Sberbank of Russia’s Ural branch voiced its suspicions regarding Omega Group Holding: the bank claims the company is trying to avoid paying off the loans Sberbank gave to OOO Omega Spirits Group, OOO Noviye Restorany, Magnum strong drinks chain store, OOO Omega Opt Trading, and OOO Zolotoy Reserve, Sberbank’s recent release states.

Omega Group enterprises have been using Sberbank’s loans since 2004. So far, six loan agreements have been signed with the bank. The first overdue debt issues popped up in April 2010, with the sum of such debts reaching 1.26 billion RUR by June 28, 2010.

Sberbank has already proposed several times that the companies undergo financial recovery procedures.

‘Sberbank has every reason to think that the holding is now seriously trying to prevent the authorities from collecting the debt in question. Prior to signing their contracts of guarantee, the individuals involved handed their personal assets over to some third parties, so there is a threat of it becoming impossible to distinguish between the shares of business that are seen as a bank guarantee and between those that are not. What is more, some of Omega Group enterprises that happen to be the borrowing parties, the guarantors, or the pledgers as far as Sberbank’s loans are concerned are now undergoing bankruptcy procedures, or about to undergo them very soon. Sberbank believes this is being done in order to buy the enterprises’ assets later, and at a much lower price,’ the bank says.