The former founder of freight carrier Polet Airlines, Anatoly Karpov, has been denied by law to exit Russia. An arbitration court has enacted this restriction due to outstanding payments to the amount of €3 million by Karpov.

In December of 2016, the Arbitration Court of the Voronezh Region, located 500 kilometers southeast of Moscow, had declared the owner of former Polet Airlines of being personally insolvent. This
decision follows the bankruptcy of the Karpov-owned freight carrier in December of 2014 due to excessive debts. According to sources close to the case, prior to shutting their doors, loss-making
Polet owed creditors €8.12 million without any perspective to ever pay the liabilities back.
High debts broke Polet’s neck
This judges’ decision was preceded by a supervision of Polet’s financial situation by Voronezh’s Arbitration Court due to outstanding lease rates payable to the Ilyushin Finance Corporation to
the amount of €2.3 million. As subsequent outcome, the Russian Aviation Authority Rosaviazija, suspended the airline's AOC and finally withdrew it in early April of 2015 for good.

Creditors demand Karpov sell his property in order to be compensated
Meanwhile, the creditors have turned down plans to restructure Karpov’s debts. Instead, they appealed to the Voronezh Arbitration Court for recognition of the debtor’s insolvency, a demand that
was now approved by the Court. In a further judicial move the creditors require that the judges shall force Karpov to sell his private property in order to indemnify them. Until this has been
decided by the court, former Polet-owner Anatoly Karpov is forbidden to leave Russian territory.
The 1988 founded carrier took to the air with an Antonov AN-30A which could carry both passengers and cargo consignments. In the following years the fleet was continuously expanded, consisting of
16 aircraft in 2013, among them 4 big AN-124 freighters.
Polet’s main business was international cargo flights with focus on heavy and outsized items. The airline was also licensed from the Russian space agency Roskosmos for the transport of satellites
and rockets to the launching site in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
Heiner Siegmund
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