Officials and others

Head of the Presidential Administration and Head of Rusnano

OFFSHORE

Coral Maritime Limited

HOW CONNECTED

In July 2012, Anton Vaino, then first deputy head of the Presidential Administration, was able to travel through Spanish waters for nine days on the 54-meter yacht Addiction . The yacht belongs to the offshore Coral Maritime Limited, its beneficiary is businessman Sergei Adonyev, one of the founders of the Russian operator Yota (Skartel company).

WHAT'S WRONG HERE

Nine days on a yacht is actually a gift or a bribe that has a material equivalent, explains the general director of Transparency International* Ilya Shumanov. Captain of the yachting school “Power of the Wind” Andrey Kipyatkov believes that the minimum price for such a holiday in Spain is from 300 thousand euros, the same estimate is given by the Burgess yacht agency. The booking service Yacht Charter Fleet offers this particular yacht for rent for nine days for an amount starting from 400 thousand euros. According to the Anti-Corruption Law, officials do not have the right to receive expensive gifts and other rewards. If an official receives material benefits for providing certain services, then this can be regarded as a bribe, which is punishable by imprisonment for up to three years.

MORE DETAILS

The Pandora Papers contain a letter from the director of Coral Maritime Limited to the captain of the yacht Addiction. Attached to the letter was a list of persons who could use the yacht for free from July 16 to July 24, 2012. And among them were Anton Vaino with his wife and son. The list also included the head of Rusnano, Sergei Kulikov, and his daughter.

According to leading Burgess charter broker Daria Tsygankova, such a document may be required to be provided to port authorities: “The presence of any person on board should always be clearly documented. The yacht always has both a Crew List and a Passenger List, regardless of whether the guests are paying or not.” In addition, the owner of the Atlas yacht agency, Viktor Martyshov, believes that such a document may well mean that guests can be on the yacht in the absence of its owner.

The yacht Addiction actually sailed in Spanish waters on these dates. As follows from the data of the ImportGenius service, the cruise began on July 16, 2012 in the port of Barcelona. The next day, the yacht stopped off the coast of Mallorca, and later visited the island of Formentera and Ibiza. On July 20, Addiction left Spanish waters and set off on the route Cannes - Nice - Monaco. Judging by the movements of the yacht, the trip ended only on the evening of July 25 in the French port of Beaulieu-sur-Mer.

The yacht belongs to the offshore Coral Maritime, its beneficiary ( 1 , 2 ) is Sergey Adoniev.

In October 2013, Alisher Usmanov's Megafon company bought 100% of Scartel. The sale of Scartel took place with the support of the head of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, and even Putin himself, and Adonyev is a good friend of Chemezov. The parties signed a preliminary agreement on the merger of companies in April 2012, two months before the yacht trip.

The head of Chemezov’s apparatus at Rostec, Sergei Kulikov, could be present on the yacht along with Vaino: he has been working with Chemezov since 2000, and it was he, according to media reports, who led the sale of Scartel. Now Kulikov heads Rusnano.

According to Ilya Shumanov from Transparency International*, if Anton Vaino and Sergey Kulikov could theoretically influence the deal to sell Scartel, then vacationing on a yacht creates a conflict of interest for them. The Presidential Administration, Rostec and Rusnano did not respond to our requests.

*ANO “Center TI-R” is included in the list of NPOs performing the functions of “foreign agents”. By law, we are required to indicate this, otherwise our colleagues may be fined. “Important Stories” believes that such laws contradict the Russian Constitution.

Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev / press service of the President of the Russian Federation / TASS, Ilya Nedelko / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)