Armavia suspends bankruptcy procedure

 Armavia national air carrier of Armenia has suspended the bankruptcy procedure and started paying its debts to the lenders, the company's press service reports.    
The source says that the debts to both the employees and the lenders are gradually being redeemed. The debts to some banks have already been repaid. The company does not specify the total amount of the debts and the repayment schedule. The company does not report whether Armavia is going to return to the air service market after repaying all its debts and to participate in the tenders. Armavia launched the bankruptcy procedure on 1 April 2013 and stopped its flights.   

In the meantime, the Armenian State Revenue Committee applied to the Administrative Court of Armenia to impose 7,035 bln AMD on Armavia in favor of the state budget, the Committee's press service told ArmInfo. The preliminary court sessions took place on June 14 and July 4. The next session is scheduled for July 30.   
Armavia was earlier reported to owe 24.2 bln AMD (about $58 mln) to the state budget of Armenia, including 6.9 bln in taxes, and 17.3 bln in fines. The company was founded in 1996. It belongs to President of MIKA Limited Mikhail Bagdasarov, one of the largest businessmen of Armenia. Armavia made over 100 flights weekly to over 40 destinations. (As of July 29, the Central Bank's AMD/USD exchange rate was 410.30 AMD/1 USD).