In 2014, the former Gazprom top manager Andrei Goncharenko produced a splash in the UK, bought one of the most expensive houses in London. Townhaus Hanover Lodge, according to the Daily Mail British tabloid, cost him 120 million pounds (more than 7.5 billion rubles).
Before his appearance in London, Goncharenko worked as the first deputy director of Gazprom Invest South (the company was liquidated in 2019) and was not known as a major businessman. Therefore, the British media called Goncharenko a shadow oligarch with an unknown source of funds. In total, from 2011 to 2014, he bought four mansions in the country, spending 250 million pounds on them.
Andrey Goncharenko Photo: "Gazprom Invest South"
At the end of 2020, journalists of the French newspaper Le Monde and the Center for the Study of Corruption and Organizing (OCCRP) gained access to documents on the beneficiaries of all companies registered in Luxembourg. “Important stories” became the only Russian participant in this international investigation. The Luxembourg files discovered more than a thousand Russians, including former and current state -owned companies. For years, Russians have used Luxembourg companies for years to save on taxes when buying expensive European real estate and maintain anonymity.
Thanks to the Luxembourg list of beneficiaries, “important stories” learned about the investments of former Gazprom managers in expensive real estate not only in the UK, but also in France.
Real estate on the Cote d'Azur
According to the registry of Luxembourg, Goncharenko is a beneficiary of two companies registered in this country. On the balance of one of them- PMB Real Estate -since 2009 there are land and buildings at the elite French resort of Saint-Jan-Cap-Ferra. At that time, Goncharenko still held the post of deputy director in Gazprom's "daughter". “Andrei Goncharenko is known as one of the organizers and frequent guests of the Russian Seasons parties in Monaco and on the Cote d'Azur,” Kommersant wrote in 2014. Saint-Jan-Cap-Ferra is located just on the azure bank, 10 kilometers from Nice.
The Luxembourg Register shows that the company that bought land at this resort for almost three million euros, and the buildings for almost seven belongs to Goncharenko. The company of the former Gazprom manager spent about 29 million euros in ten years on the arrangement of the site.
The second company Goncharenko from Luxembourg, Rossa Holding , owns Rossa Real Estate, and that, in turn, (through the French branch) had a mansion on Charles Laffite Street in a suburbs of Paris, 20 minutes of walking from the triumphal arca. The company bought this house in 2007 for almost 7.7 million euros and sold it in 2017.
The mansion on Charles Laffit Street in the Commune of Neyuii-Sur-Sin near Paris. From 2007 to 2017, he belonged to Andrei Goncharenko. Photo: Google
At the weighted average euro rate, the total costs of French real estate amounted to almost two billion rubles. Where did the former manager of Gazprom's “daughter” come to the purchase of expensive assets in the UK and France?
In 2014, Goncharenko’s lawyers explained to the British newspaper The Daily Mail that in the 1990s their client worked in real estate, road transport and forestry and then received “significant profits”. In Gazprom Invest the South, where Goncharenko worked as deputy general director from 2002 to 2013, then, in 2014, they answered the reporters of The Daily Mail that he should not file a declaration of income.
Saint-Jan-Cap-Ferra is an elite resort and a commune on the azure bank in France. Here, real estate for almost 10 million euros was bought by Andrei Goncharenko. Photo: Kitmasterbloke / Flickr Cannes are a resort city on the Cote d'Azur in France. Here, real estate for almost 17 million euros was bought by Anatoly Cozeruk. Photo: Matt Machin / Flickr
In the love of French resorts Goncharenko is not alone. “Important stories” were discovered by three Luxembourg firms and his former Gazprom adviser Anatoly Cozeruk ( Farne Real Estate , Tesa Real Estate and Aste Real Estate ). In 2008-2009, the companies acquired real estate at sea resorts of France (through the French branches) : in the southeast of the country, in Cannes, and in the north-west, captured by Val-Andre-as well as an area of more than 800 square meters in the center of Paris on Phazanderie Street, in half a half from the walking of the walk Eiffel Tower.
The mansion on Phazanderi Street in Paris. Since 2008, it belongs to the company Anatoly Cozeruk. Photo: Google
The total cost of the entire French real estate of Cossurk at the time of purchase in 2008-2009 amounted to more than 33 million euros, or more than 1.4 billion rubles (at the average rate).
"Complete solution of issues"
In 2013, Izvestia wrote that Andrei Goncharenko, Anatoly Kozeruk and the head of the Gazprom Invest South Legal Department were suspected of extortion with large Gazprom contractors. According to the sources of Izvestia, close to the investigation, Goncharenko and his subordinates allegedly did not pay businessman Nikolai Prikhodko more than three billion rubles for work performed under work contracts and transferred money to the accounts of affiliated firms. They also allegedly tried to gain control of the construction companies Prikhodko.
Anatoly Cossral Photo: Anatoly Cozeruk page on Facebook
On audio recordings from negotiations in the office of Gazprom Invest Yuga, Prikhodko is forced to abandon the companies. A man named Suren, who is conveyed by Goncharenko himself, represents himself as a decisive “all problem moments for gas in this monopoly” and notes: “We solve issues that concern Gazprom, and, believe me, we solve them extremely uncompromisingly.” He repeats several times, turning to Nikolai Prikhodko: "You will re -arrange the company and leave ***** [completely] from here." Otherwise, and also if Prikhodko continues to “tell how theft goes to Gazprom“ Money ”, Suren threatens the businessman that he and his son Nikolai“ will be initiated, ***, all, ***, criminal cases ”. Less than two weeks after the publication of Izvestia, it became known that the police suspect his father and son Prikhodko of embezzlement of three billion rubles from Gazprom.
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How the investigation ended is unknown. In the same year, Andrei Goncharenko and Anatoly Cozeruk left Gazprom Invest South. In 2019, Goncharenko became the owner and president of the Russian construction company Horizon. The company's website says that it is the general contractor for the construction of the “Residential Microdistrict for the Amur GPZ in the city of Svobodny” for Gazprom’s employees. Cossack went to the Board of Directors of the Development MR Group, then headed one of the largest builders in Moscow-the Center GVSU. In the Council of Directors of the latter, he consists with a longtime friend of Russian President Boris Rotenberg.
At the time of publication, Andrei Goncharenko and Anatoly Cossral did not answer the questions of “important stories”.
Read more about the #openlux project, as well as about the secret of foreign real estate of the Top managerof Russian Railwaysand how the shares purchased forRosneftwere in the hands of the dancers from Moscow.
With the participation of Amra Dzonlich (Amra Dzonlic), OCCRP
