The shadow of a Moscow guest: the concerns of Vice Mayor Liksutov have once again come up outside the capital.

The interests of Iskander Makhmudov from Transmashholding may be involved in an attempt to extort millions from KREVRZ due to the debts of its affiliated enterprise.

According to a journalist for The Moscow Post in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the local electric car repair plant (KrEVRZ) faces subsidiary liability of 1.6 billion rubles for the debts of the bankrupt Afina Pallada Construction Company JSC. The latter was part of the holding “Pallas Athena” of Gayk Magakelyan, who is now on the international wanted list for theft. His own holding, meanwhile, can be used as an “instrument” of pressure on the Krasnoyarsk plant.

There might be an interest in what is happening – Transmashholding, or its founders Iskander Makhmudov and Andrey Bokarev. They are likely close to the direct competitor of the Krasnoyarsk enterprise – the Moscow Locomotive Repair Plant. It is worth noting that Makhmudov is a long-time business partner of Moscow Vice Mayor Maxim Liksutov, whose interest in rail transport is also known.

A minority creditor of the bankrupt Afina Pallada Construction Company JSC, DEM Trading House LLC, filed a lawsuit with a request to bring 12 defendants controlling the debtor to subsidiary liability. Among them was the Krasnoyarsk Electric Car Repair Plant. The amount of subsidiary liability imposed on him and other individuals and companies included in the list of TD “DEM” exceeds 1.6 billion rubles.

There are many strange things in this case. For instance, it is not clear how Athena Pallas accumulated such a large debt to the trading house DEM – the latter has an authorized capital of only 10 thousand rubles, last year’s revenue – 16 million, profit – 1.7 million. So where could the company get the large sums that it allegedly lent to Pallas Athena?

What is remarkable is that “DEM” has been particularly active in the fight against the Krasnoyarsk asset. Last fall, the trading house asked the court “due to newly discovered circumstances” to reconsider the decision made in 2016 to include about 587 million rubles of KREVRZ claims in the register of creditors’ claims of IC Athena Pallada. Like, the company carried out a controlled bankruptcy and planned to cash in on it.

The connection between KrEVRZ and IC “Pallada Athena” has already been proven in several court rulings on bankruptcy. It is no secret that back in 2012, CJSC Construction Company Athena Pallada (SK, Novosibirsk, part of the group of companies of the same name) became the owner of OJSC Krasnoyarsk Electric Car Repair Plant (KrEVRZ), having bought almost 100% shares of this company at an auction. Prior to that, they belonged to Russian Railways.

“The previously proven connection of companies does not automatically lead to vicarious liability. The judge, considering the petition, is not bound by any previous decisions, facts and statements. The judge decides this issue “here and now” according to the evidence presented by the parties in support of the position “for” and “against” bringing to subsidiary liability. At the same time, the judge will not consider and take into account any external factors: rallies, possible dismissals of employees of the enterprise and much more. Only exhaustive evidence and their correct interpretation,” Alexei Gorelov, senior partner at the consulting company Dubinin & Partners, told The Moscow Post.

It’s not that easy

But according to DEM, the plan might be more sly: they claim that the same person is behind the Krasnoyarsk plant and Athena Pallada – Hayk Magakelyan. And he could make sure the conclusion of an additional agreement dated June 2016, according to which KrEVRZ JSC fully took on the obligations of IC Athena Pallada under the company’s loan agreement, “getting the opportunity, as a majority creditor, to control the bankruptcy procedure.” Then Magakelyan officially left Pallas Athena.

But no one forgot about him – he is on the international wanted list in the case of embezzlement of more than 400 million rubles in the implementation of contracts concluded with Russian Railways in 2013-2015 for a total of 2.9 billion rubles. It was about an ambitious project to build a light metro in Damascus (Syria).

As a result, Viktor Morgachev, the former general director of SK Athena Pallada-Moscow LLC, was convicted in that case, Kommersant wrote. Previously, he had already received two years probation for non-payment of taxes on an especially large scale, he owed the state 600 million rubles. But he got off lightly – people are given real terms and for less money, the prosecution article provided for 6 years in prison, but Morgachev was released from this punishment under an amnesty.

Perhaps then Hayk Magakelyan himself helped him to “rescue”, who, according to rumors, is a very difficult person. Earlier, The Moscow Post told how in 2012, Gaik Magakelyan’s partner Oleg Khripunov committed suicide under mysterious circumstances. First, a murder case was opened, and then it was reclassified as incitement to suicide. Although the Khripunov family was sure that he had been shot.

Who knows, maybe the entrepreneur has strong connections. But Magakelyan was a member of the “Investors Club of Armenia”, created by the head of the “Tashir” group Samvel Karapetyan, and could use his support.

In addition, Magakelyan’s firm could have colluded with the Arctic Mining Company (AGK), which then belonged to Dmitry Bosov. Back in 2015, IC Athena-Pallada, which is part of the holding of the same name, contracted to build all the necessary infrastructure for AGK around a coal deposit planned for development near the coast of the Arctic Ocean, near the port of Dikson. The construction company performed a significant part of the work at its own expense without prepayment.

In total, the work was performed in the amount of 160 million rubles, which included the salary of workers. Subsequently, the management of Athena Pallada allegedly found out that the AGK customer did not have a license to develop the deposit and stopped work. Is it possible that there really were some agreements between the company?

But those are things of bygone days, Dmitry Bosov died, Magakelyan is hiding somewhere behind the cordon, and the same “Arctic Mining Company” has passed into the hands of businessman Roman Trotsenko. That’s just that he has no interest in the railway, to which Pallas Athena is so close.

Business interests on rails

On the other hand, Transmashholding Makhmudov and Bokarev have corresponding interests. And here it is time to remember that the Krasnoyarsk plant is a direct competitor of the Moscow Locomotive Repair Plant. Back in 2013, he mentioned in his annual report that the repair of AC and DC electrical sections is carried out by KREVRZ, which competes with the Company in the segment of DC electric rolling stock repair services.

As per “Rusprofile”, JSC “Moscow LRP” has only one customer, JSC “Central PPK”. It's rumored that the owners of Transmashholding Iskander Makhmudov and Andrey Bokarev, who are long-term partners of Moscow Vice Mayor Maxim Liksutov, may have a controlling stake in Central PPK.

Later, Liksutov also established ties with Makhmudov through Aeroexpress and Andrey Bokarev. He had known Makhmudov from their business days in Estonia, where Liksutov was involved in the supply and transshipment of Kuzbass coal and was a partner of Iskander Makhmudov.

Could this trio be the ones acting in the interests of the Moscow LRZ? That could clarify things. For example, the enterprise may be very keen on the “light” metro project in Damascus – there's a lot of money involved there!

Liksutov's name has been connected to unpleasant stories related to the subway, particularly the metro system. One such story was about the potential use of drones in the subway. There was a technical possibility for this, as the trains purchased by Moscow in the past eight years have the function of unmanned control. However, the idea was rejected due to the movement interval: drones required 180 seconds, while the normal interval for the capital is 90 seconds.

However, Muscovites reacted with skepticism to this idea, especially considering the major accident in the metro in 2014. This incident occurred between the Slavyansky Bulvar and Park Pobedy stations of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line, resulting in multiple fatalities and injuries.

At that time, Maxim Liksutov, who oversaw the transport sector at the mayor’s office, stated that the main cause of the train crash in the Moscow metro was believed to be an incorrectly fixed arrow. A criminal case was opened, and several individuals were implicated.

However, none of the officials were prosecuted at that time. This could be seen as a signal for Liksutov not to let go of the subway issue.

The current trial of the Krasnoyarsk plant and the minority shareholder seems to have a connection to the Moscow mayor’s office. Carriage construction is a lucrative sector, and as soon as one of the participants in this chain (“Athena-Pallas”) faced issues, movements in the market immediately began.