Cyprus's USM Holdings Limited, which indirectly owns controlling stakes in Metalloinvest, Megafon and other assets, is completing their transfer to Russia. This follows from the USM message. They will be transferred to the "Holding Company Yuesem", 100% of Metalloinvest and 56.32% of Megafon shares will be in its ownership. In addition, this applies to the IT company Peterservice and the publishing house Kommersant, a USM representative, Elena Martynova, told Vedomosti.

Restructuring is conditioned by the course for de-orphanization of the economy, the press service of the USM, member of the board of directors of the holding Ivan Streshinsky, quotes.

According to the SPARK database, so far, the "Holding Company Yuesem" (registered in April this year) does not own the assets claimed.

The main owner of USM Alisher Usmanov began to transfer assets to Russia in 2014. The company LLC "Yuesem Metallinvest" received a controlling stake in Metalloinvest, and another Russian subsidiary, AF Telecom Holding LLC - a controlling stake in Megafon. Then USM also linked the restructuring with the announcement of President Vladimir Putin about the course to de-orphanization of the economy and the introduction in the Tax Code of rules on taxation of profits of controlled foreign companies.

Before Usmanov began to transfer Metalloinvest to Russia, he belonged to Cypriot companies: USM Steel & Mining Group Limited held a 40% stake, Seropaem Holdings Limited held 21%, Metalloinvest 24%, and USM Investments Limited 15%.

The main co-owners of USM Holdings are Usmanov, who owns a 49% stake, and Vladimir Skoch, who owns 30% of the company.

Martynova clarifies that after the transfer of assets to Russia, USM will pay the same rate of income tax as before. She refused to name her.

A month ago, the deputies submitted to the State Duma a bill that stipulates the creation of special zones on the island. Russian in the Far East and Oktyabrsky in the Kaliningrad region, resembling offshore. Involve business in Russia officials are going to low tax rates, mitigation of control and guarantee of anonymity. Residents of special administrative regions (ATS) will be able to obtain the status of an international company, which gives the right to transfer the entire capital, retaining the legal status. But the "Holding Company Yuesem" was registered in April in Moscow, which means that the conditions of the SAR do not apply to it.

USM has long been talking about plans to transfer assets to Russian jurisdiction, said Sova Capital analyst Alexander Vengranovich. It is obvious that both today's announcement and the departure of Megafon from the exchange meet the USM's plans to concentrate assets in Russia, he believes.

On July 16, Megafon announced delisting from the London Stock Exchange. The transfer of USM assets to Russian jurisdiction and delisting of Megafon may be connected - the Usmanov group is trying to concentrate to the maximum in Russia, the analyst of Raiffeisenbank Sergey Libin assumes. Perhaps this is due to the fear of imposing sanctions against USM shareholders, he does not exclude. Translation is unlikely to somehow affect the operational activities of Megafon - the operator is doing business in Russia, adds Libin.

Usmanov and his partners are not the only ones who in recent years have transferred assets to Russia from foreign jurisdictions. In 2016 part of the assets to Russia was transferred to Renova by Viktor Vekselberg. Shareholder changes have affected only those assets in which the company is the majority shareholder and which is managed, previously told Vedomosti an acquaintance of an entrepreneur. In the same year, the system integrator Technoserv AS, which belonged to Alexei and Dmitry Ananyev, moved from the Dutch jurisdiction to the Russian jurisdiction. In July 2015, it became known that the IT-holding company IBS excluded the foreign legal entities from its ownership structure. And in June 2014, the Cypriot jurisdiction over the Russian one was also replaced by the computer manufacturer Aquarius, which is part of the largest Russian IT holding National Computer Corporation.