“Bankrupt slander” — Anna Volynets’s comment for New Prospect
Legitimate judicial debt collection mechanisms are often used to extort and cause reputational harm, as well as lead to the disclosure of personal data. It is impossible to protect yourself from such abuses, but you can try to recover compensation for image losses, lawyers say.
The current legislation provides for simplified procedures for the collection of so-called undisputed debts (most often for taxes, loans and borrowings, utilities and other payments). Up to 85% of civil and 23% of arbitration cases are resolved by issuing a court order, that is, without calling the parties and evaluating possible objections from the defendant.
Anna Volynets, head of projects at the Prime Advice, notes that there is no direct ban on the publication of a notification by a person who does not have an "overdue" debt.
However, as a general rule, it is possible to file for bankruptcy only after the entry into force of a court decision on the recovery of funds from the debtor. And, therefore, in the absence of a court decision, the publication of the creditor is, in fact, unreliable. The company in respect of which such a notification was published on the Federal Resource has the right to file claims for the protection of business reputation and compensation for damage caused. However, the proof process will be quite complicated. In particular, you will need to confirm that, upon learning about a possible bankruptcy, the partners refused to work and so on,
— the expert believes.