Why do we have an exclusive master distributor, registered in the offshore, as rapidly rising? What kind of miracles? "- Was surprised last autumn the chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko, when the senators discussed the state of the Russian alcohol market. These questions she addressed to the head of the Federal Service for Alcohol Market Regulation (Rosalkogolregulirovanie, PAP) Igor Chuyanov, and they talked about the company 'status groups', which is just a couple of years to break into the market leader, pushing all the other participants. According to RBC, for 2015 it has increased the sale of vodka by more than 2 times, and took, and 15.1% in November to 18.4% of the market in volume terms - in terms of money. Shares of the second player - Roust and "Synergy" were 1.5 and 2.3 times less (in value and volume terms, respectively).

Take-off "status groups" began after in January 2015 reduced the PAP to its order of the minimum price of vodka bottles from 220 to 185 rubles. It is for this price "status groups" began selling nine vodkas and pulled away from the competition. The company's revenue, which amounted in 2014. Of 12.8 billion rubles, according to the results in 2015 could double - judging from the growth estimates of its market share. What part of that money went to the company, it is difficult to say: the average mark-up distributor ranges from 5 to 40%, but according to information disclosed by other sellers of cheap vodka, they have it closer to the lower boundary of the corridor.

Final beneficiaries "status groups" do not know: 98% of the company owned by Cyprus Larecono Assets Ltd., a wholly owned offshore Ariantor Logistics Ltd. with the British Virgin Islands does not reveal where the founders registered companies. RBC, referring to the views of market participants called the beneficiary "status groups" billionaire Vasily Anisimov, bought in 2010 from VTB 5 billion rubles. 11 and vodka distilleries "Rosspirtprom", including Moscow "Crystal". Until last year, the businessman also owned entities once the country's largest alcohol distributor - the company VEDK. But by the spring of 2016 Anisimova structure we got rid of most alcoholic assets, retaining only a fraction of the Moscow "Crystal" (cm. Incision p. 21).

Anisimovpreviously denied its involvement in the "status groups" to answer questions for this article, he refused.

Last fall, the Federation Council instructed the curators of the alcohol market to find real masters "status groups" and at the same time check, as called for Matvienko, Chuyana affiliation with alcoholic business, which goes to "a lot of rumors." The answer is no: it is delayed because of the transfer of the PAP under the authority of the Government to the Ministry of Finance, told "Vedomosti" employee of the Federation Council apparatus. "The head of the PAP not involved in business projects and is not their investor" - so said the press service of the Ministry on the issue of possible interest to Chuyana "status groups".

But, as shown by the investigation, "Vedomosti", this company registered four years ago, it may be more a long history, to which the relevant former subordinates and business partners Chuyana and "OFC Bank" and its co-owners.

The success of subordinates

Chuyan works for the state since 2002 - since he came to work at the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Rosspirtprom". tothat his career has been linked to the commercial sector of the alcohol market. At the beginning of the 1990s. he worked in the St. Petersburg factory "sparkling wine" in 1995 established a trading house "Champagne", and a year later became a partner in the group Amtel Sudhir Gupta. He, Igor and Vladimir Kriskovtsu Lavrovtsevu owned half of the company "Prodintern", which owned 30% stake in Amtel. The other half of "Prodinterna" was distributed among the then deputy chairman of "Gazprom" and co-owner near Moscow distillery "Amtel" Alexander Pushkin Sergey Pushkin and marketing department head of "Gazprom" Alexander Shurymovym. Gupta at the time refused to participate in food companies Amtel, focusing on the tire business.

After 10 years, the partners sold "Prodintern" some American corporation of the State of Delaware, and the new owners to liquidate the company. By the time the business has long worked for the state: since the mid-2000s. they represented the interests of "Rosspirtprom" on the boards of several vodka distilleries. Kriskovets by 2006. He became CEO at the time of the state distillery "Kristall". Directors of "Rosspirtprom" also became assistant Chuyana Roman Adamyak manager and TD "Champagne" Gennady Grigoriev. In these positions they have worked at least until 2010, demonstrates accountability plant.

They also engaged in private projects actively. Lavrovtsev, which, judging by the statements of plants, worked as a driver in the House "Champagne", after leaving Chuyana in gosmenedzhery has come to mean more and the owner of the company. However, very quickly the asset transferred Lavrovtsev Grigoriev. We stayed Lavrovtseva SFT wholesale company in which it was registered at the same time the founder, CEO and driver. Then the firm held a blocking stake in the Smolensk plant "Bacchus". It was "Rosspirtprom" Another co-owner of the company.

Grigoriev created several trading companies.

In 2007, at the former subordinates Chuyana a new project: they have become co-owners of the company "Rusinvest". Their partners were minorities "OFC bank", which is the principal ownertsya classmate Russian President Vladimir Putin, a lawyer and partner of the law "Egorov, Puginsky, Afanasiev and Partners" Nikolai Egorov. Since 2011, they have an even distribution company "Golden Manufacture".

Founders' Rusinvest "and" Golden manufactory "constantly changing: for example, in 2009, control of the" Rusinvest "was at Adamyaka, and later - at Lavrovtseva but parity between representatives of" OFC Bank "and former Chuyana partners in these companies remained unchanged .

Things were going well for companies: in 2013, the "Golden Manufacture" set a record for sales in RUR 10.68 billion, making it one of the largest distributors in the alcohol market.. But the next year, the company has calmed down: its revenue fell to 2.5 billion rubles, and in late 2015 it was declared bankrupt.. The market leader was the "status groups", including the owners of which no representatives of "OFC Bank" or Chuyana partners.

Sophisticated communication

"Between the" Golden textiles "and" status groups "no connection", - says a person close to the "Rosspirtpromu ". The state company has never had affairs with the "Golden manufactory", the press service of "Rosspirtprom."

Still, the two companies have much in common, investigation showed "Vedomosti". Firstly, the managers of the "Golden manufactory" went to work "status groups". Second, a phone that was listed in the registration data of the first companies listed on the second site in the section "Contacts". Thirdly, e-mail address "status groups" linked to the domain rsg.org.ru, which was previously used the "Golden textiles." He belongs on Whois-service.ru data of "Rusinvest".

And most importantly - almost half of the alcohol brands, which now sells "status groups" used to sell "Golden Manufacture".

And eight of them, including the popular "Old Brand" and "Squirrel", belong to the most "Rusinvest", which has long been controlled by the minority shareholders' OFC bank "with former partners and subordinates Chuyana. Now "Rusinvest" 87% owned by offshore Tirven Group Ltd., and the remaining 13% - a former minority shareholder and current employee of "OFC Bank" Tatiana Zelentsova.

In November 2015, "Rusinvest" betrayed "Rosspirtprom" a three-year non-exclusive license for the use of all these signs. "Rosspirtprom", in turn, issued a sublicense trademark Ossetian two plants and 10 plants of Kabardino-Balkaria. Terms and conditions of license agreements with "Rusinvest" and plants representative of state-owned companies declined to disclose.

plants works of vodka sold to local wholesalers, and those supplying products for the "status groups". One of these companies - OOO "Optima" belongs to Aslan and Anzor beefs, relatives of the former head of Baksan, now a State Duma deputy Anatoly beefs and the former head (up to 2013) the Federal Tax Service of the Office of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) Ruslan beefs. Two of Kabardino-Balkarian factory involved in the scheme, "Atlantis" and "Hermes Nick", and one of the wholesale companies, "Dionysus", registered at the same address with other companies beefs - Alim and Zaur. certainlytime ago, these businessmen were listed direct beneficiaries of the alcohol companies. (Link "status groups" cm. In the diagram on p. 21.)

Kabardino-Balkarian part of a long chain and jeopardized the well-being of the leading distributor on the market.
Dangerous ties

In September 2015 the Investigative Committee for Kabardino-Balkaria announced criminal charges against seven leaders of the Kabardian vodka companies - "Atlantis", "Onyx", "Orion" Distillery "May", "Hermes Nicky", "Everest", and "Antares", just as that produced cheap vodka, to get in the end "status groups". Companies do not have paid more than 2.2 billion rubles. taxes for the 2014-2015 biennium., reported the agency.

Judging by the actions that are now considering the Arbitration Court of the Republic, based on the results of inspections in 2015 and early 2016 the tax authorities assessed that eight plants in the CBD and Ossetian distillery "Right Bank" has 6.5 billion rubles. excise taxes and penalties.

And in March 2016 at a meeting with Putin, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that because of the gray and black scheme usinguemyh the Russian alcohol market, the budget has missed altogether 24 billion rubles. and that the CBD is now opened 11 criminal cases against the organizers of illegal alcohol production.

PAP, in turn, has completed eight Kabardinian unscheduled inspections of plants, suspended their licenses and the beginning of the procedure through court annulment. Violations were serious: the plants are not fixed in EGAIS data on products, not allowed enterprise PAP employees.

A bad turn

Left without the manufacturers, "status groups" tried to move production rosspirtpromovskoy vodka "Tatspirtprom". But in the middle of last week, "Tatspirtprom" announced that "in the course of negotiations the parties failed to reach agreement on mutually beneficial terms of cooperation. In connection with this production "status groups" in the factories in Tatarstan plans are canceled. "

Press officer "Rosspirtprom" told "Vedomosti" that the company intends to focus on the production and sale of ethyl alcohol, kato this and in accordance with its strategy. The company acquired the largest distilleries in Russia (who favored buyer - cm incision on page 21..). "In this regard, the production of alcoholic beverages fold program <...> is working on the sale of property for the production of alcoholic products and trademarks; This process started at the end of last year ", - he gave a company representative.

Most of all in this situation may suffer "OFC bank." During the proceedings in the CBD have been disclosed the amount of bank guarantees, which the Bank provides Kabardian Distillery - an average of 1 billion rubles. each, ie. e. about 10 billion rubles. in total. This does not include loans granted by the bank factories and wholesalers, the key to which advocated alcoholic products.

The materials of the arbitration proceedings states that the tax authorities have demanded that the "OFC bank" to pay more than 1 billion rubles. for guarantees vodka distilleries. "OFC Bank" in one of the lawsuits challenging the tax requirements, referred to the significant amount of debt write-offs which may lead to the withdrawal of aAnka license and bankruptcy. Egorov and representatives of "OFC bank" did not respond to "Vedomosti" questions.