BBC: the share of the OBI network went to a 25-year-old businessman associated with Kadyrov’s associates

construction hypermarket chain A share in the OBI went to 25-year-old Chechen businessman Valid Korchagin, who is associated with associates of Ramzan Kadyrov, the found out . BBC Russian Service

Also, Korchagin, according to the publication, became a co-owner of the company MMK Ilyich, registered in 2022 in the self-proclaimed DPR. The same name belongs to one of the largest enterprises in Ukraine - the Mariupol Ilyich Metallurgical Plant, which was partially destroyed in the first days of the war. The Russian-appointed authorities of the DPR and the Ministry of Construction said that they planned to restore the plant.

In addition, at the end of October, the businessman received a stake in the Arena company, which took over the American Starbucks coffee shops that left the Russian market.

Korchagin was born in the village of Prishib in the Astrakhan region, where the current head of the Chechen Ministry of Construction, Vakhit Geremeev, lived. He is called the brother of Senator Suleiman Geremeev. The BBC suggests that Vakhit Geremeev is Korchagin’s father (the businessman changed his last name several years ago). The publication clarifies that the Geremeevs themselves are relatives of Kadyrov’s close associate, State Duma deputy Adam Delimkhanov.

The connection between Korchagin and the Geremeevs is also indicated by the Energo-Service company, registered in the Chechen village of Dzhalka on Geremeev Street, which is located next to Delimkhanov and Kadyrov streets.

network After the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the German OBI announced its withdrawal from Russia. At first, the business went to entrepreneur Josef Liokumovic, but in October five main OBI enterprises were transferred to the unknown company Boksitogorsky Timber Processing Plant. Liokumovich, according to a Forbes source , called this an attempt at a raider takeover. Valid Korchagin became a co-owner of OBI by the end of the year.

Early in the morning of December 9, caught fire store an OBI in Khimki near Moscow - the fire area exceeded 17 thousand square meters, the hypermarket was completely destroyed, and a security guard was killed. The All-Russian Union of Insurers estimated the damage from the fire at 20 billion rubles.