(Bloomberg) -- Russia’s biggest car dealership is considering an initial public offering next year even as a Moscow region court froze its assets worth 12.85 billion rubles ($175 million) related to a criminal case against its former owner. 

The court order, which Rolf is contesting, won’t affect plans for a possible share sale in the second half of 2022, Chief Executive Officer Svetlana Vinogradova said in an interview. 

“The placement of our bonds right after the criminal charges showed us how interesting our company is to investors,” Vinogradova said. “It’s become clear that criminal charges against specific individuals don’t have anything to do with the company or how it operates.”

Rolf’s dealership network in Moscow and St. Petersburg has maintained profitability despite the criminal case announced in 2019 and the Covid-19 pandemic, which hobbled the new car market. Growing used-car sales and income from financing and service have helped keep the company in the green. 

Russian companies have raised about $3.4 billion in IPOs on various exchanges this year, the most in a decade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Rolf’s former owner Sergey Petrov is wanted by Russian authorities for illegally transferring money abroad, and the assets were frozen in November as part of a linked civil case in which the company was named as a co-defendant. 

Moody’s Cut

Petrov said by phone from Vienna that the charges against him are “absurd” and the case is political in nature. In 2011-12, Petrov, while serving as a member of parliament, he openly backed the biggest anti-government protests of President Vladimir Putin’s two-decade rule. 

Rolf is owned by Cyprus-registered Delance Ltd., which is held by Petrov’s family.

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Rolf’s corporate rating and placed it under review after the funds were blocked following the court order. Rolf said in a statement last month that its operations weren’t impacted by the asset freeze and that it expected the block to end quickly. 

Rolf sold more used cars than new ones in January to September 2021 for the first time as parts shortages and distribution delays continue to hinder the automotive industry globally. New car prices have risen 20% in Russia this year, according to Vinogradova. 

“The car deficit isn’t going to end any time soon,” she said, adding it would likely last at least through the first half of 2022. “We understood the risks to new car sales several years ago, so when the pandemic hit, we were ready.”

Vinogradova has been at Rolf for 28 years, rising from a service bureau engineer to head the company since 2017. 

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