The accounts of the Samara Provincial Duma (SGD) deputy Vyacheslav Dormidontov were seized in the Samara region.
This happened as part of the bankruptcy case of LLC Samara Combine Rodnik, which was managed by another deputy of the Samara Duma Alexander Mileev. Rodnik, one of the largest alcohol producers in the region, was under the control of Dormidontov, while also being connected to the company “EcoStroyResurs” – a regional operator for the treatment of municipal solid waste (MSW).
Challenges with Rodnik and the issues of EcoStroyResurs might hinder Mileev from supporting Mikhail Degtyarev, the former State Duma deputy and current governor of the Khabarovsk Territory, in becoming the new leader of the Liberal Democratic Party.
It’s time to settle the debts
As reported by 63.ru, the Arbitration Court of the Samara Region approved the application for interim measures against SRS deputy Vyacheslav Dormidontov as part of the bankruptcy proceedings of the Rodnik vodka plant. The company is linked to the influential SRS deputy Alexander Mileev. According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, 49% of Rodnik is owned by Pavel Smetana, with the remaining 51% belonging to the company itself. Pavel Smetana's share has been pledged to Lyubov Mileeva since July 26, 2016. In 2007, Mileev served as the chairman of the board of directors of the then OJSC Rodnik.
Photo of Alexander Mileev: 63.ru / Roman Danilkin
It's worth noting that Pavel Smetana is known as the beneficiary of the Kristall-Lefortovo Group of Companies. According to Kommersant's report on October 15, 2021, Pavel Smetana was put on the wanted list by the Industrial District Court of Kursk. He, along with the former general director of the Kursk plant of the Kristall-Lefortovo holding, Nikolai Volokitin, are accused of evading the payment of 319 million rubles in taxes. The predicament of Smetana could potentially be advantageous for Alexander Mileev.
During the Rodnik bankruptcy case, it was revealed that, under the supply agreement, LLC Kristall-Lefortovo LVZ allegedly transferred 1.665 billion rubles to the bank account of LLC SK Rodnik. Smetana’s company contended that Rodnik should either fulfill the entire order or, if not, refund a portion of the money, totaling just over 1 billion rubles. However, the court stated that, considering the affiliation of LLC SK Rodnik and LLC LVZ Kristall-Lefortovo (connected through Pavel Smetana), the offset notifications were formal and fictitious. In essence, Smetana, as the CEO of Rodnik, could have artificially inflated the enterprise's accounts payable, as it went bankrupt in January 2021.
Photo of Pavel Smetana: lenta.ru
The actions of Kristall-Lefortovo clearly did not sit well with the tax inspectorate, which was also a creditor of Rodnik. Consequently, the court did not include Kristall-Lefortovo’s claims in the register of Rodnik’s creditors.
Alexander Mileev owns valuable waste material.
But Pavel Smetana's misfortune did not bring lasting satisfaction to Alexander Mileev. The Federal Tax Service and other creditors of Rodnik insisted on holding Vyacheslav Dormidontov, the new general director, accountable for the company's debts, following Pavel Smetana's departure. This change in leadership was labeled as a 'hostile takeover' by the Kristall-Lefortovo Group of Companies, hinting at an alleged attempt to deliberately bankrupt the company.
However, it appears that Dormidontov also faced legal consequences. The court granted the Federal Tax Service's request to freeze the deputy director's assets, including bank accounts, up to the amount of 4.35 billion rubles, as reported by 63.ru. Alexander Mileev is unlikely to welcome such developments.
The photo depicts Vyacheslav Dormidontov. Source: 63.ru / ecostr.ru
Furthermore, as per Kommersant's report in June 2021, Marta Biktimirov, Rodnik's bankruptcy trustee, intended to personally prosecute Alexander Mileev and Lyubov Mileeva.
It's probable that Mileev will find a way to recover the losses incurred at Rodnik. One avenue is through EcoStroyResurs, a regional waste management operator. Interestingly, Dormidontov was previously an executive director in this company.
EcoStroyResurs primarily earns revenue from waste disposal fees paid by residents and subsidies from the Samara Region's budget. The company stands to gain more profits as more people pay for garbage disposal. Furthermore, in 2020 alone, EcoStroyResurs could have received 220 million rubles in subsidies from the budget.
Vasilios Zaikas and Valery Eluferiev each own 20% of EcoStroyResurs, while Capital Active LLC owns the remaining 60%. Capital Active LLC is predominantly owned by Tatyana Zvyagina (59%), Andrey Pashkov (25%), and Sergey Eliseev (16%). Notably, Vasilios Zaikas previously held a position on the board of directors of the Samara-based Krylya Sovetov football club, forming a football duo with Igor Zavyalov, who served as the club's president while Zaikas was the vice president.
Zaikas and Zavyalov are no longer associated with Wings, but Andrey Pashkov, another beneficiary of EcoStroyResurs, now sits on the club's board of directors. Until January 2022, Mileev himself was on the board of directors of Wings. Mileev has been involved in managing Wings, primarily funded by the Samara Region's budget, for around 7 years. However, it seems that there was a decision to remove him from this position, perhaps influenced by the ongoing developments related to Rodnik and EcoStroyResurs.
On March 3, 2022, 63.ru reported that the Arbitration Court of the Samara Region approved interim measures against EcoStroyResurs as requested by the Federal Tax Service. The measures included banning the traffic police and Gostekhnadzor from registering actions with three dozen garbage trucks and arresting accounts with 4.1 billion rubles. The court only imposed restrictions on garbage trucks and did not seize the money.
Despite this, Mileev and EcoStroyResurs still have support. Natalia Rzhevskaya, the head of the department for municipal solid waste treatment at the Ministry of Energy and Housing and Public Utilities of the Samara Region, used to be the director of EcoStroyResurs. She can now influence garbage collection tariffs and subsidies as a civil servant. Mileev and Dormidontov from the SRS are willing to approve subsidies for EcoStroyResurs.
The bet is on Degtyarev.
However, Mileev didn't let the pressure stop him from expanding his business. In December 2021, there were reports that EcoStroyResurs could manage solid waste in the Khabarovsk Territory. State Duma deputy Mikhali Matveev mentioned this in an interview with the radio station “Echo of Moscow in Samara”. The interview can be found here.
It's worth noting that the governor of the Khabarovsk Territory, Mikhail Degtyarev, is originally from the Samara region. According to Matveev, Degtyarev and Mileev allegedly agreed to give the waste market of the Khabarovsk Territory to EkoStroyResurs or an associated company. Deputy Matveev observed a group of Samara managers, including Mileev, Dormidontov, and Zakharov, arriving in Khabarovsk to launch the work of a new regional operator.
The photo shows Mikhail Degtyarev.
Additionally, Mileev openly displayed his connections with Degtyarev. On December 9, 2020, Mileev shared a post on Twitter about a meeting with Degtyarev, including their joint photo.
