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published on the RBC website, the Dynamika group of companies owned by NK Bank owner Viktor Grigoriev, as a result of a closed auction, received 75% minus one share of the Technodinamika holding, which is part of the aviation cluster of the Rostec state corporation. Two sources familiar with the progress of the transaction told RBC about this and confirmed it in Rostec.
(c) Vladislav Shatilo / rbc.ru
According to one of RBC’s interlocutors, companies from a special list approved by a decision of the Rostec board took part in the closed competition. Transaction amount: RUB 13.8 billion. — coincides with the starting price indicated in the tender documentation, the source claimed.
GC "Dynamics" received 462 thousand ordinary registered shares of JSC "Technodinamika" with a par value of 1 thousand rubles. each. Rostec retained a blocking stake of 25% plus one share, as well as the right to a minimum annual dividend of 500 million rubles. for five years (based on the results of 2019 and four subsequent reporting years). The decision on the distribution of profits and dividends based on the results of 2018 will be made by Rostec independently.
Rostec RBC confirmed the information about the competition, but clarified that during the trading the share price was increased to 14 billion rubles, and the amount of mandatory dividends to the state corporation will be at least 505 million rubles. in year. According to the Rostec press service, 27 participants were invited to the closed competition. The procedure was extended three times in order to ensure competitiveness and maximum coverage of market participants, the state corporation emphasized.
Under the terms of the securities purchase and sale agreement, the buyer undertakes to transfer funds within 30 days from the date of signing. The transfer of shares must take place within five working days from the moment funds are received in Rostec’s current account at Novikombank.
“We are attracting a strategic technology investor to the capital of Technodinamika, who will provide not only additional investments in development, but also bring market competencies. This deal is fully consistent with Rostec’s development strategy,” the press service said. As part of the shareholder agreement, which will be concluded at the next stage, the private investor bears certain obligations regarding the implementation of the holding strategy, responsibility for the execution of state defense orders, federal targeted programs, military-technical cooperation, restrictions on the alienation of its stake without the consent of Rostec, as well as restrictions on re-profiling of holding organizations.
RBC sent a request to the Dynamics Group of Companies.
As indicated on the Rostec website, the Technodinamika holding, created in 2009, includes 35 factories and research institutes in the aviation and space industries. These enterprises employ more than 30 thousand people. The general director of the company is Igor Nasenkov.
In 2017, the holding was appointed as a supplier of tail and main landing gear units for the promising Ka-62 helicopter. Technodinamika completed last year with consolidated revenue of 31.5 billion rubles. In the section for investors on the Technodinamika website it is indicated that the company increased its consolidated profit from minus 253.2 million in 2016 to 3.7 billion rubles. in 2017.
"Dynamics" produces components for the aviation industry, aviation simulators, unmanned systems, and is engaged in aircraft maintenance; the group includes over ten enterprises with a total turnover of more than 20 billion rubles. in year.
Who is Viktor Grigoriev
The 59-year-old owner of 90% of NK Bank, Viktor Grigoriev, is a former co-owner of the KASKOL group, which in the 1990s owned shares in enterprises in the aviation and space industries. Among the enterprises in which KASKOL had shares were the Ulan-Ude Aviation and Rostov Helicopter Plants. In 2005, Grigoriev moved to Oboronprom as deputy head of Denis Manturov’s enterprise. At Oboronprom, Grigoriev headed the directorate of helicopter programs and, together with the future Minister of Industry, was involved in the creation of the holding company “Russian Helicopters” (part of Rostec), where KASKOL’s “helicopter” assets were transferred, among other things.
At the beginning of August 2017, the Rostec press service announced that the state corporation and the Dynamika group of companies intend to combine assets to create a national company in the field of development and production of aircraft units. The goals of the association are to enter the foreign market as a supplier of components for leading aircraft manufacturers and “to gain positions in the top 5 global industry leaders,” Rostec explained. It was noted that the company will be created on the basis of the enterprises of the Technodinamika holding and the Dinamika group of companies, which acts as a strategic investor. In total, it is planned to unite more than 50 scientific and industrial organizations within the new structure.
In July 2018, the head of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, announced the state corporation’s plans to sell 75% of Technodinamika. “We will hold a closed competition, during which an investor will be selected. Now we are evaluating a block of shares of 75% minus 1 share, about which we posted a corresponding tender just yesterday,” Chemezov said then.
The structures of banker Viktor Grigoriev bought 75% of the Technodinamika holding, the main Russian manufacturer of aviation equipment, from Rostec for 14 billion rubles.
Dynamics of billions
The Dynamika group of companies, owned by NK Bank owner Viktor Grigoriev, as a result of a closed auction received 75% minus one share of the Technodinamika holding, which is part of the aviation cluster of the Rostec state corporation. Two sources familiar with the progress of the transaction told RBC about this and confirmed it in Rostec.
According to one of RBC’s interlocutors, companies from a special list approved by a decision of the Rostec board took part in the closed competition. Transaction amount: RUB 13.8 billion. — coincides with the starting price indicated in the tender documentation, the source claimed.
GC "Dynamics" received 462 thousand ordinary registered shares of JSC "Technodinamika" with a par value of 1 thousand rubles. each. Rostec retained a blocking stake of 25% plus one share, as well as the right to a minimum annual dividend of 500 million rubles. for five years (based on the results of 2019 and four subsequent reporting years). The decision on the distribution of profits and dividends based on the results of 2018 will be made by Rostec independently.
Rostec RBC confirmed the information about the competition, but clarified that during the trading the share price was increased to 14 billion rubles, and the amount of mandatory dividends to the state corporation will be at least 505 million rubles. in year. According to the Rostec press service, 27 participants were invited to the closed competition. The procedure was extended three times in order to ensure competitiveness and maximum coverage of market participants, the state corporation emphasized.
Under the terms of the securities purchase and sale agreement, the buyer undertakes to transfer funds within 30 days from the date of signing. The transfer of shares must take place within five working days from the moment funds are received in Rostec’s current account at Novikombank.
“We are attracting a strategic technology investor to the capital of Technodinamika, who will not only provide additional investment in development, but also bring market competencies. This deal is fully consistent with Rostec’s development strategy,” the press service said. As part of the shareholder agreement, which will be concluded at the next stage, the private investor bears certain obligations regarding the implementation of the holding strategy, responsibility for the execution of state defense orders, federal targeted programs, military-technical cooperation, restrictions on the alienation of its stake without the consent of Rostec, as well as restrictions on re-profiling of holding organizations.
RBC sent a request to the Dynamics Group of Companies.
As indicated on the Rostec website, the Technodinamika holding, created in 2009, includes 35 factories and research institutes in the aviation and space industries. These enterprises employ more than 30 thousand people. The general director of the company is Igor Nasenkov.
In 2017, the holding was appointed as a supplier of tail and main landing gear units for the promising Ka-62 helicopter. Technodinamika completed last year with consolidated revenue of 31.5 billion rubles. The section for investors on the Technodinamika website states that the company increased its consolidated profit from minus 253.2 million in 2016 to 3.7 billion rubles. in 2017.
"Dynamics" produces components for the aviation industry, aviation simulators, unmanned systems, and is engaged in aircraft maintenance; the group includes over ten enterprises with a total turnover of more than 20 billion rubles. in year.
Who is Viktor Grigoriev
The 59-year-old owner of 90% of NK Bank, Viktor Grigoriev, is a former co-owner of the KASKOL group, which in the 1990s owned shares in enterprises in the aviation and space industries. Among the enterprises in which KASKOL had shares were the Ulan-Ude Aviation and Rostov Helicopter Plants. In 2005, Grigoriev moved to Oboronprom as deputy head of Denis Manturov’s enterprise. At Oboronprom, Grigoriev headed the helicopter programs directorate and, together with the future Minister of Industry, was involved in the creation of the Russian Helicopters holding company (part of Rostec), which included the helicopter assets of KASKOL.
Deal against sanctions
At the beginning of August 2017, the Rostec press service announced that the state corporation and the Dynamika group of companies intend to combine assets to create a national company in the field of development and production of aircraft components. The goals of the association are to enter the foreign market as a supplier of components for leading aircraft manufacturers and “to gain positions in the top 5 global industry leaders,” Rostec explained. It was noted that the company will be created on the basis of the enterprises of the Technodinamika holding and the Dinamika group of companies, which acts as a strategic investor. In total, it is planned to unite more than 50 scientific and industrial organizations within the new structure.
In July 2018, the head of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, announced the state corporation’s plans to sell 75% of Technodinamika. “We will hold a closed competition, during which an investor will be selected. Now we are evaluating a block of shares of 75% minus one share, about which we announced a corresponding tender just yesterday,” Chemezov said then.
Rostec attracts private capital to those holdings that are promising in the civil aviation market and dual-use markets, says reserve colonel Viktor Murakhovsky, editor-in-chief of Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine.
“Given the stable order portfolio, the medium-term prospects are good. And despite the decrease in state defense orders, Technodinamika, as a supplier of components, will participate in maintaining the life of the cycles of final products already delivered abroad and for the Ministry of Defense,” the expert explained.
Now Technodinamika is under sectoral sanctions of the US Treasury. Transferring a controlling stake to a private investor reduces the risk of Technodinamika falling under tougher sanctions, which threaten isolation from the entire international financial system, suggested lawyer Alexey Panich, partner at Herbert Freehills. “If Rostec falls under them, then all of its subsidiaries will be subject to new sanctions, but companies where Rostec’s share is less than 50% can avoid this,” the expert explained.
Private investors for Rostec
Working with investors and public-private partnerships is one of the main directions of Rostec’s strategy until 2025.
In February, Rostec sold a 26% stake in Kalashnikov to a private investor for 1.5 billion. Thus, the share of private investors in Kalashnikov was increased to 75% minus one share. The blocking stake (25% plus one share) remains with Rostec.
In April, it was reported that the Transport Components holding, affiliated with businessman Andrei Bokarev, would buy shares in the Tractor Plants concern.
In July it became known that Rostec was selling a 49% stake in the RT-Chemcomposite holding. The transaction amount, as RBC wrote, could range from 1.5 billion to 3 billion rubles.
“A reasonable balance of interests in such projects allows us to fully comply with the strategic interests of the state related to the implementation of the state defense order, federal targeted programs, social stability, and at the same time is a catalyst for positive changes. As a result, conditions are created for the introduction of modern business models, new technologies and promising types of products,” Sergey Chemezov said earlier.
In 2015, the European Union adopted a directive on preventing the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, which obliged EU countries to create registers of the ultimate beneficiaries of companies registered in these countries. The UK was one of the first to disclose this information in its public business register. In 2018, the registry began operating in Germany, although it is not as public. On the last day allotted for this, the Lithuanian Parliament adopted amendments to the national law allowing for the creation of this register, and it will begin its work only in the summer of 2019.
While the Lithuanians are postponing the launch of the register until the last date, “Municipal Scanner” decided to find out who the ultimate beneficiary of the Avia Solution Group (ASG), which is in the special account of the Lithuanian state security, is, and to figure out why this happened.
The study revealed:
– in exchange for concluding an agreement with Rostec to create the Zhukovsky airport, Avia Solution Group transferred at least 10% of the shares of its holding to people associated with the head of Rostec Chemezov and the Russian Minister of Industry Manturov;
– a significant part of the final beneficiaries of ASG are unknown and hidden behind Dutch funds;
– Vladimir Putin’s classmate invested in cargo and trade at the Zhukovsky airport;
– despite state security warnings, the company continues to operate at Lithuanian airports, enters into contracts with the armed forces and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Lithuania;
– ASG served flights from Zhukovsky to Crimean Simferopol in 2017.
On August 10, 2017, the Lithuanian Civil Court of Appeal rejected the complaint of UAB “Helisota” to the State Border Guard Service, which refused to conclude a contract for the maintenance of three helicopters with the company, despite meeting the competition criteria. The Border Service has asked the Department of State Security and the Ministry of Defense to assess whether such a contract could pose a threat to national security. And in the end, it rejected the contract on the grounds that Helisota’s sole shareholder is the Lithuanian Avia Solution Group AB (ASG), whose “relations with individuals and legal entities pose a risk to the national security of Lithuania.”
In the summer of 2017, the Lithuanian Ministry of Economy excluded FL Technics, also a member of ASG, from the list of potential participants in NATO competitions. In the summer of 2016, FL Technics reported that they carried out maintenance on Boeing CH-47 Chinook military helicopters of the 160th separate special forces aviation regiment of the US Army. Despite being removed from the list of service providers for NATO, FL Technics from its website has a permission that is no longer valid.
In January 2017, the commander of the Lithuanian Air Force, Colonel Audronis Navickas, lost his post due to contracts for the repair of two Mi-8 helicopters with the Helisota company. According to the contract concluded in October 2016, one of the two service providers was the Ural Civil Aviation Plant.
In November 2015, a government commission decided that aircraft maintenance company FL Technics “does not meet national security requirements and therefore cannot invest in the construction of a new hangar at Vilnius Airport.” At the same time, the Siauliai city authorities refused to allow Avia Solutions Group to place repair hangars at Zokniai Airport, where the Lithuanian Air Force base and NATO fighters are stationed. The basis for the refusal was also the position of the State Security Department.
In addition to servicing helicopters (Helisota) and fixed-wing aircraft (FL Technics, based in Lithuania, the UK, Indonesia, Russia and Cyprus), Avia Solution Group is involved in private business aviation (KlasJet, a fleet of four aircraft), pilot training (BAA Training), rental of a flight crew (aviationcv.com), ground handling and aviation fuel refueling (BGS, operates in Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Russia, 15 airports in total), development of the tour operator “Kidy Tour” (destination – Turkey ).
The turning point for the company came on December 30, 2013: the chairman of the board of ASG Gediminas Žiemelis and the deputy general director of the Russian state corporation Rostec Dmitry Shugaev (in 2017 he became director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation) signed an agreement on cooperation in the management and development of the fourth Moscow airport in the city of Zhukovsky.
Reference:
Rostec (Russian Technologies) is a Russian state corporation created in 2007. Rostec controls several defense-industrial sectors: aviation (“Russian Helicopters”, “Radio-electronic Technologies”), electronics (“Shvabe”, Avtomatika concern) and weapons (Tekhmash concern, Kalashnikov). Rostec also controls Rosoboronexport, AvtoVAZ and KAMAZ. Since September 2014, Rostec has been under US sanctions.
Sergey Chemezov has been the CEO of the Rostec state corporation since its founding. In the 80s, he worked with Vladimir Putin in the KGB in Dresden. From 1996 to 1999 he worked under the leadership of Vladimir Putin in the Presidential Administration, from 2000 to 2007 he headed Rosoboronexport. In 2014, it was included in the EU and US sanctions lists.
According to the agreement, ASG will contribute €22 million to the authorized capital of the joint venture, and Rostec will contribute real estate and land at the Ramenskoye airfield. The airfield was used by the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute named after. N. E. Zhukovsky and the Flight Research Institute named after M. M. Gromov for testing military and civil aviation. On July 30, 2014, the joint stock company Ramport Aero was registered, 75% of the shares of which were received by the company ASG-Aeropots Management LLC (100% owned by the Dutch Avia Solutions Group B.V.), and 25% by JSC TVK Rossiya (a subsidiary state corporation "Rostec").
On September 24, 2014, an extraordinary meeting of shareholders of Avia Solution Group AB decides to issue 1.7 million additional ordinary shares. The shares are intended for existing shareholders, as well as the companies VGE Investments Ltd (Cyprus) and MFO-A Lux S.à rl (Luxembourg). The decision refers to them as “potential investors” who do not previously own shares in ASG. The rationale directly states that the pre-emptive right to purchase shares is used “to ensure the development of Ramenskoye International Airport and the expansion of ground operations for aircraft refueling at Ramenskoye Airport.” In addition, it is indicated that this will allow the company to continue its policy of growth and geographic expansion.
MFO-A Lux S.à rl was founded in Luxembourg on June 20, 2014. 25% of the company belongs to MFO-A LLC (Delaware, USA), created on May 28, 2014, and 75% belongs to Sergei Aleshin. Sergei Aleshin (Deputy Minister of Trade of the USSR in the 70-90s) is the father of Boris Aleshin, who from 2009 to 2015 headed the FSUE Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute named after. Professor N.E. Zhukovsky.” In 2015, Boris was promoted to become a scientific advisor to the president of the United Aircraft Corporation (controlled by the Sukhoi Company, the MiG Corporation, Antonov, Ilyushin, and Tupolev). At the time of the creation of Ramport Aero, Boris Aleshin was a member of the board of directors of the United Aircraft Corporation together with Chemezov. On June 30, 2014, Aleshin was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of RAMPORT AERO JSC.
Reference:
The Aleshin family (Boris Aleshin, Sergei Aleshin and Irina Kreeva, Boris’s wife) owns 47% of the shares of Sinco-Bank. Boris Aleshin has been a member of the board of JSC OPK OBORONPROM (a subsidiary of Rostec) since January 11, 2013, and a member of the scientific and technical council of the Military-Industrial Commission of Russia.
Since November 2017, Boris Alyoshin’s daughter-in-law Alina Alyoshina began working as marketing director at the Kidy Tour travel agency, part of ASG.
After purchasing a 4% stake in ASG with an approximate cost of €2.7 million, on October 14, 2014, Sergey Aleshin resigned from the directors of MFO-A Lux S.à rl, and on October 15, he sold his stake in MFO-A Lux S.à rl to offshore Omega Investments Ltd (Belize).
By December 12, 2014, Cyprus VGE Investments Ltd collected 10.1% of ASG shares and acquired voting rights at the shareholders meeting. According to the Cyprus registry, VGE Investments Ltd has been owned by the Cypriot “nominee” Foteini Panagiotou since January 1, 2014 and is managed by the administrator A.B.C. GRANDESERVUS LIMITED. Until 2014, the company was also registered to the Cypriots.
According to the 2013 report, VGE Investments Ltd has an account with the Russian NK-Bank. The company owned 100% of the shares of the construction company JSC Toros and 50% of the Cypriot Improm Cyprus LTD, which in turn owned 100% of DP Aero-Kamov LLC. On February 12, 2014, DP Aero-Kamov LLC was sold to Gloire Ltd (Samoa).
Reference:
LLC “DP “Aero-Kamov” is engaged in the sale of new Mi-171, Mi-171E and Ka-32 helicopters. Russian Helicopters JSC (formerly Kamov JSC) is a subsidiary of Rostec. Until 2013, the Aero-Kamov subsidiary belonged to Oboronpromfinance (a subsidiary of Rostec) and the Russian Helicopter Company.
Company "TOROS" founded in 1990 on the basis of the RSU Tushinsky PREO. The main activity of the company is the construction of new buildings in Moscow and business-class residential buildings. In 2004, the company commissioned a 17-story building in Moscow at 10 Vrachebny Proezd. bldg. 3., rented out a monolithic brick residential building of different heights with a separate two-story parking garage on the street. Marshala Timoshenko, 17, built jointly with the medical center of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation. Website “Moscow New Buildings”reports : “Having established relationships withOffice of the President of Russia , the company began working on his orders. One of the projects from this series was the construction of housing over civil defense facilities - a complex of 60 thousand square meters in Southern Tushino.” In 2015 Vedomostireported : “The urban planning land commission of Moscow (GZK) agreed with the preparation of a project for planning the territory of the 11th district of Kuntsev at the expense of funds from the administration of the affairs of the President of Russia. In 2003, UDP attracted Toros OJSC as a co-investor, which entered into an investment contract with the Moscow government.”
As follows from the project documentation for the construction of the Baltic Quarter residential complex dated 09/01/2010, Toros JSC at that time was 100% owned by VGE Investments Ltd, as in 2012-2013. In December 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a message to the Federal Assembly, instructed to develop measures to deoffshorize the economy: “If you want to enjoy benefits, government support and make a profit while working in Russia, register in Russian jurisdiction”. And already in 2014, Toros JSC was 100% owned by Dmitry Nikolaevich Matveenko, who has been the chairman of the company’s board since 2010.
The companies JSC Toros and LLC Inkor-Trading are registered at the same address (Moscow, Miusskaya Square, 2) and have a single telephone number (+74992501507). The company Incor-Trading LLC, which until 2017 provided management company services in the Baltic Quarter residential complex, is 100% owned by Ksenia Viktorovna Grigorieva. Also in an elite building at Moscow, Burdenko St., 3 (developer - JSC "Inkor-Trading" Toros”) 5 apartments with a total area of 1234.5 sq.m. are owned by Ksenia Viktorovna Grigorieva, Viktor Evgenievich Grigorieva and Lyudmila Viktorovna Grigorieva. “NK Bank” is also located at the same address.
Reference:
90% of NK Bank belongs to Viktor Grigoriev, 10% to the chairman of the bank’s board. From 2008 to 2015, that is, both at the time of the ASG deal with Rostec, and during the transfer of ASG shares to the Cyprus VGE Investments Ltd, the assistant to the chairman of the bank’s board of directors was on the board of directorsSmirnov Vladimir Alekseevich (first chairman of the cooperative"Lake" , which included Vladimir Putin, Vladimir Yakunin, Yuri Kovalchuk, Nikolai Shamalov and others). In 2000, Vladimir Smirnov headed an enterprise supplying products to the presidential administration, and later was the general director of Techsnabexport, which exports goods and services to companies in the Russian nuclear industry.
At the moment, members of the board of NK Bank are also Ksenia Grigorieva (daughter of Viktor Grigoriev), Mikhail Kiyko (2009-2016 deputy director of the federal drug control service) and Svetlana Kiyko (wife of Mikhail Kiyko, since 2011 advisor to the chairman of the board ).
Viktor Evgenievich Grigoriev – former presidentGC “Kaskol” (2004-2005), currently a member of the board of directors of a number of factories and concerns that are part of Rostec.
NK Bank is an important partner of the Rostec corporation. The bank owns from 4% to 25% of the shares of factories controlled by the Radioelectronic Technologies concern, which is part of Rostec.
NK Bank owns 4.98% of the shares of Elecon Plant JSC, Toros JSC owns 3.8% of the shares in this plant. NK Bank also owns 48.65% of the shares of Ural Civil Aviation Plant JSC (UZGA), which is one of the largest aircraft repair enterprises in Russia and is part of the Rostec State Corporation. It was UZGA that appeared as a partner in the contract for the repair of helicopters between the Helisota company and the Lithuanian Air Force.
In May 2016, Toros OJSC bought a 25.09% stake in Kazan Optical-Mechanical Plant JSC from OPK Oboronprom JSC. Among government contracts, Toros has 8 government contracts worth 8.4 billion rubles for the repair of factories owned by Rostec.
From 2010 and at least until 2014, the first deputy director of Toros JSC was Leonid Lashkov. He was responsible for attracting funding and working with investors. In 2014 and 2016, Leonid Lashkov was a member of the board of directors of Aerospace Equipment Corporation JSC (part of Rostec). In 2015 – member of the board of JSC Center for Scientific and Technical Services “Dynamics”, which was 100% owned by Viktor Grigoriev. In 2011 – member of the board of JSC Electrical Engineering Plant LEPSE.
Despite the fact that the VGE Investments Ltd company is registered in the name of a “nominee”, VGE Investments Ltd and Toros JSC are under the control of Viktor Grigoriev.
Old ColleaguesIn addition to their connection with Chemezov, Aleshin and Grigoriev have a long-standing “relationship” with the Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov.
At the time when Viktor Grigoriev owned a stake in the Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant, the future minister Manturov held the position of deputy director of the plant. In 2003, Denis Manturov was appointed director of OJSC OPK Oboronprom, and his first deputy since 2005 was Viktor Grigoriev, where he oversaw helicopter programs.
Photo: Andrey Zhabin, press service of the governor of the Moscow region.
May 30, 2016, opening of the Zhukovsky airport: General Director of Ramport Tomas Vaišvila, Head of Rostec Sergey Chemezov, Chairman of the Board of ASG Gediminas Žiemelis, Chairman of the Board of Ramport Boris Aleshin, Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov, Deputy General Director Ramport Aero" Evgeny Solodilin, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Rogozin, Deputy General Director of Rostec Dmitry Shugaev, Governor of the Moscow Region Andrey Vorobyov
In 2009, at a meeting of the Presidium of the Scientific and Technical Council, Denis Manturov announced the appointment and introduced Boris Aleshin as the new head of FSUE TsAGI. Boris Aleshin is on the board of directors of the United Aircraft Corporation, whose chairman is Denis Manturov.
In May 2015, Ramport JSC signed an agreement with Novikombank (under US sanctions since 2015), which also includes lending for the development of the airport in Zhukovsky. Novikombank is owned by Rostec, and Boris Aleshin is a member of the bank’s board of directors.
On March 15, 2016, the Russian Prime Minister signed a decree opening Ramenskoye Airport for international flights.
At the beginning of February 2018, Avia Solutions Group told Lithuanian national television that it does not have any connection with Rostec, and Rostec is not directly or indirectly involved in the management of ASG.
Mysterious BeneficiariesIn almost every release, ASG emphasizes the fact that it is a public company. At the same time, the company's annual reports indicate that it owns only 30% of the Dutch Avia Solutions Group B.V. It is not known for certain who owns another 70%. This is due to the fact that the Dutch Avia Solutions Group B.V. since 02/26/2016 it is 100% owned by the Cypriot Avia Solutions Group Airport Holdings Limited (alternative name - EE Airport Holdings Ltd). Director of Avia Solutions Group B.V. is the financial director of ASG – Aurimas Sanikovas. Until February 26, 2016, shareholder of Avia Solutions Group B.V. There was also Juozas Kavaliauskas, previously associated with the Lewben Group, now headed by Vilius Kavaliauskas.
Reference:
Lewben Group is an international group of companies that provides clients with asset, property, and fund management services, as well as financial planning, legal, tax, business consulting and accounting services. The group has offices in Amsterdam (Netherlands), London (UK), Manila (Philippines), Nicosia (Cyprus), New York (USA) and Ville Nyuse (Lithuania).
In turn, EE Airport Holdings Ltd is 100% owned by the Cypriot Tenolet Ltd, which from 2013 to September 2015 belonged to Viktorija Dunciene, and after that to the Dutch fund Stichting Champlain. The fact is that the administrative management of companies associated with the main shareholders of ASG in the Netherlands and Cyprus is carried out not only by the Lewben Group, but also by Amicorp (Hong Kong) together with the Cypriot Korelis & Co. LLC. The key person in supporting and servicing these companies is Viktorija Dunciene.
Reference*:
Victoria Dunciene
– 2010-2012 – assistant lawyer at M.Korelis & co. LLC;
– 2014-2016 – Director of Lewben Netherlands B.V.;
– 2012-2017 – Managing Director of Lewben Cyprus Ltd;
- since 2017 - member of the board of CEOcorp Limited (another board member is Andrius Paulauskas, son of Artūras Paulauskas - until 2016, head of the Lithuanian Seimas Committee on Defense and Security).
Viktorija Dunciene, together with Michael Korelis (member of the board of Korelis & Co. LLC) and the chairman of ASG Gediminas Ziemelis, are on the board of the Cypriot ALH Aircraft Leasing Holdings Ltd and ZIA Valda Cyprus Ltd.
*Certificate from the website ziavaldacyprus.com, which was deleted during the investigation. The website ceocorp.net was also closed.
What are Dutch funds used for? They allow you to hide the owner of an asset. Such funds are easy to register and manage, directors are not responsible for the fund's debts, and there are no shareholders, participants or beneficiaries. This allows the administrator to use one Dutch fund for different clients. This is clearly seen in the example of Tenolet Ltd, which has already been involved in several corruption scandals.
Tenolet Ltd was 100% owned by the Lithuanian “Riverside Music”, which is associated with the family of the director of the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theater Gintautas Kevišas. “Riverside Music” entered into contracts with the national theater, which created a conflict of interest and in the summer of 2017 Gintautas Kavisis was fired.
Tenolet Ltd manages Cyprus-based Redcast Holdings Ltd, which owns 50% of the Ukrainian company Red.Met. In 2016, Red.Met received permission to mine amber in the Rivne region. As journalists from the anti-corruption project “4th Power” reported, the Red.Met company is controlled by Vladimir Prodivus, a people’s deputy from the Party of Regions in 2012-2014. Belarusian journalists associate Redcast Holdings with “their” oligarch Yuri Chizh. Tenolet Ltd also participates in the structure of the Lithuanian agricultural group ARVI, which is controlled by Vidmantas Kučinskas and his family.
Other shareholdersThe Avia Solutions Group holding emerged as a result of the privatization of Lithuanian airlines in 2005, the infrastructure went to the companies “Fima”, owned by Vaidas Barakauskas, and ŽIA valda.
Let's look at the shareholder structure of ASG as of November 2017:
– 29.44% from the Cypriot ZIA Valda Cyprus Ltd., 100% owned by the Lithuanian ŽIA valda AB.
9.28% of the shares of ŽIA Valda AB belong to Jurgis Petrošius, brother of Romualdas Antanas Petrošius (shareholder and chairman of the supervisory board of AviaAM Leasing AB 2013-2017).
9.41% of the shares of ŽIA Valda AB belong to lawyer Ramūnas Audzevičius, a partner of the law firm “Motieka & Audzevičius”, which in 2014 represented the interests of Gazprom in courts against Lithuania.
81.29% of the shares of ŽIA Valda AB belong to the Cyprus company GEM GREEN HOLDING LIMITED. 23.08% in GEM GREEN HOLDING LIMITED belongs to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Avia Solutions Group and ŽIA Valda AB Gediminas Žiemelis.
76.92% in the company GEM GREEN HOLDING LIMITED through another Cypriot “laying” belongs to a Dutch fund, which is also managed by Viktorija Dunciene, and it is not possible to identify the owner.
– 19.7% of the shares of Avia Solutions Group through the Cypriot Mesotania Holdings Ltd and the Lithuanian “Indeco: Investment And Development” belong to Vaidas Barakauskas.
– 7.78% of the shares of Avia Solutions Group belong to the Cypriot Harberin Enterprises Limited, which is managed by the already mentioned CEOcorp Limited. The ultimate owner is hidden behind Amicorp and the Dutch fund Global High Yield Alternatives Fund III, also part of the Amicorp structure.
– 5.01% of the shares of Avia Solutions Group are owned by the Polish investment company Nationale-Nederlanden Otwarty Fundusz Emerytalny, owned by the Dutch asset management and insurance company NN Group (until 2014 - ING Group).
The corresponding infrastructure began to be created around the new airport in Zhukovsky. In January 2016, the company Sky Gates Rus LLC and Sky Gates Airlines LLC, created to carry out cargo transportation, appeared. In April and May 2017, new investors appeared in the company Sky Gates Rus LLC: 20% went to Mountain Fzco (UAE) and 45% to Ragimova-Mehdieva Sabina Ilgam Kyzy. 20% of Sky Gates Rus LLC remains with Globus Distribution Management LLC, 100% owned by the Lithuanian ŽIA valda AB.
In September 2016, JSC Ramport Aero and Greenway International FZCO (UAE) created JSC Zhia Cargo, with shares of 51% and 49%, respectively, to service the cargo terminal of Zhukovsky Airport (formerly Ramenskoye airfield). The owner of Greenway International FZCO is Araz Mehdiev, son-in-law of Ilgam Ragimov. Araz Mehdiyev is a co-owner of the Imperial Duty Free company (17 stores in Sheremetyevo, partner Arkady Rotenberg), owner of a number of companies in Azerbaijan.
In December 2017, Zhia Cargo JSC entered into a memorandum of cooperation with the RT-Logistic company, which is a subsidiary of Rostec. In September 2017, RT-Logistic took part in the operation to import Siemens gas turbines to Crimea.
More government procurementDespite the warnings of the Department of State Security regarding the Avia Solution Group company, voiced back in November 2015, in May 2016, the Lithuanian armed forces entered into a state contract with BGS for the supply of aviation fuel. The press service of the Ministry of Defense refused to answer questions from the Municipal Scanner regarding the contract and whether BGS employees had direct access to military equipment, citing our lack of accreditation as foreign journalists in Lithuania.
In 2017, BGS received two government contracts from the state-owned enterprise Lithuanian Airports for a total amount of €1.32 million. In January 2018, the Ministry of Transport selected a new head of the State Enterprise “Lithuanian Airports”, Marius Gelžinis, who previously headed BGS in Poland.
The company “BPC Travel”, which is not directly part of the Avia Solution group, but is at least 48% owned by its key Lithuanian shareholders ŽIA valda and Indeco and has a single director with the tour operator Kidy Tour, in 2016 entered into a contract with the Lithuanian Ministry of Internal Affairs for provision of services for €5 million until 2020. As the press service of the ministry reported, this contract, in addition to BPC Travel, is carried out by 4 more travel companies and at the moment only 8% of the adjusted contract budget has been used.
Despite Lithuania’s position on Crimea and the sanctions of the European Union, from spring to autumn 2017, daily Ural Airlines flights to Simferopol were carried out from Zhukovsky airport, controlled by a Lithuanian company.
Mikhail Maglov, especially for the “Municipal Scanner” project
Banker Viktor Grigoriev will become the owner of 75% of the shares of the Technodinamika holding. Will its owner Sergei Chemezov sell his stake to his business partner? Is this part of the cunning plan of the head of Rostec?
As the correspondent of Documents and Facts reported, the head of the Rostec state corporation, Sergei Chemezov, will sell the assets of the Tekhnodinamika corporation to the owner of NK-Bank, Viktor Grigoriev. Grigoriev has shares in 20 or more Chemezov enterprises. Why does he need another asset?
The Technodinamika holding specializes in the development, production and after-sales service of aircraft systems and components. It is planned to sell his shares to Viktor Grigoriev’s company “Dynamics”, which produces components for the aviation industry. Sergei Chemezov announced the decision to organize a closed competition and sell the shares to Grigoriev about six months ago. And now the parties announced the conclusion of a deal.
The owner of the National Space Bank (“NK-Bank”), Viktor Grigoriev, was officially named a strategic partner of Rostec. Although he has been financing aircraft manufacturing enterprises for a long time and works closely with Novikombank, owned by Chemezov. NK Bank owns from 4% to 25% of the shares of factories, which are controlled by the Radioelectronic Technologies concern, which is part of Rostec.
Viktor Grigoriev is a fairly authoritative figure. Since the nineties, he has been a co-owner of the Kaskol group, and in 2006 - first deputy general director of Oboronprom. He also served on the boards of directors of major enterprises (Klimov, Rostvertol, Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant).
Today he is the main owner of the Dynamika group of 12 enterprises, mainly working in aviation and space. Grigoriev also owns 88% of the authorized capital of NK-Bank JSC.
Last April, Grigoriev was involved in a major scandal, although he preferred to keep a low profile. Then, the Falcon Air company owned by Rustem Magdeev sold a blocking stake in Simonov OKB (controlled by Alexander Gomzin) to companies associated with the banker Grigoriev.
It is believed that Grigoriev is part of the inner circle of the Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov. He previously headed the board of directors of Oboronprom.
Viktor Grigoriev - a major industrialist and banker, owner of a number of military-industrial complex enterprises
Probably the goal of Chemezov and Manturov, through Viktor Grigoriev, was to pick up an order for a drone for Rostec. However, their plans were disrupted by a certain Dmitry Tsvetkov, who filed a lawsuit against Falcon Air LLC.
For the Magdeev-Grigoriev team, this lawsuit was a threat: the deal with Alexander Gomzin could collapse. Therefore, the latter immediately received a persistent offer to sell an additional stake in favor of Viktor Grigoriev’s structures. This would relieve the head of NK-Bank from any risks in the transaction, because then Grigoriev would have a sufficient number of shares so as not to be afraid of any lawsuits. But Gomzin decided to turn to another investor. Grigoriev several times suggested that Gomzin change his mind, but he had already made a decision not in his favor.
Then in April 2018, Gomzin was taken into custody. His response to the arrest was a letter from Gomzin to the FSB and the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation with accusations against Magdeev and Grigoriev. He accused them of attempting a raider takeover of the Simonov Design Bureau. But so far they are in no hurry to accuse Grigoriev of illegal actions; probably the reason for such loyalty is his connection with Sergei Chemezov.
Business tandem of Chemezov-Grigoriev
And the connection is really strong: in addition to the visible partnership, Chemezov and Grigoriev can be connected by the Lithuanian company Avia Solution Group (ASG). Rumor has it that she enters into contracts with Lithuanian law enforcement agencies and is therefore under the control of Lithuanian state security agencies.
Not long ago it became known that Avia Solution Group could transfer about 10% of the shares of its corporation to Viktor Grigoriev’s companies in exchange for an agreement with Rostec on the construction of the Zhukovsky airport. Most of the other participants in this Lithuanian story remain behind the scenes, despite the fact that the bank is quite public.
The alleged offshore scheme of Chemezov and Grigoriev
Three years ago, Avia Solution Group AB (ASG) issued over one and a half million additional ordinary shares, which, in addition to existing shareholders, were intended for the Cyprus company VGE Investments Ltd and MFO-A Lux S.à rl, located in Luxembourg.
VGE Investments Ltd bought 10.1% of ASG shares and acquired voting rights at the shareholders' meeting. It is noteworthy that the company has an account with NK-Bank. Until 2014, VGE Investments Ltd owned a full stake in the construction company Toros, associated with Ksenia Grigorieva, who is on the board of NK Bank. Is she the banker's wife?
"Rospylesos"
Chemezov declared himself a monopolist from the very beginning, and no one stopped him
“Rostec” quite smartly deals with enterprises it does not like and brings the right ones into its coalition in a timely manner, and hardly anyone can prevent Sergei Chemezov from doing this.
This year, he simply liquidated Oboronprom, explaining that the company had served its purpose. All enterprises of the corporation began to belong to Rostec in the most legal way. But since the head of Oboronprom Denis Manturov and Chemezov have long been connected by a large number of business assets, Denis Valentinovich probably was not left without his share either.
Oboronprom enterprises simply went over to Chemezov. It was not for nothing that in 2007, jokers nicknamed Rostec “Rospylesos”, because the corporation tried to “suck in” almost all the industrial enterprises of the country. And she succeeded - now Rostec owns shares in about 700 enterprises in various fields.
Moreover, they do not belong completely - here Chemezov uses a trick. He keeps part of the assets for himself, but probably transfers the rest at a favorable price to trusted persons, so that later no one is left without remuneration.
And so, 75% of the assets of the huge holding go to Viktor Grigoriev, a long-time partner of Rostec. Why does Chemezov need this? Yes, all for the same thing: by selling blocking stakes in Rostec enterprises to old friends, he simply expects to have his own piece of the profit.
The Rostec State Corporation and the Dynamika group of companies intend to combine assets and create the largest national company in the field of development and production of aircraft components. The corresponding initiative was approved by the Board of the State Corporation and will soon be submitted for consideration to the Supervisory Board of the State Corporation, as well as the Government of the Russian Federation.
Public-private partnership will expand the technological capabilities of companies, attract additional investments and strengthen the position of Russian manufacturers in the global market for aggregate construction.
The new structure plans to unite more than 50 scientific and industrial organizations engaged in the development, production and maintenance of units for airplanes and helicopters, on-board electronics, special software, flight simulators, and unmanned aerial systems. The company will be created on the basis of enterprises of the Technodinamika holding (part of the Rostec State Corporation) and the Dinamika Group of Companies, which acts as a strategic investor.
Among the priorities of the merged company is entering the foreign market as a supplier of critical components for leading aircraft manufacturers and gaining positions in the TOP 5 of global industry leaders.
“The public-private partnership that we are developing in key industries allows us to quickly solve the tasks set for us by the state. With regard to the aviation industry, we expect to significantly expand the list of manufactured aircraft systems and components within a short time, implement import substitution in the interests of the domestic aircraft industry and enter the international market with new products. This scenario is provided for in our development strategy, and we are progressively implementing it,” commented Sergei Chemezov, General Director of the Rostec State Corporation.
“Such cooperation means new technologies, new competencies and, in general, a new level of capabilities. This applies not only to the assembly industry, but also to a number of other promising areas, such as unmanned aircraft systems, on-board electronics, training systems for pilots, aircraft maintenance, etc. The goal of the partnership is to create the largest company in the Russian Federation, which will become a comprehensive supplier of a wide range of products for the aviation industry, including components and systems for aircraft from the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers,” commented Sergei Svechnikov, president of the Dynamika group of companies.
The Dynamics group of companies specializes in the development, production and after-sales service of a wide range of products for the aviation and space industries, transport, military-industrial complex, education system, as well as UAVs and simulators for training aircraft and helicopter crews.
Technodinamika is a leading holding company in the Russian market of aircraft units for military, transport, civil aircraft and helicopters.
The final decision on the possibility of merging private and public assets will be made by the Government of the Russian Federation, where a package of documents will be received for approval in the near future. The terms of the merger will be determined during the process of assessing assets and determining the structure of the transaction.
The group of companies "Dynamics" is an informal association of 12 industrial enterprises, which includes the Central Scientific Technical University "Dynamics", the Moscow Machine-Building Plant "Forward", the company "Aviation and Marine Electronics" (AME), the "Crystal" plant, etc. The main specialization is development , production and after-sales service of products for the aviation industry, transport, military-industrial complex, education system, as well as the creation of unmanned aircraft systems and training complexes for pilots. The consolidated revenue of the industrial group at the end of 2016 amounted to 24 billion rubles.
JSC Technodinamika is a holding company of the Rostec State Corporation, specializing in the development, production and after-sales service of aircraft systems and components (market share in the Russian Federation - 23%). The holding also produces parts and assemblies for the oil and gas industry, automotive industry, transport, and energy. The company includes 33 enterprises located in Moscow, Moscow region, Ufa, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Arkhangelsk region and other regions of Russia. The holding's consolidated revenue in 2016 amounted to 27.8 billion rubles.
Rostec State Corporation is a Russian corporation created in 2007 to promote the development, production and export of high-tech industrial products for civil and military purposes. It includes more than 700 organizations, of which 11 holding companies in the military-industrial complex and 3 in civilian industries are currently formed, as well as more than 80 direct management organizations. Rostec's consolidated revenue in 2016 reached 1 trillion. 266 billion rubles, consolidated net profit - 88 billion rubles, and EBITDA - 268 billion rubles. According to Rostec's strategy, the main objective of the Corporation is to ensure Russia's technological advantage in highly competitive global markets.
