The man owed 21.4 million rubles
In Russia, for the first time, the only housing was seized from a bankrupt citizen. A resident of Yekaterinburg, Arkady Potoroch, who owed creditors 21.4 million rubles, lost his real estate. At the auction, his five-room apartment with an area of almost 150 square meters went under the hammer for 8.25 million rubles.
As Kommersant writes, back in 2018, Potorochin was declared bankrupt. The court seized the apartment from the bankrupt estate since it was his only home. In 2019, the dispute between the debtor and creditors was sent for new consideration. Lenders offered a deal: they take a five-room apartment in exchange for a one-room apartment with an area of 32 square meters. The court considered that such an apartment was “reasonably sufficient to meet constitutionally significant housing needs for one person.” At the time of the trial, the debtor was single, had no minor children and other dependents. The debtor's lawyers were unable to resist this decision, and in June 2021 the apartment was sold at auction.
Experts told the publication that such a precedent in court is an attempt to bypass a gap in legislation. It turns out that a person with huge debts can have expensive real estate, which is their only home.
On the eve of the FreshStart service, it was predicted that in 2021 the number of bankrupt citizens will reach 178.5 thousand people. analysts.