A Belarusian stopped paying for his mortgage in Crimea back in 2014. And the court simply gave him the apartment.
Supposedly, the bank didn't want to operate in occupied Crimea, which means it won't receive the money.
In the Gagarin District Court of Sevastopol, a lawsuit was filed between Belarusian citizen Kirill Ryzhenkov and Raiffeisen Bank.
Before 2014, the Belarusian bought an apartment in Sevastopol and took out a $23,000 loan at 12.5% annual interest from Raiffeisen Bank for it. After 2014, the bank ceased operations on the peninsula, the branch closed — and the loan simply hung in limbo.
After ten years of silence, the Belarusian decided to act first. He went to court and asked for the apartment to be recognized as his property — arguing that if the bank missed the three-year statute of limitations for debt collection, then the issue resolved itself.
The court fully agreed: if the bank did not exercise its right to continue operations in Russia, then it has no right to receive any money. Ryzhenkov can use the apartment as he wishes.
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