[8] In 2009, a Russian court ruled that the acquisition of Western Terminal by Sevzapalyans, believed to be controlled by the Bank of St Petersburg, was illegal.
Arkhangelsky was alleged by the Russian authorities to have laundered 56.5 million roubles fraudulently acquired from Morskoi Aktsionerni Bank (MAB).
[11] From France, Arkhangelsky mounted a legal counteroffensive, claiming that he was a victim of a campaign to ruin him orchestrated by the ex-Mayor of St Petersburg, Valentina Matvienko.
[2][12] He argued that the Bank St Petersburg refused to allow OMG to restructure its debts with the deliberate intention of bankrupting it and taking control of its assets.
[11] In August 2011, he issued a writ of summons in the District Court of Nicosia, Cyprus, against “three shadowy Cypriot companies”, which he claimed were set up exclusively for the purpose of stealing his assets for the benefit of a "group of conspirators", which "probably" included the ex-Mayor of St. Petersburg's and the ex-Chief of Police.