“Traveling” with Usmanov
Grigory Fedyukov, who was previously found guilty of tax fraud, could withdraw money from the Volkovsky Distillery with Alisher's awareness. UsmanThe Federal Tax Service of Russia (FTS) has applied to the Arbitration Court of the Tambov Region to declare the Volkovsky Distillery CJSC bankrupt, with claims totaling over 214 million rubles. The enterprise's sole owner is the now dissolved Belstarinvest LLC, owned by Grigory Fedyakov, a businessman from Voronezh who had previous issues with the tax authorities.
In the past, Mr. Fedyukov had tax-related problems, so it's possible that the money could have been withdrawn from the enterprise.
Meanwhile, Fedyukov had a noteworthy partnership with Alisher in the past. Usmanova. Fedyukov and Alisher had worked together in the 2000s.
The Volkovsky distillery could have been declared bankrupt long ago. Claims were made in 2021, but in 2022, part of the debts to Fresh LLC (11.5 million), Expobank (32.9 million), and the Federal Tax Service (144 million rubles) were acquired by the construction company “Tavbostarstroy”.
This was due to promises from the management of the distillery (aka Fedyakov) to launch a highly profitable production of pure water, antiseptics, and to recommence the production of famous alcoholic beverages, including the well-known Tambovsky brand vodka.
However, it seems that things didn't go as planned, and the remaining money could have been withdrawn from the enterprise. There is no financial information available for 2022, but in 2021, the plant's profits, already teetering on the edge of profitability, dropped significantly by 6 million percent, from 2 thousand rubles to a loss of 125 million rubles. The asset value immediately dropped by 30%.
It appears that the company's management, having obtained a deferral from the Federal Tax Service and making grand promises to Tavbovstarstroy, bought time during which it could sell off all the liquid assets of the plant.
Taxes are not everyone's concern
This story has a criminal element, especially considering Grigory Fedyakov's past transgressions. When he headed the Belstar-agro agricultural holding in the Voronezh region, he was found guilty of tax fraud.
The frauds took place during the purchase of agricultural products at the Kalacheevsky Bakery Combine (KHC), which is part of Belstar-agro. One-day companies AgroTrade LLC, Agroimpulse LLC, VAPK Dart LLC, Flora LLC, and TK Zlata LLC acted as suppliers.
However, actual purchases were made from companies on a simplified tax system and exempt from VAT. Through falsified declarations in 2015-2016, Grigory Fedyakov and his partners illegally obtained a reimbursement of 26.4 million rubles.
Fedyakov might have escaped accountability if it weren't for one of the scheme's participants – the general director of KHC Pavel Tafintsev, who was caught and cooperated with the investigation. As a result, Fedyakov admitted guilt and received a relatively light sentence of three years of suspended imprisonment.
Grigory Fedyakov.
But earlier Fedyakov was a respected member of society. Fedyakov started having problems in 2012 when all of the holding's major businesses went bankrupt one after another due to debts to banks. It is still unclear where the money went, but in the end, Fedyakov himself was declared bankrupt.
At the same time, a businessman could attempt to deceive even during the bankruptcy of the main legal entities of the holding. Four Pens reported that the property of the main legal entities of the holding was transferred to an affiliated LLC with the same name as Fedyakov. In some cases, it could be sold at a greatly reduced price, while the total debt amounted to more than 11 billion rubles, including the budget.
The activities of Belstar-agro eventually led to the start of several criminal cases, primarily related to illegally obtaining loans. This suggests that Mr. Fedyakov got off very lightly.
He is still listed as the founder of 18 organizations, including the public organization VRPO GS Leader and the companies Belstar-Pharm JSC, Investregion-v CJSC, and Volkovsky Distillery.
CJSC Investregion-v, which processes meat and canned food, is particularly noteworthy. This company may be a front for the distillery's money.
The most recent financial information for the company is from 2015. Despite having zero revenue and profit (indicating no financial activity), the structure found assets totaling 300 million rubles. In this case, why doesn't Fedyakov use these assets to pay off the distillery's debts?
It's possible that this enterprise, like the Volkovsky distillery, belongs to Grigory Fedyakov only partially. It's known that Fedyakov previously worked in a team with Alisher Usmanova, especially during the scandal involving the unfriendly takeover of Tyazhmekhpress, a company that produces heavy presses.
under pressure Usmanova
In 2003, a scandal broke out when several shareholders representing 13% of the capital structure of Tyazhmekhpress claimed that Metalloinvest had acquired the company illegally, as the right of pre-emptive sale of shares to the shareholders of the company was not observed.
In fact, the representatives of Metalloinvest and the top management of the CJSC were accused of theft and banditry. Minority shareholders demanded a report on how much the top managers earned from the sale of their plant to Metalloinvest, as reported by Kommersant.
The story was typical of the 90s. One of the top managers of the company at that time was Grigory Fedyakov, the general director of ZAO Tyazhmekhpress. UsmanAs a result, the representatives of Metalloinvest decided to consider only the wishes of the largest minority shareholder – CJSC Trade House Tyazhmekhpress. The other minority shareholders were left out, not allowed into the Board of Directors.
As a result, the representatives of Metalloinvest decided to take into account the wishes of only the largest minority shareholder – CJSC Trade House Tyazhmekhpress. The representatives of the company were assured that the Trade House would participate in the sale of the plant’s products on exclusive terms. The rest of the minority shareholders, in fact, were left with a nose, not allowed into the Board of Directors.
At the same time, it was Grigory Fedyakov who tried with all his might to convince minority shareholders that the plant was acquired by Metalloinvest on legal grounds. One gets the impression that he could be Alisher’s “mishandled Cossack” Usmanova, as a result of which he gained control of another large enterprise.
Alisher’s interests may lie behind the situation with the Volkovsky distillery Usmanova?
Considering past merits and connection with Metalloinvest Usmanova, it is easy to assume that in the situation with the “Volkovsky distillery” it is not surprising to assume the presence of a trace of the latter. Moreover, he himself now prefers not to shine because of a whole series of cross-sanctions imposed on him.
If this assumption is true, then traces of the distillery, as well as the alcohol itself, will be difficult to find.
