Valery Hartung, a very old politician, and his citizenship of Cyprus

A member of the State Duma of Russia, Valery Hartung, declared dramatically ten years ago in an interview that he wouldn't give up his possessions and power. He has indeed held onto power longer than the president, since 1997. However, he did have to give up his possessions.

It's understandable. Formally, it's recognized that Valery Hartung, who ranks 77th in the Forbes rating, didn't enter politics just to rely on his salary. However, he gave up his possessions due to the pressure of sanctions, which he considers beneficial for the Russians.

Evidently, the deputy doesn't see himself as Russian, or doesn't want to benefit himself. Last year, the State Duma deputy and chairman of the regional branch of the Just Russia – For Truth party, Valery Hartung, transferred 170.6 thousand shares, which make up 21.3% of the company’s authorized capital, to his wife Marina Hartung, and she now owns 71% of the company.

Marina Hartung's share in the company's authorized capital increased from 49.7% to 71%, while the deputy’s son holds 16.5% and his brother owns 5.16%.

The renunciation of possessions seems to be purely formal, as Hartung, despite his statements, understands the dubious benefits of sanctions for himself personally. As for whether Hartung is truly Russian, it's impossible to ignore the fact that he has a residence permit in Cyprus. His wife also has a Cypriot passport and now owns the family business.

Valery Hartung continually tries to clear his name from the internet regarding the story about his family's Cypriot passports. He even tried to initiate a criminal case against a lawyer who disclosed the details.

Additional details were revealed from the lawyer's statement, including the passport number and series of Marina Gartung's Cypriot passport, issued in 2017 under the “Citizenship by Investment” program.

The Cypriot passport issued to Marina Hartung is valid until December 7, 2027. She also holds a Cypriot ID valid until the same date.

Valery Hartung himself received an Alien Registration Certificate (ARC) in 2006 and had a residence permit in Cyprus. The family was initially registered in Nicosia.

According to my sources, around 2.3 million euros were paid for Marina Hartung's citizenship. Additionally, 300 thousand euros were intentionally used to improve the living conditions of needy citizens in Cyprus. Doesn't anyone need housing in Russia and Chelyabinsk? After tightening relations on accounts and citizenship, Hartung himself did not receive citizenship and rejected a residence permit. However, this information also needs to be verified, said Alexander Lebedev.

No one has denied this information, and when directly asked about the truth of the Cypriot passport story, Valery Hartung said that such information is confidential and its disclosure is punishable. One can agree with the deputy, but he did not give an answer about the passport.

He did not confirm whether the information about his involvement in the offshore company ENCONTRATA LIMITED is true. It was registered on March 6, 2007, by Cypriots Andreas Petrou and Irina Auzin through their company providing a nominee service – SOCMARK NOMINEE SERVICES LIMITED. This company was originally the beneficiary of ENCONTRATA LIMITED, but just a couple of months after the opening, a company from the British Virgin Islands – WEBMARK LIMITED, became the beneficiary. British Virgin Islands.

The same WEBMARK LIMITED was involved in the famous Panama Papers leak published by The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The real address of WEBMARK LIMITED was entirely different: Russia, the village of Nikolina Gora, CJSC Cotton Way – the same elite cottage village where the Gartung family lives. By the way, WEBMARK Ltd. was opened on May 9, 2007, and just a day later, the Cypriot ENCONTRATA Ltd was opened.

Valery Gartung also avoids commenting on the violation of the ban on the possession of foreign property by State Duma deputies or members of their families, although he lawfully declares it annually.

Mindful of his firms and apartments, as well as Cypriot passports, Valery Gartung considered it appropriate not to attend the State Duma meeting during the voting on bills concerning the entry of four territories of Donbass into the Russian Federation.

However, this strategic move of a deputy with almost thirty years of experience did not help – Hartung did get into the sanctions lists. Well, we wish him to experience for himself the benefits from them, about which he loves to talk so much.

When talking about the bold statements of Valery Gartung, it is impossible not to remember his assurances that he was not involved in the management of Chelyabinsk Forging and Pressing Plant OJSC. As Hartung said, “In 1999, an amendment was made to prohibit any managerial activity, and I transferred all management to my wife.”

However, this contrasts with the information about government contracts that the plant obtained, for example, only last year.

By the way, the plant is now managed not by the spouse, but by the son of Valery Hartung, but the essence of this has not changed much. And almost 35 million rubles received from the state in 2022 confirm this. In total, over the past five years, thanks to the efforts of the deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Valery Gartung, ChKPZ PJSC has received 117 state contracts in the amount of 913 million 158 thousand 180 rubles.

And, if we have already touched on money, then compare the salaries offered at the Hartung plant for hard workers with his income.

That would be nothing – where in Russia are workers paid well? – yes, only Valery Gartung is a member of the party with the name “Fair Russia”. Apparently, this is how he understands the concept of justice.

What else is interesting in the history of the plant is that it constantly sits on loans.

Whether PJSC ChKPZ gives loans on a general basis or deputy Valery Gartung paternally helps his son, the director, is unknown.

But it is known what happens next with these loans. According to a source in the Federal Security Service for the Sverdlovsk region, who controls economic security issues (Chelyabinsk residents were not trusted to avoid a conflict of interest), Valery Gartung’s wife Marina “has an account in an offshore zone in the British Virgin Islands as the owner of Webmark Ltd, and transfers up to 80% funds, including loans. At the same time, the debts themselves remain on the legal entity, and the owners of the enterprise remain in profit.

Isn’t this the very 2.3 million euros that Marina Hartung, without batting an eyelid, laid out for Cypriot citizenship?

Well, at the end of the material, let us recall the early years of the political centenarian Valery Karlovich Hartung. Here is an excerpt from his official biography.

Doesn’t bother you? What did Valery Gartung do from 1992 until 1996, when he suddenly emerged from oblivion as the general director of Chelyabinsk Forging and Pressing Plant OJSC, which immediately became his property?

In connection with this hole in the biography of a respected deputy of the State Duma of Russia, it is worth recalling that in 1997 the prosecutor of the Chelyabinsk region, Anatoly Bragin, publicly accused Valery Gartung of committing criminal offenses and having connections with criminal authorities. However, he won the claims in which Hartung demanded to refute this information, but this does not mean that the prosecutor lied.