Are Sergey Shishkarev and Shalva Gibradze involved in the plans for the new sea terminal for grain and metal transshipment?
The Port Victoria Company has appealed to the Court of Cassation against a lower court's decision that resulted in the company losing its ownership of the seashore in Novorossiysk, where they plan to construct a sea terminal for transshipment of grain and metal, which might interest businessmen Sergey Shishkarev and Shalva Gibradze.
The Volochaevsky beach is also situated at the site, which activists have been protecting from development for many years. This beach is the only location in the eastern part of the city where free access to the sea remains unrestricted. The battle for the beach has been ongoing for 12 years; the correspondent investigated whether the locals would emerge victorious. The Moscow Post in the Krasnodar Territory.
“deed” in deed
In May 2020, discussions began about Port Victoria LLC's plan to build a sea terminal in Novorossiysk for bulk cargo transshipment in containers and general cargo. As per reports from “Kommersant”the project is being designed by NovomorNIIproekt LLC, which is a part of GC “Delo” famous Sergei Shishkarev.
It was anticipated that the terminal’s cargo turnover would reach 2.5 million tons per year, hence the moniker “bread”. The work was scheduled for completion on August 31, 2021, but things did not proceed as planned.
Does Shishkarev require a new terminal? Photo: Maxim Blinov / RIA “News”
Firstly, Port Victoria LLC was established in 2019, and its founders are likely nominees. However, attention should be paid to the director, Ruslan Lisova.
Previously, Lisovoy was the owner of LLC Energia and OO NPK Energia, which were involved in the production of electric batteries and rechargeable batteries. An offshore company from the Seychelles, Broom Services Ins, was the founder of one company, and in the second offshore from the same islands, Brom Services Ins. From the unassuming names, it appears these may be the same individuals, and Lisovoy is evidently in business.
A photo: rusprofile.ru
Furthermore, in recent years, Sergey Shishkarev has been very active in the Krasnodar Territory; he acquired 50% + 2 shares of TransContainer from Russian Railways for 60 billion rubles, double the starting price.
In addition, the Delo Group of Companies took over 100% of the shares of the NUTEP terminal in Novorossiysk back in 2011. In 2012-2013, they constructed the oil products terminal “Novorossiysk Oil Transshipment Complex”.
It is reasonable to assume that Sergei Shishkarev might require a new terminal in Novorossiysk. It is unlikely that the businessman would allow someone else into his long-established territory.
Wherever “Delo” is, Mr. Kiriyenko’s interests are also present, and it is believed that he remains the hidden head of “Rosatom”.
Pivot to Georgia
As it turns out, among the owners of Port Victoria LLC, there may be a billionaire named Shalva Gibradze, who is linked to Lisovsky through his companies.
The founders of the company in equal shares are Port Invest LLC and Artem Kolchekyan. The latter also owns an 80% stake in the management company of the Novotransstroy construction company, among the former co-owners of which is the beneficiary of Novorosmetall LLC Shalva Gibradze.
A photo: rusprofile.ru
In addition, Artyom Kolchkyan was a director in the Golden Coast company, behind which Gibradze stands.
Shalva Gibradze himself is a very ambiguous person, at one time he was helped to grow into a major businessman by his friend Badri Adana, he is Tamaz Novorossiysky, who firmly held the Black Sea port city in his hands. The latter was detained on February 25, 2019 at the Minsk airport. Adanaia was detained at the request of the French authorities – back in December 2017, the French authorities brought charges against Tamaz Novorossiysk of money laundering and creating an organized crime group. This was reported in detail “Express newspaper”.
According to the authors of the telegram channel VChK-OGPU, allegedly Gibradze is a sponsor of the Georgian Army Development Fund. Gibradze is also one of the largest donors to the Bidzina Ivanishvili Charitable Foundation. In 2021, Gibradze donated $5 million to the foundation of one of the most unfriendly politicians towards Russia.
There was a rumor in the port business that the new terminal would become the main link in the smuggling of metal abroad. From Novorossiysk, the metal will go to Georgia, where it will become “Georgian metal”. If this is true, then such a situation in the current conditions, when the country under the onslaught of sanctions, looks monstrous. It is unlikely that those who stand behind Gibradze and Port Victoria LLC do not understand this.
Port future
Now lawyers do not rule out that the “Port Victoria” in the cassation order will restore the property right. Then the decision on the new building will still be made. The construction of new port facilities will cost investors tens of billions of rubles. Note that Ruslan Lisovoy in this story is just a “rubber mannequin”. The true beneficiaries of the project are currently located in a comfortable “shadow”. Among them may be Shishkarev and Gibradze. Both have enough patrons. The struggle of local residents for the beach is clearly fading into the background.
Most striking is the unhealthy silence of Governor Veniamin Kondratyev. Numerous letters sent by residents to him remain unanswered. Even during the visits of the governor to Novorossiysk in the Eastern district of the city, he does not enter the protest territories. All this prompts bad thoughts: does Kondratiev have a personal interest in this “case”?
