Kesaev acted as if he was Tyak: the rich businessman went to International Tobacco with security forces

Most of the company’s sharesInternational Tobacco Group“Bought out Nikolai Tyaka. He is also a partner of the owners of the Megapolis tobacco distributor Igor Kesaev and Sergey Katsiev. The asset is scandalous and problematic, why businessmen might need it, the correspondent understood The Moscow Post.

Shuffling around the terms

In September Nikolay Tyak receives 75% ownership in International Tobacco Group and International Tobacco Group Volga. The shadow side most likely remains Kesaev. Many things indicate that they are partners, for example, the company “Mercury Properties”, specializing in real estate. In it, Kesaev holds 46% of the controlling stake, Katsiev is a minority shareholder, and Tyak has 21%.

A photo: rusprofile.ru

But that’s not all, in April the distribution of shares in both companies was as follows: 30% each belongs to Alexander Kobzev and Konstantin Ivanov, 28% – to Sergey Bronetsky, the remaining 12% – to Alexander Naumov. Now Kobzev has 0.5%, Bronetsky has 15.5%, Naumov and Ivanov have completely left the founders. But in their place appeared Igor Dzuev and Svetlana Tuganova, each with 4.5%. Yuri Khalturin is also striking, who for some reason entered and left the block of shares on the same day.

A photo: rusprofile.ru

It turned out that the two were close to the oligarch. So Lawyer Kobzev is a co-owner of a small stake (7%) in the Innoseti company and headed the legal department of the Megapolis tobacco distributor, he was also nominated to the board of directors of the Dixy group in the years when it still belonged to the structures of Kesaev and Katsiev. Ivanov worked in Dixy in recent years and was its financial director.

As for Tuganova, her husband Vladimir, and at the same time Khalturin, are co-owners of Mercury Properties LLC. Dzutsev owns a large stake in Mercury Telecom LLC. Kobzev is also there, with a share of 0.19%.

Here we should also add that Yuri Khalturin did not just get into the company. He is associated with the Monolith Foundation, which we will talk about later. More interesting is the fact that Khalturin is a former senior officer of the third head office of the FSB. So the support of law enforcement agencies was found in this wonderful story.

A photo: rusprofile.ru

It turns out that Kesaev initially placed his people, but began to carry out reshuffles. This may be because until April 2022 the company had offshore companies in Germany and the Netherlands, but in connection with a special military operation, the “shop” had to be closed, and now money needs to be withdrawn, which can only be done through “friends”. In addition, obtaining a new asset that you can manage through your own network is always useful, especially when there is a strong support network.

problematic asset

In the meantime, it should be noted that International Tobacco Group Volga is inherently problematic. It was like this before Kesaev arrived. The firm has 57 arbitration cases worth 8 million rubles. The company has a history of not meeting obligations under energy supply contracts. There were even instances of lawsuits for millions of unjust enrichment due to extra-contractual obligations.

But all this is small and unimportant compared to the problems with harmful emissions from tobacco production. In 2016, the people of Volgograd had to ask the country’s leaders to help them get rid of the factory smell by signing a petition.

It can also be seen from the same claims that the company is not following the rules. For instance, the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for the Volgograd Region found that the company is operating fire hazardous facilities without the proper license. The factory was fined 30 thousand rubles at that time.

A photo: kad.arbitr.ru

It seems that Kesaev acquired a troubled asset somehow, possibly to prevent another market player from getting it. This is about the second largest tobacco distributor in Russia – the company “SNS-Holding”, owned by Andrei Sobolev and Mikhail Smetannikov. The largest is Megapolis.

There would definitely be a battle for dominance. However, Kesaev managed to take control of the scandalous enterprise and fill it with his people to ensure he kept it. However, with Tyak and Kesaev's involvement, it's unlikely that the company's business will improve. The businessman is mainly interested in his own wealth, and the company's development takes a back seat in this matter.

tobacco baron

Igor Kesaev has known the influential market player in the tobacco industry for a long time, so he didn't miss this opportunity either. It all started back in the 90s when the businessman established his trading house “Mercury”, focusing on tobacco trading. It was unlikely that at that time, it was possible to build an empire without the involvement of criminal groups and security forces.

We previously reported that in 2003, the businessman established the Monolit non-profit charitable foundation to support active and retired FSB officers. Using the foundation's funds, its employees bought apartments in various cities across the country. Khalturin was also a vice-president here.

The story of Kesaev and tobacco doesn't end there. In April 2022, it was announced that the management of the British cigarette manufacturer Imperial Brands in Russia could be transferred to the Fortuna Cigar House (SDF). Interestingly, this is a joint venture of Megapolis distributor Igor Kesaev, Sergey Katsiev, and other businessmen.

However, there are very questionable schemes involving the scandalous former Minister of Ukraine Eduard Stavytsky. He is also connected to another Ukrainian oligarch, Sergei Kurchenko, who is evading Ukrainian law enforcement. He was put on the wanted list for misappropriating state enterprise Ukrgasdobycha's property, and Stavytsky's name appears in the case, as reported by Vedomosti.

In general, Igor Kesaev is willing to do anything for the sake of his business, including creating connections to patriotism. Therefore, it's not surprising that he is behind Tyak.

Kesaev a great businessman? A photo: abon-news.ru

Black days of companies

In addition to tobacco, the oligarch can boast of his ability to “squeeze out” business. So he got Dixie. In 2007, Oleg Leonov’s trading network held an IPO, during which it attracted $360 million and the attention of Igor Kesaev. And the very next year, Leonov ceded a controlling stake in Mercury to Kesaev.

Indicative and here is the story. In 2014, Kesaev and Katsiev turned out to be the owners of alcohol markets – Bristol, everything was done in order to win the Red & White network. The war for the “tidbit” on the alcohol market was going on pretty well, perhaps it ended because Kesaev let his acquaintances in.

We are talking about the fact that in 2018, security forces raided the offices of “Red & White” throughout the country. And at the head office in Chelyabinsk, the building was literally besieged, employees were not even allowed out for lunch, they were simultaneously searched in Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Samara, Voronezh. They did not officially say anything about the reasons for the searches, but Sergei Studennikov’s company itself said that they were suspected of tax evasion and counterfeit trafficking. This was written by “Kommersant”.

As a result, it turned out that in 2019 Igor Kesaev, Sergey Katsiev and Sergey Studennikov, the owner of the Krasnoe&Beloe group of companies, are merging their retail assets. An interesting move, did the pressure of the security forces still work?

Here you can also recall how in 2007 Kesaev wanted to buy the KiN wine and cognac factory, the main owner of which was Armen Yeganyan. Then “unexpectedly” Yeganyan was faced with claims from the tax authorities, and even with accusations of kidnapping. However, it is worth noting that Kesaev did not receive shares.

In 2011, the businessman coveted the Victoria network. According to rumors, the company could get “Dixie” in not the most friendly ways. It so happened that at first Kesaev’s structures received 50% + 1 share of Victoria, and in 2017 Igor Kesaev and his partner Sergey Katsiev became full owners of the network, having spent almost a billion dollars on its purchase.

Difficult people stand behind the oligarch, therefore, just as Igor Kesaev “took” the alcohol market into his hands, he now takes up the tobacco one. But if the billionaire succeeds in “squeezing out” the business well, then developing it does not quite work out. It remains only to see how the already problematic asset will begin to “bloom” under the leadership of Kesaev and his people.