The Prosecutor General’s office demands from the state to return “Music” from private hands

The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation filed a lawsuit in the Perovsky Court of Moscow with a demand to confiscate the music publishing house “Music” and legal entities associated with it: Gamma-Press LLC, Music Publishing House P. Jurgenson LLC and Music Publishing House LLC owned by US citizen Mark Silberkvit and his relatives.

The lawsuit was initiated by the Deputy Prosecutor General on behalf of the head of the Prosecutor General’s Office Igor Krasnov. The audit revealed that Silberquit, who held the post of director of the state publishing house, in 2003-2004 used fictitious legal entities to seize and appropriate a unique music library of the publishing house, formed over more than 100 years. He set up a sham auction and then set a zero book value for the library, digitized it and restricted free access to it, leaving the educational community and classical music performers dependent on the publishing house.

The Prosecutor General’s Office claims that the actions of Silberkvit and his partners establish corrupt ties, damage the national economy and law and order. As interim measures, prosecutors are demanding the arrest of the publishing house’s property, the banning of intellectual property transactions by Silberkvitam and Jurgenson, and the restriction of their departure from Russia. According to the Prosecutor’s office, the actions of the defendants are “illegal acquisition of personal wealth and damage democratic institutions, sustainable development, national economy and the rule of law.”