Company “SKB Kontur“, known for its close friendship with the main region, Kuyvashev, bought back the shares of the Yekaterinburg Municipal Bank on the eve of the gubernatorial elections. This can hardly be called a coincidence …
The SKB Kontur group of companies, which (at the suggestion of the company’s PR people) among the Yekaterinburg elite is called “Ural Google”. They obtained a 34.5% stake in PJSC Bank Ekaterinburg, which serves many municipal institutions, as well as enterprises and the population of the Sverdlovsk Region, and additionally, the governor Evgeny Kuyvashev correspondent understood The Moscow Post in the Sverdlovsk region.
Let’s start simple
Note that after February 2022, banks may not disclose either reporting or shareholders. Therefore, information about the founders and incomes is very problematic to trace.
Photo: rusprofile.ru
However, as he writes “businessman“, the chairman of the board of directors is the first vice-mayor Igor Sutyagin, the municipal property management department he oversees, is the holder of the largest share – 29.29%. Another part of the shares belongs to the son of the former mayor, and now the vice-speaker of the Sverdlovsk legislature Arkady Chernetsky Stanislav (29.13%), Geoniks LLC and businessmen close to the team of Chernetsky Sr. The credit institution in business circles was often called the “bank of the Chernetsky family.”
The former mayor of Yekaterinburg Arkady Chernetsky himself supported Kuyvashev in May of this year. So he may have played a part in this story.
“The experience that he has gained over these 10 years in the Sverdlovsk region has given him the opportunity to immerse himself in many problems, and to be honest, the results of the work are impressive. There is something to report on,” said Chernetsky.
An interesting fact is that in April Andrei Koryukov, deputy head of Yekaterinburg for finance, ruled out the possibility of selling the shares of Yekaterinburg Municipal Bank (EMB) owned by the municipality until 2025. Then he even said that the EMB is an important part of the financial system of Yekaterinburg, and at the same time it is quite stable as a financial and credit institution. So what suddenly changed from April to August? It is most likely that the sale of shares is connected with the gubernatorial elections, and then it can be considered as a kind of “present” from Kuyvashev.
It is worth adding that SKB Kontur has received more than a third of its shares, and wants to buy out the rest of the package. It is possible that the company will succeed.
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The fact is that it was in 2022 that the governor himself began to provide active support to SKB Kontur. So, on July 5, Evgeny Kuyvashev and Mikhail Srodnykh, General Director of SKB Kontur, on the sidelines of the International Exhibition INNOPROM-2022, secured agreements on joint support for intellectually gifted schoolchildren in the region.
A photo: kontur.ru
And in August, the Head of the Sverdlovsk Region, Evgeny Kuyvashev, visited the headquarters of SKB Kontur. He talked with IT specialists and got acquainted with the import-substituting products of the Kontur.ID and Kontur.Access companies.
During the meeting, the governor and top company officials talked about building "Kontur-Park" – an IT cluster with offices, an educational center, a climbing wall, and a park. The first facilities should be ready by 2026. These new developments from SKB Kontur were discussed right before the elections. All of this seems too showy.
A photo: kontur.ru
Boost Arrow
Since 1988, SKB Kontur has been in the IT business market. It originally started with three individuals – Alexander Davydov, Vladimir Vasilyev and Andrey Mikhailov. The main business areas are EDI, accounting, electronic signature, and online cash registers. In 2021, the revenue was 18 billion rubles. The founders play a significant role in the Sverdlovsk region, making them important to the governor.
Photo: rusprofile.ru
A small company in Yekaterinburg has grown to become one of the largest firms in the country and a major employer in the city over 30 years. The company has experienced a lot, with the first Soviet millionaire Artem Tarasov purchasing 100 pieces of equipment and influencing the company back in the 90s.
Let's delve deeper into the founders of SKB Kontur. Starting with Alexander Davydov, in 1988, he became the co-founder and CTO of Firm A. In November 2001, he founded and led Naumen. In 2018, the authorities of the Sverdlovsk region established a working group for digital economy development in the region, stating that it is advantageous for the area. told Davydov.
“We need to transform the Sverdlovsk Region into a ‘smart region’,” noted Evgeny Kuyvashev at the time.
Is it beneficial for Kuivashev to give the bank to SKB Kontur? Photo: Mikhail Tereshchenko / TASS
Vladimir Konsulnikov has been involved with SKB Kontur up to this day. On January 21, 2019, he stepped down from the position of chairman of the board of directors, which he had held since 1998, but continued in the company as a consultant.
Another notable figure at SKB Kontur is Dmitry Mramorov. In 1996, he joined the company as a programmer and software implementation specialist. From 2001 to 2007, he managed the Chelyabinsk branch of the company, Kontur-Chelyabinsk LLC, and then took on the role of head of the customer service department. Since 2009, he has been the company’s CEO. Interestingly, he is a member of the expert council under the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation and the expert council of the Internet Development Institute. Additionally, Mramorov chairs the commission of the Sverdlovsk Regional Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs on digital and information technologies.
Yekaterinburg remains the "home region" for SKB Kontur. All key employees, including developers and top managers, work there. The company is very active in educational activities, which were initiated by the company's founders in the 1990s. The governor of the Sverdlovsk region, Yevgeny Kuyvashev, personally refers to the company as "our Ural Google".
The purchase of shares in PJSC Yekaterinburg Municipal Bank by SKB Kontur appears more like Kuyvashev is attempting to strengthen his position in the elections and gain the support of major players. It seems that, for his own purposes, Evgeny Vladimirovich is not avoiding indirect bribery, which this deal between the municipal bank and SKB Kontur resembles.
