As found Forbes, a number of foreign and Russian investors appealed to various authorities complaining of the dividend policy of "Transneft". The content of the letters seems. "We are concerned about the various problems in the field of corporate governance" Transneft ", which significantly undermine the attractiveness of investment in the Russian state-owned <...>

Of particular concern is the approach of "Transneft" to the distribution of dividends, which, in the case of saving in the future will lead to unfair towards investors and the negative impact on the image of the Russian state, "- said in a letter to the fund UFG Asset Management, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the first Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, presidential aide Andrei Belousov and head of the Federal Property Management Agency Dmitry Pristanskovu.

The same people addressed a letter Prosperity Capital Management: «We are concerned about the desire of" Transneft "to accumulate net income. Consolidated group "Transneft" company shows that 95% of group revenues generated by the parent company. While the net profit of the parent company in the end of the year (eg, 2013-2014) is a small part (7-20%) of the net profit of <...> This shows that the net profit of "Transneft" artificially understated by transferring it to the child company. "

UK "Leader" refers to the Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukayev: "We would like to express its concern regarding the dividend policy of one of the largest issuers in the Russian financial market, with a significant share of the state in the authorized capital - PJSC" Transneft ", which pays out to its shareholders a very low resolution dividend - only 1-5% of the consolidated net profit under IFRS, artificially creating a payout limit. Historically, the "Transneft" forms on the parent company consistently low net income (4-20% of the consolidated net profit of all "Transneft" group).

"Investors welcomed the desire of the Russian government's approach to the international financial standards and to the principle at the level of the dividend payment of at least 50% of net income in state-owned companies. Unfortunately, it has not been accepted in full, "- said in a letter to Deutsche Bank Shuvalov, Ulyukayev and Pristanskovu.

Most of the official representatives of the funds declined to comment or did not respond to requests Forbes. A source in one of the funds said that "the goal of letters - to pull out of these problems in a public plane." "Response from the authorities, we have not yet received," - said Forbes director of telecommunications, the financial sector and transport Prosperity Capital Management Alexander Vasyuk.

August 30 Federal Property Management Agency has responded to these requests in a letter sent to the Ministry of Economic Development (Forbes familiarized with it). "With regard to the dividend policy of PJSC" Transneft "the management (of property relations and the privatization of the largest organizations of the Federal Property Agency) reports that, according to the PJSC" Transneft ", approval of the dividend policy is planned in the second half of 2016", - the document says.
 
A spokesman for "Transneft" Igor Demin called letters of investors' exercise in epistolary genre failed writer remains anonymous. " He said the same message of these letters. "Among these letters there is none from our shareholders. Therefore, the letter can be considered the wish of a number of investors under which such investors (including foreign ones) have invested in the company "Transneft", despite the fact that he was in the sanctions lists of the company itself. However, the company has no plans to place preference shares ", - said Demin. According to him, the shares of "Transneft" investment attractiveness and increasing in price.
 
A source close to the company, believes that one beneficiary may be behind this campaign.

On the premise of injustice in the distribution of dividends "Transneft" between common and preferred shares in the past few months, he insists Ilya ShCherbovicha UCP fund. One of the structures ShCherbovicha UCP Industrial Holdings, incorporated in the Cayman Islands in 2011 bought 484,952 preferred shares of "Transneft", or 6.8% of its share capital. In March 2016 the fund has filed a lawsuit against the "Transneft" with the requirement to change the dividend policy.

In 2013, the company paid to holders of preference shares only for 724.21 rubles per share and ordinary - for 1221.38 rubles. UCP considers this difference in accrued dividends unfair: model charter companies and state enterprises contains a rule that on the "preferred shares" dividend amount should not be less than the size of dividends on ordinary shares and, if necessary, should be "raised to the dividend paid on ordinary shares" .

Because of underreporting the amount of dividends to holders of preferred shares in UCP received less money. Now it requires "Transneft" 97.2 million rubles in the form of lost profits and interest.

Asked whether the UCP some relation to letters of investors, a representative group of Irina Lanin said that the company knows that the other shareholders of "Transneft" have expressed their dissatisfaction with the dividend policy of the company: "The shareholders communicate and support each other, hoping to protect their the rights of the state. " According to her, this year "Transneft" again an outsider to pay dividends among state-owned companies - a total of 9% of IFRS net income was directed to the payment to shareholders in the average payments of 20-25%. Also, she says, at the end of 2015 the rights of preferred shareholders have been violated for the second time, "Transneft" has paid dividends to holders of preferred shares is 2.5 times lower than for ordinary shares with equal nominal. "All shareholders have suffered from the actions of Transneft, it is not surprising that discontent is growing," - she concluded.
  
Also at the end of August it became known that the international law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner, representing the interests of several owners of preference shares of "Transneft", appealed to the Russian government. Their appeal was addressed to Shuvalov and Belousov. BLP clients are concerned the approach of "Transneft" to the distribution of dividends, which in the case of saving for the future "will lead to unfair towards investors and the negative impact on the image of the Russian state-owned companies", reported by the media, with reference to the letter. Government Office instructed the Ministry of Economic Development to consider a letter BLP.