MOSCOW. Feb 17 (Interfax-AVN) - The conflict between the Degtyaryev defense plant and the MDM financial group cannot be settled on short notice, Alexander Nozdrachev, director general of the Russian Conventional Weapons Agency, said on Tuesday.
"It is impossible to say that the conflict between the Degtyaryev plant and the Rinako Company, operating as part of the MDM financial group, on returning 43% of shares of the enterprise, will be settled in the near future: Russian legislation still has a number of loopholes, which hinder the process," Nozdrachev said at a news conference at the Interfax main office.
According to him, the conflict consists in the fact that having purchased 43% of the plant's shares the Rinako Company has not defined its stance yet: whether it wants to keep the shares or return its money. The shares have been suspended for the duration of the legal suit. As a result the plant has lost a total of USD40m of its financial assets, while direct damage has already exceeded one third of this figure.
"I believe that the problem will be solved as befits: state authorities are paying close attention to the case, the Prosecutor General's Office has filed a number of criminal fraud and forgery suits against the parties concerned, which used legal civil assets for deriving illegal profits, while the belligerent sides are looking for a mutually acceptable settlement in a court of law," Nozdrachev said.
The Degtyarev plant located in Kovrov, the Vladimir region, manufactures the 12.7-mm Kord machine- gun, the 30-mm GSh-30 two- barrel cannon, the 3UBK20 round with the 9M119M missile, the Igla- S man-portable anti-aircraft missile system, various equipment for the atomic energy industry, motorbikes, batteries, etc.