Opening the inner circle

Among them were four businessmen belonging to the “inner circle of the Russian leadership” - Gennady Timchenko, brothers Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, as well as Yuri Kovalchuk. All of them, the document explains, were engaged in sponsorship, financial, material, technical and other types of support in relation to “a high-ranking official in the government of the Russian Federation.” President Putin, as follows from what follows.

Thus, according to the US Treasury Department, the activities of Timchenko, co-founder of the oil and gas trader Gunvor, in the energy sector have recently been directly connected with the head of Russia. Putin, the report claims, owns an ownership stake in the company and may also have access to its financial resources.

The claims against the Rotenberg brothers are related to their support for “Putin’s favorite projects” through participation in the execution of large orders in preparation for the Winter Games in Sochi and from the state-controlled Gazprom. The total amount of the Olympic contracts transferred to them, calculated in the United States, amounted to about $7 billion, thanks to which the Rotenbergs’ personal fortune has increased by $2.5 billion over the last two years alone.

In turn, Yuri Kovalchuk, according to the US Ministry of Finance, is not only the largest individual shareholder of Bank Rossiya, but also the personal banker of high-ranking representatives of the Russian government, including Putin. Kovalchuk is a close adviser to the president and has been repeatedly called one of his “cashiers,” the statement said.

Finally, Bank Rossiya itself is the personal bank of Putin’s “inner circle”. Some of its members are among the shareholders of the organization, whose assets are estimated at approximately $10 billion, the authors of the document note.

The imposition of sanctions against these individuals involves the freezing of their assets in US jurisdiction, as well as a ban on American citizens and legal entities from business contacts and transactions with them and with companies controlled by them.

Actually, most of the revelations of the American Ministry of Finance have not been a secret to anyone for a long time. Indeed, four prominent businessmen from the notorious circle of “Putin’s friends” own large stakes in a wide variety of enterprises. All of them are dollar billionaires who made and multiplied their fortunes by carrying out large government contracts or orders from state-owned companies in the last decade of Putin. So their names have more than once found themselves at the center of various corruption scandals, which, however, have not yet had serious consequences for them. Some of them are worth recalling, at least dotted line - the country should know its heroes.

Thus, Gennady Timchenko, whose fortune Forbes estimated at $15.3 billion at the end of last year, still owned stakes in Novatek (23.5%), Sibur (37.3%), and Transoil. (80%), Stroytransgaz (63%) and Gunvor (44%). However, the other day it became known that on Wednesday, that is, the day before the introduction of sanctions, the businessman sold his stake in the oil trader to his main partner, Torbjorn Tornqvist.

Meanwhile, there have always been many questions about the activities of the company, which in the middle of the last decade unexpectedly turned into a major intermediary in the sale of raw materials to state-owned Rosneft, Gazprom Neft, and Surgutneftegaz. In particular, in 2008, in response to a request from Alexei Navalny about cooperation with the trader and the structure of his ownership, the relevant information was made public by Gunvor himself. Subsequently, evidence of abuse by the trader and his management was never presented. Last week, the company officially denied its alleged relationship with Putin.

All this time, Timchenko’s talent for wresting large orders in the field of infrastructure construction raised no less questions for Timchenko (especially from his competitors). In particular, it was thanks to Timchenko’s efforts that Stroytransgaz, which he bought several years ago, turned into one of Gazprom’s largest contractors. Just on Friday, Reuters, citing a competent source , reported that the company had been selected as a contractor for laying a section of the South Stream gas pipeline in Bulgaria. In total, last year the businessman’s companies, according to Forbes estimates, received contracts from the state worth 41 billion rubles.

Perhaps only the Rotenberg brothers can challenge Timchenko for the title of kings of government procurement. Last year, Forbes counted Arcadia (personal wealth of $3.3 billion), whose ownership includes Stroygazmontazh (51%), Mostotrest (26.4%), Mineral Fertilizers (79.4%), SMP Bank (37.3%), state contracts in the amount of 184 billion rubles. In turn, Boris ($1.7 billion), who owns shares of SMP Bank (37.3%), SETP (38.1%) and Stroygazmontazh, has 33 billion. Everything is simple here: Gazprom contracts for the construction of infrastructure, laying and supply of pipes. And, of course, Sochi.

According to Boris Nemtsov’s estimates, given in the report “Winter Olympics in the Subtropics,” companies affiliated with the Rotenbergs received Olympic contracts worth about 229 billion rubles. They also built a gas pipeline, roads, an airport, the Adler thermal power plant, a cargo and sea port and other infrastructure - a total of 22 objects. The Rotenbergs spent approximately every seventh ruble spent on the Sochi games. As a result of this work, dozens of criminal cases were opened, but none of them ever reached court.

Here is another, apparently, typical example of the Rotenbergs’ fruitful friendship with the current Russian government. In 2012, by special order of Dmitry Medvedev, the Mostotrest company received a contract without competition for the construction of roads around the Skolkovo innovation city for a total amount of 56 billion rubles. The cancellation of the competitive procedures prescribed by law was then explained by the urgency of the work: the infrastructure had to be created for the G8 summit planned in 2014, which was then decided to be moved to Sochi, and now, due to known circumstances, will apparently be canceled altogether.

Be that as it may, the measures announced by the American government still affected the Rotenbergs. On Friday, Visa and MasterCard blocked payment transactions using cards from SMP Bank, which they control. True, on Sunday both operators pulled back , announcing the restoration of payments in full.

Bank Rossiya of Yuri Kovalchuk ($1.1 billion), which owns 30.3% of the share capital of the credit organization, through which it controls shares in the Sogaz insurance group, Gazprombank, National Media Group and STS Media, also suffered. "

Unlike SMP Bank, there has not yet been any information about the restoration of payments through the Visa and MasterCard systems. But Western sanctions have already brought new prominent clients to Russia. the opening of personal bank accounts have already ordered Thus, President Putin and the leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, . In addition, accounts of companies with state participation are transferred for servicing to “Russia”. On Friday it became known that the salary project with the bank is being concluded by the United Shipbuilding Corporation, the example of which is likely to be contagious.

In the future, Bank Rossiya and its owner will probably be able to count on preferences when purchasing state assets. In particular, Kovalchuk is called one of the main contenders for the acquisition of the state stake (46.99%) in Rostelecom, the privatization of which, according to the government plan, should take place no later than 2016. The businessman is already a strategic partner of this IT company. At the end of last year, together with partners (VTB and Alexey Mordashov), he acquired a controlling stake in Tele2 Holding Rus (SPTele2 and Rostelecom), on the basis of which the fourth Russian national mobile operator will be created.

Obviously, other members of the “inner circle” can count on new orders and pleasant compliments from the state in the future, the ranks of which, contrary to the intentions of the West under the blows of sanctions, seem to be only becoming closer and more united.

Photo: EPA/ITAR-TASS



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