With Gref under control

On the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), head of Sberbank German Gref shared some interesting information. Explaining the departure from the bank of a number of top managers from his inner circle, he confirmed that many of them were afraid of the so-called. SDN sanctions (inclusion in the West in the black list, which implies the blocking of assets and operations).

Apparently, German Oskarovich got a little carried away and “let slip”. After all, this can only mean one thing – the departed managers had assets, a business, and therefore they were engaged in entrepreneurial activities. But what kind of assets can we talk about in the case of the top management of the state bank – officials who are directly prohibited from owning and managing a business?

The correspondent of The Moscow Post understood what Gref’s closest subordinates could “bring out”.

The talk of the town was the departure of the former first deputy chairman of the board of Sberbank Lev Khasis from the country – almost immediately after the start of Russia’s special military operation to protect Donbass and the introduction of new sanctions. Later it turned out that in the United States, the business associated with him somehow lives and flourishes – the Momentus group, the founder of which he is together with his wife Olga.

In June 2021, the company entered into an agreement with the US Departments of Defense and Treasury. And all this – even before the NWO and right under the nose of German Gref.

Recall that several members of the board fell under the sanctions at once: first deputy chairmen Kirill Tsarev and Anatoly Popov, deputy chairmen Bella Zlatkis, Olga Golodets, Sergey Maltsev, Stanislav Kuznetsov, financial director and deputy chairman Alexandra Buriko, as well as board member Natalya Alymova.

Maltsev, Buriko and Alymova left Sberbank. In addition, Andrey Shemetov, the head of the corporate investment unit, left the bank and decided to pursue his own projects. What kind of projects can a government official have?

“Royal” assets

Of all the names, the first deputy chairman of the board of Sberbank, Kirill Tsarev, attracts more interest. After all, he really owns the business, and not just, but directly.

He was the founder of three companies. One of them – a non-profit dacha partnership, has already been liquidated, but the other two – LLC “Rental-Group” and LLC “Rental Tech” – are operating, with turnovers of tens and hundreds of millions of rubles.

Tsarev himself remains a co-owner of Rental-Group LLC with a 49% share. Moreover, the share is not in trust, despite the fact that Tsarev is actually an official. Another 49% of the company is owned by Anna Tsareva, and 2% by Timur Tsarev, apparently close relatives of the top manager.

A photo: Rusprofile.en

“Rental-Group” is a management company, whose functions include: acquisition of assets, asset management (representation of interests of shareholders in the management of companies, strategic management, control over the work of the top management of companies, audit). Leasing transactions, leasing through rent and venture projects.

For nearly six years, the company had no income, but by the end of 2021, it made a profit of 20 million rubles. The total value of its possessions is over 22 million rubles. Despite an authorized capital of 10 thousand rubles, the company only has one employee.

The situation of LLC “Rental Tech” is more intriguing. Officially, the company is involved in specific construction tasks not carried out by other groups. It can sign contracts for anything. In 2021, it earned 245 million rubles in revenue, although this amount exceeded 400 million rubles in 2018. However, the profit and asset value are quite low – 12 and 14 million rubles respectively.

A photo: Rusprofile.en

Let's not delve into how Kirill Tsarev, previously in banking, developed an interest in construction. It is worth noting that the company appears suspicious and even resembles a litigant, currently involved in over 100 court cases where it is the plaintiff, with a total amount of 137 million rubles. Is this how they do business?

Rental Group owns 49% of the company, while Timur and Anna Tsareva hold smaller shares. Oleg Malakhovskiy controls another 12%. Until December 2019, he was a co-founder of Stell Engineering LLC, dealing with auto parts sales. Then the company changed hands to Roman Gertsev and Mikhail Ustyuzhanin. Until 2019, despite an authorized capital of over 1 million rubles, the company had no income, profit, or asset value for unknown reasons.

A photo: Rusprofile.en

With Malakhovskiy's departure, Kirill Tsarev’s partner, both of them suddenly reappeared, and the revenue for 2021 amounted to 416 million rubles, with a profit of 39 million rubles and assets valued at 35 million rubles. The figures for 2021 are more modest but still substantial.

A photo: Rusprofile.en

What happened after Malakhovskiy left? An inactive company suddenly sold auto parts worth 400 million rubles in a year – peculiar. Is the company being used as a means to transfer funds?

Coming back to “Rental-Group”, the company handles asset management. It has only two subsidiaries – Rental-Tech and Rental Units, representing a significant source of income.

The company, engaged in construction work, possesses assets worth over 800 million rubles, with a revenue of 1.5 billion. Where is all this money coming from? Additionally, “Rental-Group” only owns half of the company, while the rest belongs to Valentina Igolinskaya, who was previously the founder of GSI LLC.

A photo: Rusprofile.en

The company is now owned by Anna Tsareva and Olga Schleicher, and it remains unclear where the significant turnover of hundreds of million rubles emerged from. In 2021, it recorded a revenue of 142 million and a profit of 112 million. The company is involved in wholesale trade. Is it possible to achieve such a large margin in this field, or is trading merely a cover for other operations?

Additionally, Anna Tsareva established LLC “SZKA”, a consulting agency, where she maintains 100% ownership. The company generates limited revenue, but its authorized capital stands at 3.7 million rubles. How much for a barely functioning structure providing consulting services?

Drink from the budget 'river'

It appears that conducting business is not really prohibited under the strict guidance of German Gref. And Tsarev, like Khasis, are just a few of many who could mix business with pleasure—being an official and engaging in commerce. But what about German Gref himself?

Sberbank dividends are heavily adding to the National Welfare Fund, which is then spent on important national projects. For instance, they finance the construction of a ring road in the Moscow region. Brayne is participating in the construction of the fifth section of the Central Ring Road. The company's co-owners are the sons of the ex-head of Vnesheconombank, Pavel and Stepan Dmitriev, as well as the son of the head of Sberbank from his first marriage, Oleg Gref. The Daily Storm reports about it.

The company is clearly targeting the West, as its pages in open Russian systems could not be found. The site is in the .ru zone, but the entire description is in English. It is mentioned that the structure is involved in investments with the participation of Russian investors.

It can be assumed that the German Gref family and his closest associates in Sberbank are the same Russian investors who should receive foreign currency for their work, and are also attracted by contractors for state construction projects.

Who is the business of Oleg Gref designed for? Photo: http://brayne.ru/

This is not the only business related to Gref. Previously, he was involved in a scandal with the revelation of offshore documents called 'Pandora’s Dossier', which 'discovered' influential people from different countries, possibly linked to questionable assets.

Remember to take care of yourself

It appears that the Gref family is among them. According to Ura.ru, about $50 million was found in accounts that may be linked to Gref in Singapore and Samoa. It is unlikely that he could earn such money in his entire career.

According to the authors of the site frankrg.com, supposedly in 2011, German Gref established the Angelus Trust in Singapore to oversee more than $55 million in family assets. The trust was later dissolved. However, before that, Gref decided to appoint his nephew, 24-year-old Oscar Gref, who lives in Switzerland, as the manager and beneficiary of the Angelus Trust.

Later, German Gref allegedly transferred all assets in favor of Oscar Gref. He initially became the founder and sole beneficiary of the Angelus One Trust, where the assets were transferred. And then he had to become the manager of the family office. In 2018, the assets were transferred to the Grand Investment Trust of Kirill Androsov, a former deputy minister of economic development and an old friend of Gref.

So the managers of German Gref have someone to take an example from—if you cannot manage and own assets directly, relatives will always come to the rescue. Khasis seems to have understood this, but what about Mr. Tsarev—is he the only business owner under the direct control of the head of Sberbank? We highly doubt it.