Factories, tanks, offshores, neighbors

What do the pirates who captured the Arctic Sea have in common with the Prime Minister's acquaintances? And which of the top managers of Russian state-owned companies worked for people who were monitored by the Monaco police?

We continue to study the business interests of representatives of the inner circle of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and their connections with those who were in the field of view of European law enforcement and intelligence agencies. As a reminder, in past...

We continue to study the business interests of representatives of the inner circle of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and their connections with those who were in the field of view of European law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Recall that in the previous issues of Novaya Gazeta (see No. 38 , 40 of April 11 and 15, 2011) we wrote that the police and intelligence services of Monaco, investigating the facts of money laundering, contacted the Sotrama company. In the course of an investigation launched by Novaya Gazeta, we were able to obtain operational reports from the Criminal Investigation Department of the Department of the Interior of Monaco, which stated that the beneficiary of Sotrama was Dmitry Skigin, “the head of a group engaged in money laundering.” The operational reports also mentioned the name of another businessman from St. Petersburg - Ilya Traber, who, as the documents said, was "connected with the Tambov group." The files also noted that Skigin and Traber were "behind a number of oil reselling companies." In particular, the reports of the Monaco police mentioned a subsidiary of the Monegasque Sotrama - Horizon International Trading from Liechtenstein, which, as Novaya Gazeta managed to find out, entered into contracts with the largest Russian oil companies for hundreds of millions of dollars.

Our further investigation showed that Dmitry Skigin and Ilya Traber were very influential businessmen in St. their partners were classmates, colleagues, friends and neighbors of Vladimir Putin in the Ozero cooperative. Today we will try to understand which of these links have survived to this day and how they influence the adoption of major economic decisions.

History of the seaport

One of the key enterprises to which Ilya Traber and Dmitry Skigin were related in the 90s was the St. Petersburg seaport. According to the port's reports, in 1997 the powers of the sole executive body were transferred to a certain "Association of banks investing in the port" (CJSC "OBIP"), the board of directors of which was headed by Ilya Traber. It is curious that the company that received the right to manage the activities of the port was formed just a few months before. Despite the loud name, according to the report on the issue of shares, only two banks were represented in OBIP CJSC: Petrovsky Bank and JSC Bank Saint Petersburg. On the other hand, 20% of OBIP was owned by IYUB Peter - the company's participants were Ilya Traber and Vladimir Putin's colleague in the KGB, and today Viktor Korytov, deputy chairman of the board of Gazprombank. Another 50% of OBIP was controlled by the Liechtenstein offshore Nasdor Incorporated - this company was located at the same address in the city of Ruggel, where most of Dmitry Skigin's oil trading companies were located. Over time, Nasdor Incorporated became the main shareholder of JSC "Sea Port" St. Petersburg ".

In 2004, the Accounts Chamber checked the circumstances of the change of ownership and, in general, the activity of the port, which came to disappointing conclusions. “By the end of the 1990s, virtually all the main production functions of port activities (loading and unloading and transshipment operations, warehouse operations, port fleet functions, etc.) were completely transferred from the company (JSC Sea Port St. Petersburg. - R. A .) into the business of other private companies,” the report said. The auditors of the Accounts Chamber emphasized that everything that the port should do - loading, unloading, warehousing - was transferred to private companies, and from the St. Petersburg seaport as a single company, by and large, there was only one facade. And as a result: “In matters of the loss of the society’s business in favor of other companies <…> representatives of the interests of the state did not show themselves in any way <…>. Being on the list of strategically significant joint-stock companies has lost its real significance.

High-ranking acquaintances

The career of the current chairman of the board of Gazprom Neft, Alexander Dyukov, seems to have been closely connected with the businesses of Ilya Traber and Dmitry Skigin. Since 1991, Alexander Dyukov worked as an engineer at Sovex CJSC, which belonged to Dmitry Skigin. In 1996, he became a financial director, and then a general director at the joint venture CJSC Petersburg Oil Terminal - the enterprise at that time was controlled by the structures of Ilya Traber (chairman of the board of directors of the terminal) and Dmitry Skigin (member of the board of directors). And since 1998, Dyukov moved to the St. Petersburg seaport, where he soon began to act as general director. The Chairman of the Board of Gazprom Neft, in response to a request from Novaya Gazeta, confirmed that he was familiar with Dmitry Skigin and Ilya Traber: “Skigin and Traber were members of the board of directors of the St. when I was a member of the management bodies of these companies.

The report of the Accounts Chamber, which checked the activities of the St. Petersburg port, also mentions some transactions involving Alexander Dyukov: “In accordance with the order <...> A.V. Dyukov dated November 6, 1998, No. 545, movable ship property was sold to CJSC Port Fleet (sale price - 3.1 million rubles), transferred to the company <...> for the economic management of the property complex. <...> The transaction was formalized by the company in violation of the current legislation: the issue was not agreed upon by the KUGI of St. Petersburg, ”the report said.

CJSC Port Fleet, which so easily received the ships of the St. Petersburg seaport, according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, was 60% owned by the Liechtenstein company Nasdor Incorporated, which was also the main shareholder of Sea Port St. Petersburg OJSC.

Alexander Dyukov replied to Novaya Gazeta in response to the comments of the auditors of the Accounts Chamber: “About 13 years have passed, it is difficult to remember all the details of the economic activity of that period. The key function of the port is the provision of stevedoring services. I believe that we are talking about the sale of an auxiliary fleet, whose activities are not core for the port. In addition, there are doubts about the violation of the law, since all the decisions made were subject to examination by qualified lawyers of the company "Sea Port" St. Petersburg ".

As for the auditors' remarks regarding the transfer of port functions to the business of firms not controlled by the port, Alexander Dyukov explained: “The goals of any restructuring are to increase efficiency, reduce costs, increase return on investment.” The Chairman of the Management Board of Gazprom Neft also emphasized that all decisions were made by the Board of Directors in accordance with the law, and representatives of the state voted for these decisions. “The result of these decisions was an increase in investment in the construction of new complexes, replenishment of the fleet of transshipment equipment, an increase in port cargo turnover, tax payments, employment and wages of workers,” summed up Alexander Dyukov.

Ilya Traber was a member of the IIB "Peter" together with Viktor Korytov, deputy chairman of the board of Gazprombank and a colleague of Vladimir Putin in the KGB. From 1998 to 2000, Mikhail Sirotkin worked at IUB Peter, who later also worked at CJSC OBIP, where Traber headed the board of directors. In 2001, Mikhail Sirotkin became deputy head of Gazprom's legal department, and since 2010 he has been head of Gazprom's competitive procurement management department (according to various estimates, the gas monopoly's annual order volume in capital construction alone can be 800 billion rubles ). Mikhail Sirotkin did not respond to a Novaya Gazeta request sent more than two weeks ago.

There is nothing surprising in the fact that Mikhail Sirotkin made such a rapid career at Gazprom, because his colleague in the companies controlled by Ilya Traber was also the chairman of the board of Gazprom, Alexei Miller. In 1998-1999, he was an authorized representative of OBIP CJSC - director for development and investment in the St. Petersburg seaport. Miller did not answer Novaya Gazeta's questions.

Friends of Vladimir Putin, the shadow owner of Vyborg and millionaire pirates

Dmitry Skigin died in Nice in 2003, and Ilya Traber has been abroad for a long time. In 2008, the name of Ilya Traber attracted the attention of the French media in connection with the scandal surrounding the Charlie Chaplin Museum. The house, which belonged to the famous comedian on the shores of Lake Geneva, was bought by Genii Capital, a company from Luxembourg, which also owns the Renault Formula 1 team. It is known that recently the Russian pilot Vitaly Petrov has been playing for this team. As the father of the pilot, an influential businessman from Vyborg, Alexander Petrov, admitted, Ilya Traber is one of the main sponsors of Vitaly. As Le Monde reported, Ilya Traber is under preliminary investigation by the Swiss Federal Police and banned from Monaco for alleged links to organized crime, but for a Luxembourg company looking to start investing in Russia, Ilya Traber has become a kind of pass to the world of Russian business, and above all because he "has long maintained close relations with the prime minister."

It is curious that Vladimir Putin personally tested the car of the Renault team, and in early 2011, the prime minister asked the head of Russian Technologies, Sergei Chemezov, and the chairman of the board of Novatek, Leonid Mikhelson, to provide financial assistance to the Russian Formula 1 pilot.

One of the sponsors of Vitaly Petrov was the Vyborg Shipyard (VSZ), whose board of directors includes the pilot's father, Alexander Petrov. When VZZ changed hands in 2006, local media reported that this event was preceded by a visit from a person very similar to Ilya Traber. How could Ilya Traber, who settled in Europe long ago, have anything to do with the plant?

Alexander Ulanov, a longtime acquaintance of Ilya Traber, who started a business with him in the Antikvar restoration and commercial center, and later established with Traber and Vladimir Putin's colleague in the KGB Viktor Korytov "IYuB" Peter "and the security company" VIAB " . Very well-known people became Ulanov's partners: Vasily Gorelov, the son of Dmitry Gorelov, co-owner of Rossiya Bank, and Sergey Kolesnikov, a St. Petersburg businessman who last year wrote a famous letter to President Dmitry Medvedev about the "palace for Putin" under construction near Gelendzhik.

When asked if Ilya Traber had anything to do with the Vyborg Shipyard, a St. Petersburg businessman familiar with the details of the change of ownership answered Novaya Gazeta as follows:

- Well, of course. If you look at those people who have become shareholders, you will understand yourself.

— Do you mean Alexander Ulanov? we asked.

- I will say this: you are thinking in the right direction.

It is difficult to get more from former partners or acquaintances of Ilya Traber: all conversations took place with approximately the same hints and half-words, on the basis of which it could be assumed that Ilya Traber, apparently, is still related to many Russian companies through his old acquaintances, who represent his interests. And, apparently, it is not for nothing that knowledgeable people in conversations with Novaya Gazeta still continue to call Ilya Traber the shadow owner of Vyborg.

Almost immediately after VZZ changed owners, the plant received a contract from Gazprom for 60 billion rubles for the construction of drilling platforms for the development of the Shtokman field. The deal, as sources familiar with it know, was approved by Vladimir Putin, who later visited the plant and inspected the platforms.

After some time, even more remarkable persons appeared among the shareholders of VZZ. An 11% stake in the plant was acquired by Nikolai Shamalov, an old acquaintance of the Prime Minister, who established the Ozero cooperative with him. And 25% of VZZ went to Rosinvest LLC. In an interview with Novaya Gazeta, Sergei Kolesnikov, the author of the letter about "Putin's palace" and one of the founders of Rosinvest, claimed that the company was created "on behalf of Vladimir Putin, transmitted through his friend Nikolai Shamalov." “The ownership structure is ultimately fixed by bearer shares. 2% of the shares belonged to me, Gorelov and Shamalov. Shamalov transferred 94% of the shares to Putin, ”said Kolesnikov. True, the press secretary of the prime minister, Dmitry Peskov, told Novaya Gazeta that Vladimir Putin never owned shares in Rosinvest.

Together with representatives of the Vyborg authorities and partners of Ilya Traber, Rosinvest participated in another large-scale project - the construction of coastal shipyards. The project, which was carried out by Primorskaya Verf LLC, provided for the construction of gas carriers for transporting liquefied natural gas, oil platforms and ships with a displacement of more than 100,000 tons. The construction was approved by Vladimir Putin and financed 60% (the total investment was 38 billion rubles) by the state-owned Vnesheconombank, in which Putin is chairman of the supervisory board.

Prime Minister's press secretary Dmitry Peskov explained to Novaya Gazeta that "Putin supports all cost-effective projects for the development of port infrastructure," and as for Vnesheconombank, "loans are provided to them upon the completion of the relevant procedures, and not on anyone's instructions." . In Primorskaya Verf LLC, according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, 11% each belongs to Dmitry Gorelov, Sergey Kolesnikov and Nikolai Shamalov, 25% to Rosinvest LLC, and the rest to longtime partners of Ilya Traber, who, according to observers, may represent the interests of an influential businessman - Alexander Ulanov (3.4%) and Alexander Petrov (3.4%). In addition, the same shares belong to Georgy Poryadin, the former head of the Vyborg municipality, and Anna Konstantinovna Patraeva, apparently the daughter of the head of the administration of the municipality, Konstantin Patraev. Poryadin and Patraev did not respond to Novaya Gazeta's inquiries sent more than two weeks ago.

Next to the coastal shipyards, another super project should be located, in which Alexander Ulanov, Ilya Traber's partner, owns a significant share. Ulanov, according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, controls 27% in Jasmine LLC. This company announced in 2008 that it plans to build an oil refinery in Primorsk with a capacity of 10 million tons of raw materials per year with a total investment of $6 billion.

Rosinvest LLC, together with partners and longtime acquaintances of Ilya Traber, also participated in other projects co-owned by very interesting companies.

... The story of the pirate seizure of the cargo ship Arctic Sea in 2009 is still shrouded in a veil of secrecy. Further investigation only added questions. The head of the pirates turned out to be an Estonian citizen Dmitrys Savins, who during the investigation admitted (the protocols of court interrogations can be found in the public domain) that the businessman Erik Kross, who previously headed Estonian intelligence, was the customer of the capture. As Savins reported, Cross, who by that time was experiencing financial difficulties, hoped to improve the situation with the help of a ransom for the Arctic Sea. Cross promised Savins 100,000 euros (subsequently the amount increased to 200,000). What immediately confuses in the testimony of the "pirate"?

Savins and Cross were partners in a number of large companies, and their earnings, to put it mildly, did not quite match the potential benefits of the takeover. In 2005-2008, Savins, according to Estonian business media, worked as chairman of the board at Pankri Tankers, which was engaged in the transportation of petroleum products. In 2008, Savins was paid a salary of more than 1 million crowns.

Salary was not the only source of income for Dmitrijs Savins: the company Pankri Tankers, the board of which he headed, was a subsidiary of a larger company, Alexela Logistics. In his testimony, the millionaire pirate claimed that, together with Eric Cross, they were shareholders of Juhtimise Partnerid, which, in turn, owned 5% in Alexela Logistics.

Alexela Logistics is a fairly large and well-known company on the Russian market, among its clients are the largest Russian oil companies: Surgutneftegaz, TNK-BP, Gazprom Neft. A spokesman for Alexela Logistics confirmed to Novaya Gazeta that Savins was a managing director at Pankri Tankers, from which he left at the end of 2008. The company does not have information about his future fate.

Alexela Logistics, according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, owns a 25% stake in First Murmansk Terminal LLC, which leases the oil transshipment complex of the Murmansk Sea Fishing Port. Together with Alexela Logistics, Ilya Traber’s longtime acquaintances and partners, Alexander Ulanov (46%) and Alexander Petrov (9.2%), and, apparently, the son of the head of the administration of the Vyborg municipality Konstantin Patraev, Igor Konstantinovich, act as co-owners of the First Murmansk Terminal. Patraev (5.5%).

What is even more curious, according to the SKRIN database of Russian enterprises, until 2008, Rosinvest was the partner of Alexela Logistics in the First Murmansk Terminal LLC (it owned 13%). Alexela Logistics told Novaya Gazeta that they had sold their stake in the First Murmansk Terminal in October 2007, and declined to comment on their projects with Rosinvest and Ilya Traber.

Alexela Logistics had other joint projects with the Vyborg authorities and Ilya Traber's partners. As Alexela Logistics told Novaya Gazeta, the company owned shares in RosEst LLC and the Petromarin bunkering company, where, according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, its partners were the same Alexander Ulanov, Alexander Petrov, head of the administration of the Vyborg municipality Konstantin Patraev and , apparently, his son - Igor Konstantinovich Patraev.

Among other things, Alexander Ulanov and Alexander Petrov were going to build a terminal for transshipment of methyl alcohol in the area of ​​the Vysotsk seaport in Vyborg. Long-term partners of Ilya Traber owned the Baltic Initiative Vyborg LLC, which was supposed to build a terminal for 450 thousand tons of methanol per year, with a total investment of $ 25 million.

Ulanov and Petrov also own 25% each in Invest-BSMZ LLC, which in turn controls 28.7% of the Baltic Ship Mechanical Plant (BSMZ). BSMZ is one of the largest tanker manufacturers, it is engaged in the construction and reconstruction of ships, and in addition, the BSMZ berths are of great value, which, in fact, turns the plant into a small port. Alexander Petrov did not respond to a request from Novaya Gazeta, and it was not possible to contact Alexander Ulanov: he is not available on the phones of his companies.

Announcement Do you want to know the secret details of the buyout of the Bank of Moscow, what role did Igor Yusufov, the president's special representative for international economic cooperation, play in this, and what will the takeover of one of the country's key financial institutions turn into? Read in the next issue of Roman Anin's interview with Andrey Borodin, the former president of the Bank of Moscow