BusinessDay - Worlds? biggest AK 47 manufacturer is bankrupt
Izhmash, the biggest maker of Kalashnikov assault rifles, faces bankruptcy over unpaid debts.
The arbitration court in the Russian region of Udmurtia, where Izhmash is based, will consider a bankruptcy lawsuit filed by creditor OOO Gremikha on October 7th. Izhmash owes Gremikha more than $13 million, according to Izhmash’s Web site.
Izhmash, where Mikhail Kalashnikov, 89, invented the AK-47 in the 1940s, is a unit of Russian Technologies Corporation, a state holding company with mining, arms and automotive assets.
“A special commission at Russian Technologies is currently reviewing the financial situation of Izhmash and will issue a press release when its work is finished,” Russian Technologies spokesman Valery Kartavtsev said by phone in Moscow, declining to elaborate. Alexander Baditsa, a spokesman for Izhmash, declined to comment.