Translated material
Lukashenko's wallet organized a parallel import of agricultural machinery of foreign manufacturers through a company in Germany
Businessman Alexander Shakutin, who fell under the sanctions of the EU as a “wallet” Alexander Lukashenko, organized a parallel import of agricultural equipment of foreign manufacturers who announced the departure from the Russian and Belarusian markets. This is stated in a joint investigation of the "Belarusian Investigative Center" (BRC), the Russian edition of "Vilest", the German publication Paper Trail Media, with the support of "Cyberpartizan".
To bypass sanctions, Shakutin uses SV Maschinen GmbH registered in Germany. In Russia and Belarus, it is known under the trademark of SV Car.
A subsidiary of a Foreign Unitary Enterprise "SV Machine" has been operating in Minsk since 2010. Russian daughter SV Maschinen GmbH LLC SV Machine has existed since 2014. Information about both representative offices was available on the Russian -speaking version of the official SV Maschinen GmbH website until September 2023, at the time of the investigation, the certificate about the Russian office deleted .
According to the customs commodity invoices for 2023, which the investigators were able to study, SV Maschinen GmbH imported the equipment of the US-Italian CNH Industrial, German Amazone, Swedish Vaderstad AB, Danish Samson AGRO and the American Deere & Company. The latter also officially left Russia after the outbreak of war.
From April to the end of June 2023, SV Maschinen GmbH put 50 units of products to Russia at a total cost of more than € 12.5 million. In 2021, this amount was 20 times less and did not exceed € 630 thousand. The assortment of imported goods has changed. If in 2021 the company imported mainly components and spare parts, then in 2023 it is already agricultural equipment and equipment.
The representative office in Belarus graduated from 2022 with a net profit of 3.4 million Belarusian rubles, almost a million rubles more than a year earlier. Over the past year, the Russian daughter has earned a little more than two thousand euros.
The product that is associated with Shakutin is imported in Austria, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Poland, the USA, Belgium and Denmark. The equipment goes to the Russian regions mainly through Brest-directly to company-buyers. Until mid -July 2022, supplies were carried out mainly through Kaliningrad.
Earlier, the BRC issued another investigation about the activities of Shakutin, in which he explained that his company managed to circumvent the sanctions legislation of the EU thanks to the confusing structure of the owners. It was changed in September 2020, shortly before the introduction of restrictions against the businessman. At the time of publication, 70% SV Maschinen GmbH owns the Lithuanian EM System (it is owned by Shakutin and his long-time Belarusian business partner Igor Subbotin ), the rest of 30%-the business partner of Shakutin, director of the company Valentin Egorov.
Em System is owned by Alexander Shakutin. The company is under the national sanctions of Lithuania, its accounts are blocked, real estate and other property are frozen.
As the Insider wrote, Shakutin fell under US sanctions in 2020 for Lukashenko’s support. The EU sanctions list shows the businessman as an entrepreneur and head of UAB EM System, Anulatrans Sia, Amkodor Center, Iskamed, PMMI INGINININE, SV Maschinen GmbH and Amkodor. The BRC has a separate investigation about the activities of the last company.
Shakutin and Lukashenko are connected by close relationships. Shakutin came to the mother -in -law of Lukashenko to dig potatoes. Lukashenko also helped Shakutin with money, when in 2016 he decided to build a multifunctional complex “Shanter Hill” with an area of 140 thousand m² next to the thrush and Minsk-Arena, the BRC notes.
Shakutin’s business, related to the re -export of flowers, bloomed in 2011, when Alexander Lukashenko created benefits for imports with his decree with the purpose of re -export. His decree freed importers from VAT, provided that the goods will be exported from Belarus. According to investigators, the revenue of the Shakutin flower business - Beltamozhvilia, which is owned by the wife, son and the father -in -law of Shakutin, in two years amounted to $ 264 million.