Draft order on selling UGC will be submitted to govt this week - Russian deputy finance minister

MOSCOW. April 16 (Interfax) - The draft order on the sale of the stake in Uzhuralzoloto Group (UGC) that was transferred to the state by court decision will be submitted to the government this week, and the sale itself may take place in May, Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev told reporters.

The document will be issued promptly, as it has already been agreed upon with all interested parties, Moiseyev said.

"We won't have time in April [to hold the auction]. Now, I think we will submit the draft government order this week. The order provides for an accelerated procedure, so I think we will still go ahead [with the sale] in May," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Moscow Exchange Forum.

In July last year, a court in Chelyabinsk satisfied the Prosecutor General's Office's claim to recover the stake of Konstantin Strukov in UGC and UGC Management Company as well as stakes in a number of companies associated with him to state revenue, due to the corrupt origin of the business. In total, 67.25% of UGC and 100% of the management company were transferred to the ownership of the Federal Property Agency (Rosimushchestvo).

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at the end of February that the asset could be put up for auction in the coming weeks. Moiseyev had earlier expressed hope that the sale could take place as early as March. Subsequently, Rosimushchestvo said that April was the new target for the auction to take place.

All share packages seized from Strukov by court decision will be offered in a single lot, except for certain agricultural companies which will be sold separately, Moiseyev said on Thursday.

A presidential decree on an accelerated privatization procedure was issued in September last year, and it granted PSB Bank the function of organizing the sale of state assets.