Tver court of Moscow on Saturday, March 31, arrested for two months the owner of the group "Sum" Ziyavudin Magomedov, who in 2017 ranked 63rd in the Russian Forbes rating with a fortune of $ 1.4 billion. He is suspected of creating a criminal community and a number of episodes fraud and waste. Along with the billionaire, his elder brother, ex-senator from the Smolensk region Magomed Magomedov, and the head of the Intex company, part of Summa's structure, Arthur Maksidov, were taken into custody. In the companies of the group across the country from Yakutia to Dagestan, various investigative actions continue.
Organized business community
All those arrested - suspects for one of the most serious articles of the Criminal Code - 210, about an organized criminal community. Also they are charged with several episodes of fraud, and brothers Magomedov - also an episode of embezzlement. Each of the suspects faces up to 25 years in prison.
The "gang" of the Magomedov brothers operated at least from 2010, follows from the documents that were announced on Saturday in the Tver court. 2.5 billion rubles., Which the Magomedov, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was abducted from federal and regional budgets, were transferred to the accounts of offshore companies, Nikolai Budilo, the investigator, stated at the meeting. Some of this money subsequently returned to Russia as an investment. The suspects have extensive connections "in criminal and political circles," said the MVD colonel.
The case of creating an NSO in relation to the Magomedovs and Maxidov was instituted on the eve of their detention on March 29, with separate episodes of fraud and embezzlement (seven in all) being investigated since December 2014. Active investigative actions in the case began about six months ago, the investigator Budilo told in court.
Two sources of RBC in the investigation department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs note that the authorities of Dagestan helped in gathering information on the Magomedov brothers. "Magomedov's ambitions in Dagestan," - said one of the interlocutors of RBC (the generic sister of the brothers is Derbent, they allocated money for the reconstruction of the city). The source of RBC notes that "purposeful work on the search for materials" on Ziyavudin Magomedov was held in Dagestan with the authorization of the new authorities of the region.
Protection Ziyavudin and Magomed Magomedov offered for their freedom a record pledge - 2.5 billion rubles.
Assets of Sumy
The main assets of the group are concentrated in the transport and logistics sector: the shipping company Fesco (32.5%, the capitalization of the parent company Far Eastern Shipping Company on the Moscow Stock Exchange - 19.8 billion rubles), the third largest cargo operator in Europe, the Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port 25.05%, capitalization on the Moscow Stock Exchange - 149.6 bn RUR), as well as a share in the largest container operator, Transcontainer (25.07%).
In the oil and gas sector, Summa controls the Yakutia Fuel and Energy Company (over 90%), which produces and processes natural gas and gas condensate. Engineering subsidiaries of Sumy Transinzhiniring, GlobalElectroservice and construction Stroynovatsia and Intex are implementing more than 50 projects throughout the country. In the agro-industrial sphere, Summa owns a stake in United Grain Company (50% minus one share), controls the Novorossiysk bakery plant (according to the company itself, the largest Russian grain terminal). The capitalization of NCCP on the Moscow stock exchange is 15.5 billion rubles. In the telecom field, "Sum" owns the national telecom operator Sumtel, which is present in 11 regions. Consolidated indicators of the group are not disclosed.
In the Forbes ranking of Russia's richest businessmen in 2017, Ziyavudin Magomedov ranks 63rd, his fortune is estimated at $ 1.4 billion. Magomedov took the fifth place in the rating of the richest families in Russia, also compiled by Forbes.
In addition to Suma, Ziyavudin Magomedov also owns the Caspian VC fund, which invests in high-tech companies. Among his investments, Uber and Uber China taxi services, Diamond Foundry jewelry manufacturer, Peek guides and recommendations service, and Virgin Hyperloop One are a company developing a super-fast train system. He, along with Richard Branson, is on the board of Hyperloop One. Caspian Venture Capital has invested more than $ 100 million in the project.
Lawyer Alexei Melnikov draws attention to the fact that for the first time in Russian practice, the investigation considers business as a criminal community. "There is a feeling that the investigators deliberately tried to make the accusation as stringent as possible," he said. "Including because the" entrepreneurial "nature of the crime is more difficult to use for arrest." The danger is, the lawyer goes on, that responsibility is already due to participation in the criminal community, regardless of the commission of any crimes.
The Battle for Dagestan
Sources of RBC state that one of the reasons for Magomedov's harsh arrest could be their reluctance to participate or not very active assistance in the anti-corruption operation taking place in Dagestan. "They have practically no economic interests in the republic, but there are many people loyal to Magomedov on the ground," one of the interlocutors of RBC explains.
The reason for the prosecution of the businessman could be the story around the Novorossiysk commercial seaport - Suma owns a controlling stake in NCSP along with the state-owned Transneft. In 2013, the state monopoly said that port management does not take into account the interests of the company, and demanded the replacement of the chairman of the board of directors Marat Shaidayev (was nominated by Sum) and the CEO Rado Antolovic. In regard to Antonovich, the Investigative Committee instituted criminal proceedings under the article "Commercial bribery". As a result, the top manager left the country and was put on the international wanted list.
Shareholders of NCSP publicly announced the division of business: Transneft wanted to withdraw liquid terminals, and Summa - dry. However, the division did not happen and the conflict was settled: the company's board of directors was headed by the first vice-president of Transneft Maxim Grishanin. In 2015, Grishanin said that the conflict was exhausted and the issue of partitioning was closed.
Investigative actions against Magomedov coincided with worsening of the situation around NCSP. This time, "Summa", not seeing the prospects for privatization of the state stake, decided to sell its stake in Transneft. The state company has already set up its representative as general director of the port. "It seems to me that this [claims to the owners of the" Sum. "- RBC) is part of the" negotiations "[at the price of the stake in NCSP]," Magomedov's friend told RBC. Contact with a representative of Transneft on Sunday failed.
According to a source close to Sum, there is "a certain tension" around the deal for the sale by the group of its stake in NCSP. According to the interlocutor of RBC, negotiations on its value continued until recently. "Magomedov could insist on reviewing the terms of this deal," the source said.
Political strike
By refusing to release suspects for an unprecedented 2.5 billion rubles pledge equal to the alleged damage, the court made it clear that the case is not of an economic nature and that compensation for damage is not required from suspects, "said Leonid Davydov, the founder of the St. Petersburg Policy Foundation.
"The assets of the" Sum "group will eventually end up with the state and competitors," believes the head of the Political Expert Group Konstantin Kalachev. "I think that for the group" Sum "took seriously, the authorities show that they are determined to be tough and resolute," - agrees the director of the Center for Economic and Political Reforms Nikolai Mironov.
Interviewed by RBC experts are also confident that the arrest of Magomedov will weaken the figures of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and his deputy Arkady Dvorkovich close to them. In the government, Dvorkovich oversees the fuel and energy sector, regional infrastructure, telecommunications, transport, and the like. - those areas with which the various assets of the "Summa" group are connected. Ziyavudin Magomedov and the future vice-premier graduated from the economics department of Moscow State University, lived in the same hostel. About personal acquaintance with Dvorkovich from student times Magomedov told "Vedomosti". In the presidency of Dmitry Medvedev, the state of Ziyavudin Magomedov, according to the magazine "Finance", has grown from tens of millions to a billion dollars - including through the receipt of large contracts from state-owned companies.
Political analyst Mironov sees the impact on the "Sum" group as the beginning of a selective "de-oligarchization", under which Magomedov's contracts and assets will pass to other players who are more trusted by the president. "The authorities do not have enough money to implement pre-election promises, and it was predictable that it would go for selective cleansing of the elite, and not for systemic reforms that would mean breaking the entire oligarchic system," argues Mironov.
Who deals with Magomedov
The head of the investigation group is Colonel Nikolay Budilo, who is known for his participation in the case of William Browder, head of the Hermitage Capital fund. Budilo is included in the "Magnitsky list".
Operational support of the case is dealt with by the employees of the K department of the FSB of Russia, which is engaged in counterintelligence in the credit and financial sphere, follows from the reports announced in the court and the certificates. The office is headed by Ivan Tkachev, one of the most influential FSB officers, who received the rank of general at the end of last year. Tkachev oversaw the operation to detain the Russian Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukayev, as well as the operational support for the "cocaine case" of smuggling almost 400 kg of narcotic from Argentina to Russia.
The officers of the Main Directorate for Economic Security and Anti-Corruption of the Ministry of Internal Affairs also participated in the development of the Magomedovs, it follows from the documents of the court. For Glavka, this was perhaps the first high-profile event in recent years: after the arrests of the leadership in 2014 (they were, by the way, overseen by Tkachev), GUIBiPK did not actually carry out any serious operations, sources told RBC earlier.
The case is under control of the deputy head of the Office of the Prosecutor General's Office to oversee the investigation of especially important cases by Sergey Bochkarev, two sources in the central apparatus of the Ministry of Internal Affairs told RBC. He represented the Prosecutor General's Office during the consideration of the lawsuit filed by Dmitri Zakharchenko, colonel of the GUEBC and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, for more than 9 billion rubles. In January, Bochkarev, whom RBC's interlocutors refer to as the "right-hand man" of deputy prosecutor Viktor Grinya, appropriated the rank of the third-class State Councilor of Justice, corresponding to the rank of Major-General of Justice.
Ziyavudin Magomedov's defense is supervised by lawyer Alexander Vershinin, who participates in the case of Colonel SKR Mikhail Maksimenko about bribes from representatives of the criminal world, and also defended the Interior Ministry major Denis Evsyukov, businessman Vladimir Tyurin and participated in the defense of Ulyukayev at the beginning of the investigation. Novaya Gazeta called Vershinin "a close companion" to the powerful FSB general Oleg Feoktistov, who was behind the affairs of Sugrobov, Ulyukaev, the governors of Nikita Belykh, Alexander Horoshavin and Vyacheslav Geizer, as well as the St. Petersburg billionaire Dmitry Mikhalchenko.
Organized business community
All those arrested - suspects for one of the most serious articles of the Criminal Code - 210, about an organized criminal community. Also they are charged with several episodes of fraud, and brothers Magomedov - also an episode of embezzlement. Each of the suspects faces up to 25 years in prison.
The "gang" of the Magomedov brothers operated at least from 2010, follows from the documents that were announced on Saturday in the Tver court. 2.5 billion rubles., Which the Magomedov, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was abducted from federal and regional budgets, were transferred to the accounts of offshore companies, Nikolai Budilo, the investigator, stated at the meeting. Some of this money subsequently returned to Russia as an investment. The suspects have extensive connections "in criminal and political circles," said the MVD colonel.
The case of creating an NSO in relation to the Magomedovs and Maxidov was instituted on the eve of their detention on March 29, with separate episodes of fraud and embezzlement (seven in all) being investigated since December 2014. Active investigative actions in the case began about six months ago, the investigator Budilo told in court.
Two sources of RBC in the investigation department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs note that the authorities of Dagestan helped in gathering information on the Magomedov brothers. "Magomedov's ambitions in Dagestan," - said one of the interlocutors of RBC (the generic sister of the brothers is Derbent, they allocated money for the reconstruction of the city). The source of RBC notes that "purposeful work on the search for materials" on Ziyavudin Magomedov was held in Dagestan with the authorization of the new authorities of the region.
Protection Ziyavudin and Magomed Magomedov offered for their freedom a record pledge - 2.5 billion rubles.
Assets of Sumy
The main assets of the group are concentrated in the transport and logistics sector: the shipping company Fesco (32.5%, the capitalization of the parent company Far Eastern Shipping Company on the Moscow Stock Exchange - 19.8 billion rubles), the third largest cargo operator in Europe, the Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port 25.05%, capitalization on the Moscow Stock Exchange - 149.6 bn RUR), as well as a share in the largest container operator, Transcontainer (25.07%).
In the oil and gas sector, Summa controls the Yakutia Fuel and Energy Company (over 90%), which produces and processes natural gas and gas condensate. Engineering subsidiaries of Sumy Transinzhiniring, GlobalElectroservice and construction Stroynovatsia and Intex are implementing more than 50 projects throughout the country. In the agro-industrial sphere, Summa owns a stake in United Grain Company (50% minus one share), controls the Novorossiysk bakery plant (according to the company itself, the largest Russian grain terminal). The capitalization of NCCP on the Moscow stock exchange is 15.5 billion rubles. In the telecom field, "Sum" owns the national telecom operator Sumtel, which is present in 11 regions. Consolidated indicators of the group are not disclosed.
In the Forbes ranking of Russia's richest businessmen in 2017, Ziyavudin Magomedov ranks 63rd, his fortune is estimated at $ 1.4 billion. Magomedov took the fifth place in the rating of the richest families in Russia, also compiled by Forbes.
In addition to Suma, Ziyavudin Magomedov also owns the Caspian VC fund, which invests in high-tech companies. Among his investments, Uber and Uber China taxi services, Diamond Foundry jewelry manufacturer, Peek guides and recommendations service, and Virgin Hyperloop One are a company developing a super-fast train system. He, along with Richard Branson, is on the board of Hyperloop One. Caspian Venture Capital has invested more than $ 100 million in the project.
Lawyer Alexei Melnikov draws attention to the fact that for the first time in Russian practice, the investigation considers business as a criminal community. "There is a feeling that the investigators deliberately tried to make the accusation as stringent as possible," he said. "Including because the" entrepreneurial "nature of the crime is more difficult to use for arrest." The danger is, the lawyer goes on, that responsibility is already due to participation in the criminal community, regardless of the commission of any crimes.
The Battle for Dagestan
Sources of RBC state that one of the reasons for Magomedov's harsh arrest could be their reluctance to participate or not very active assistance in the anti-corruption operation taking place in Dagestan. "They have practically no economic interests in the republic, but there are many people loyal to Magomedov on the ground," one of the interlocutors of RBC explains.
The reason for the prosecution of the businessman could be the story around the Novorossiysk commercial seaport - Suma owns a controlling stake in NCSP along with the state-owned Transneft. In 2013, the state monopoly said that port management does not take into account the interests of the company, and demanded the replacement of the chairman of the board of directors Marat Shaidayev (was nominated by Sum) and the CEO Rado Antolovic. In regard to Antonovich, the Investigative Committee instituted criminal proceedings under the article "Commercial bribery". As a result, the top manager left the country and was put on the international wanted list.
Shareholders of NCSP publicly announced the division of business: Transneft wanted to withdraw liquid terminals, and Summa - dry. However, the division did not happen and the conflict was settled: the company's board of directors was headed by the first vice-president of Transneft Maxim Grishanin. In 2015, Grishanin said that the conflict was exhausted and the issue of partitioning was closed.
Investigative actions against Magomedov coincided with worsening of the situation around NCSP. This time, "Summa", not seeing the prospects for privatization of the state stake, decided to sell its stake in Transneft. The state company has already set up its representative as general director of the port. "It seems to me that this [claims to the owners of the" Sum. "- RBC) is part of the" negotiations "[at the price of the stake in NCSP]," Magomedov's friend told RBC. Contact with a representative of Transneft on Sunday failed.
According to a source close to Sum, there is "a certain tension" around the deal for the sale by the group of its stake in NCSP. According to the interlocutor of RBC, negotiations on its value continued until recently. "Magomedov could insist on reviewing the terms of this deal," the source said.
Political strike
By refusing to release suspects for an unprecedented 2.5 billion rubles pledge equal to the alleged damage, the court made it clear that the case is not of an economic nature and that compensation for damage is not required from suspects, "said Leonid Davydov, the founder of the St. Petersburg Policy Foundation.
"The assets of the" Sum "group will eventually end up with the state and competitors," believes the head of the Political Expert Group Konstantin Kalachev. "I think that for the group" Sum "took seriously, the authorities show that they are determined to be tough and resolute," - agrees the director of the Center for Economic and Political Reforms Nikolai Mironov.
Interviewed by RBC experts are also confident that the arrest of Magomedov will weaken the figures of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and his deputy Arkady Dvorkovich close to them. In the government, Dvorkovich oversees the fuel and energy sector, regional infrastructure, telecommunications, transport, and the like. - those areas with which the various assets of the "Summa" group are connected. Ziyavudin Magomedov and the future vice-premier graduated from the economics department of Moscow State University, lived in the same hostel. About personal acquaintance with Dvorkovich from student times Magomedov told "Vedomosti". In the presidency of Dmitry Medvedev, the state of Ziyavudin Magomedov, according to the magazine "Finance", has grown from tens of millions to a billion dollars - including through the receipt of large contracts from state-owned companies.
Political analyst Mironov sees the impact on the "Sum" group as the beginning of a selective "de-oligarchization", under which Magomedov's contracts and assets will pass to other players who are more trusted by the president. "The authorities do not have enough money to implement pre-election promises, and it was predictable that it would go for selective cleansing of the elite, and not for systemic reforms that would mean breaking the entire oligarchic system," argues Mironov.
Who deals with Magomedov
The head of the investigation group is Colonel Nikolay Budilo, who is known for his participation in the case of William Browder, head of the Hermitage Capital fund. Budilo is included in the "Magnitsky list".
Operational support of the case is dealt with by the employees of the K department of the FSB of Russia, which is engaged in counterintelligence in the credit and financial sphere, follows from the reports announced in the court and the certificates. The office is headed by Ivan Tkachev, one of the most influential FSB officers, who received the rank of general at the end of last year. Tkachev oversaw the operation to detain the Russian Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukayev, as well as the operational support for the "cocaine case" of smuggling almost 400 kg of narcotic from Argentina to Russia.
The officers of the Main Directorate for Economic Security and Anti-Corruption of the Ministry of Internal Affairs also participated in the development of the Magomedovs, it follows from the documents of the court. For Glavka, this was perhaps the first high-profile event in recent years: after the arrests of the leadership in 2014 (they were, by the way, overseen by Tkachev), GUIBiPK did not actually carry out any serious operations, sources told RBC earlier.
The case is under control of the deputy head of the Office of the Prosecutor General's Office to oversee the investigation of especially important cases by Sergey Bochkarev, two sources in the central apparatus of the Ministry of Internal Affairs told RBC. He represented the Prosecutor General's Office during the consideration of the lawsuit filed by Dmitri Zakharchenko, colonel of the GUEBC and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, for more than 9 billion rubles. In January, Bochkarev, whom RBC's interlocutors refer to as the "right-hand man" of deputy prosecutor Viktor Grinya, appropriated the rank of the third-class State Councilor of Justice, corresponding to the rank of Major-General of Justice.
Ziyavudin Magomedov's defense is supervised by lawyer Alexander Vershinin, who participates in the case of Colonel SKR Mikhail Maksimenko about bribes from representatives of the criminal world, and also defended the Interior Ministry major Denis Evsyukov, businessman Vladimir Tyurin and participated in the defense of Ulyukayev at the beginning of the investigation. Novaya Gazeta called Vershinin "a close companion" to the powerful FSB general Oleg Feoktistov, who was behind the affairs of Sugrobov, Ulyukaev, the governors of Nikita Belykh, Alexander Horoshavin and Vyacheslav Geizer, as well as the St. Petersburg billionaire Dmitry Mikhalchenko.
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