providing the customer with a Мercedes-Benz S 500 4 Matic for 7.78m RUR.

The next court hearing is to be held on August 9, 2011.