Court officials and police seized further parts of a Russian-American company's quarters in the absence of its German president -- at the instigation of President Boris Yeltsin's Procurement Office.
Petrogradsky District Court bailiff Lydia Barkanova arrived at the four-building dacha complex on Kamenny Ostrov (Stone Island) early last Wednesday morning, with eight police officers and number of other bailiffs.
After four hours of intense talks with US Consulate security officer Gustavo Mehija, Ms Barkanova allowed KOC security time to gather their belongings and vacate the building that had been used as a residence by KOC security president Franz Sedelmayer.
It was the second time since last October that bailiffs have seized premises leased by Kamenny Ostrov Joint Stock Company (KOJSC) and affiliated firms.
At issue is a complex of four buildings located on the city's prestigious Kamenny Ostrov which, according to presidential decree #633, is to be transferred to the presidential administration -- despite KOJSC claims to have the agreement of the city authorities to use it until the year 2016.
KOJSC president Franz Sedelmayer, his wife and 15-month old son were absent from the building, their home, because they had returned to Germany for the funeral of Mr Sedelmayer's grandmother, who died of cancer, KOJSC defense attorney Pavel Ignatiev said.
Mr Sedelmayer's absence had resulted in a January 19 court hearing about an earlier seizure of KOJSC facilities being postponed until February 8. It is understood that last week's seizure took place using a still valid court order dating back to October.
Mr Ignatiev said that authorities had no right to seize the building seized last week until after the February 8 hearing.
Mr Ignatiev and KOJSC spokesman Paul Leonard said court officials, on discovering that Mr Sedelmayer and family were out of town, moved in rapidly to grab the house, despite their own court's decision to postpone a final decision until February 8.
"This case is a vivid reminder of how the Russian justice system is dependent on state influence," Mr Leonard said.
KOC security representatives said last week they intended to continue working out of the remaining unsealed floor in a neighboring building and a new site their company is now renovating.