Translated material
“This is probably raiding”
The creator of KD Avia, after leaving the pre-trial detention center, spoke about the reasons for the collapse of the airline
Sergei Grishchenko is a non-public person. Nevertheless, he is well known in the Kaliningrad region. A few years ago, he received the attention of the authorities, because his project to transform the provincial Kaliningrad airport Khrabrovo into a transit air hub between Russia and Europe hit the mark. Flights regularly departed from Kaliningrad airport to dozens of European and Russian cities. Flying to Vienna, Munich, or London for a few days has become familiar and convenient for many, because this did not require making a detour through Moscow or getting to the airports of Vilnius or Warsaw. However, KD Avia, which managed to become almost the calling card of the Kaliningrad region, began to have problems.The company, which pursued a very ambitious credit policy (it was going to refuse used Boeings, purchasing new Airbuses), curtailed the construction of the second terminal of the airport, began to delay staff salaries, and combine flights (in order to save money). The fall, like the rise, was rapid. In order to pay back wages to airline employees, the personal intervention of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was required. His participation was also needed to allocate 4 billion rubles. to save KD Avia - in return, the Kaliningrad region wanted to receive a controlling stake in the airline. However, the parties failed to find a common language; the money (part of it went to pay staff) remained in the budget. KD Avia initiated consideration of its bankruptcy case in the arbitration court. In December 2009, Sergei Grishchenko went to jail.
He was arrested along with the company's executive director, Leonid Itskov. Criminal cases were initiated by the investigative department at the Western Department of Internal Affairs for Transport under Part 1 of Article 201 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (abuse of power) and under Article 196 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (deliberate bankruptcy). The investigation, in particular, believes that the management of KD Avia entered into loan agreements with Mr. Grishchenko (at that time he headed the board of directors) with a meager interest rate of 0.1%, under which 300 million were withdrawn from the airline’s accounts rub. In addition, leasing agreements for the operation and maintenance of aircraft, according to investigators, were concluded at inflated rates. The maximum penalty for this is six years in prison. However, Mr. Grishchenko and Mr. Itskov did not spend even six months in the cell: the first was released on April 15, the second on the 19th. In both cases, the accused were released thanks to innovations adopted at the instigation of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. On April 9, changes to the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation came into force, according to which detention as a preventive measure cannot be applied to a suspect or accused of committing a crime, including under Article 196 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Information about how Mr. Grishchenko and Mr. Itskov were coping with their detention was rather scarce - it was provided by the famous Kaliningrad lawyer Sergei Baranov, who defended both airline executives. “The conditions are normal. Grishchenko was shaved bald. They can be transferred to Kresty. We are preparing an open letter to the authorities to talk about the chaos that is happening,” these were his laconic comments. The letter never appeared, but a few days after his release (after relaxing in his Altrimo guest house in the Curonian Spit national park), Mr. Grishchenko did something he had not done for many years - he gave an interview. The local Internet portal “New Kaliningrad.ru” managed to achieve exclusivity.
Mr. Grishchenko said that he went to jail because “someone needed it.” He did not say unequivocally whether the case against him was fabricated, only explaining: “This is a case that appears in a problematic society... What problem are we talking about? This is probably raiding and corruption.”
“Despite the fact that the enterprise was “killed,” it helped the region to endure the crisis year and emerge with a budget surplus,” says Mr. Grishchenko. -- This happened due to government support, thanks to KD Avia. The support remained in the budget, and due to this, the region developed a surplus. Due to this, one might say, a sports complex was built here and some other things were done. It's nice." Answering the question what kind of relationship he now has with the governor of the Kaliningrad region, Georgy Boos, the businessman called it creative.
Commenting on the recent sale of the unfinished terminal of the Khrabrovo airport (it was bought by the Moscow company "Vip-group" for 17.4 million rubles, the deal was challenged by the regional prosecutor's office, which considered the cost of the transaction to be underestimated, as the newspaper Vremya Novostey wrote about), Mr. Grishchenko called the price is unfair: “There is a business valuation, in my opinion, at the end of 2008. According to that estimate, the cost of the unfinished international terminal was about 1.5 billion rubles.”
The company that purchased the unfinished Khrabrovo terminal stated that the German company Hochtief AG (200 million euros) could invest money together with VIP Group to complete the construction. The regional government, in turn, signed an agreement on similar intentions with the French Bouygues Batiman International, which was going to involve the Paris airport in the work. “The amount of 200 million euros is not needed to complete the terminal. This is wrong. The amount required to complete the project is about 50 million euros,” said Mr. Grishchenko, noting that he did not have a single share in the company.
Commenting on his stay in the pre-trial detention center, he said that the conditions there were “wonderful,” and he was able to “rest and think about everything.” Mr. Grishchenko said that he does not rule out his participation in the project to revive the air hub in Kaliningrad, proposing to do everything three to four times faster and cheaper due to the fact that he understands this business, since he considers himself a professional.
Apparently, he will have to demonstrate his professionalism at the beginning of May - the Kaliningrad arbitration court is to consider the bankruptcy case of KD Avia.