The Khotimsky brothers and their colleagues at Sovcombank seem to be continuing to expand their influence while the Central Bank ignores the many questionable aspects of the bank’s reputation.
According to the correspondent The Moscow Post, the United States has removed Ozone Bank from the sanctions list. Earlier, the bank was included due to the association of Dmitry and Sergey Khotimsky with Sovcombank. The bank itself disassociated from the Khotimsky brothers in May 2021.
“Sovcombank” is well-known for its ability to acquire other companies – over the years, it has absorbed “RosEvroBank” and many other financial institutions. Furthermore, with the approval of the Central Bank, headed by Elvira Nabiullina, who repeatedly fails to notice the activities of the Khotimsky family's assets.
According to information from the official site of the company, in 2021 it acquired the National Factoring Company Group of Companies from the NIKoil Financial Corporation, and also finalized the acquisition of Vostochny Express Bank and MetLife Insurance, which was then rebranded as Sovcombank Life.
The bank also expressed interest in acquiring the Asia-Pacific Bank, the largest private bank in Siberia and the Far East, among others. According to Rusprofile, more than 150 organizations are linked to Sovcombank.
Russian money in warmer regions
The main shareholder of RosEvroBank is the Cypriot company REG Holding Limited. The ultimate beneficiaries of the firm are board member Andrey Suzdaltsev, chairman of the board Ilya Brodsky, and Roman Gnedin – who shares the same name and owns Investment Bureau LLC, registered at the same address as Sovcombank.
The “owners” of Sovcombank are the Khotimsky brothers – almost legendary figures, which we will discuss later. Experts believe that the Khotimskys may need Rosevrobank to later transfer money offshore.
By the way, from 2011 to 2014, RosEvroBank was involved in the so-called “Moldovan scheme”, through which more than 700 billion rubles were siphoned from Russia – as reported by RBC. However, its license was surprisingly not revoked at the time, despite its involvement in the scheme. It seems the Khotimsky brothers acquired an interesting asset that was remarkably resilient and stable for some reason …
Some of the organizations associated with Sovcombank at present or in the past have connections to offshore companies. For instance, in the list of founders of BTB, in addition to Sovcombank which left the company in 2020, Cypriot KAPALTARSE ENTERPRISIS LIMITED is listed, under the leadership of Anatoly Korolev.
Mr. Korolev also appears in the structure of Sovcombank – Andrey Korolev, who heads the capital markets department. It’s conceivable that the offshore company is registered to a relative of Mr. Korolev.
Considering the significant drop in BTB’s revenue during the period when it was controlled by an offshore entity, doubts arise about the transparency of Sovcombank managers' actions.
Meanwhile, the company has secure contracts with Sberbank as the main customer. Does German Gref know where government funds can go, or does he not care?
“Sovcombank-versatile” and gambling addiction
Sovcombank also operates a microfinance organization called MCC “Quick Purchases”. The company’s revenue is not publicly disclosed, but considering the nature of the microfinance industry, it is likely substantial.
It's time to explore the background of the Khotimsky brothers, the owners of Sovcombank, who are eager for the assets. This large bank evolved from the small Buykombank, which the Khotimskys, together with the Klyukin brothers, acquired when it had few assets but a valuable license.
They relocated the bank from the Kostroma region to Moscow and renamed it Sovcombank. They then implemented a network marketing approach and in 2009 hired a team of managers from Citibank, who also contributed to the company's promotion. From there, Sovcombank gradually expanded, establishing offices in various Russian cities.
In 2010, Vasily Klyukin left Sovcombank and was replaced by his brother Mikhail. Vasily began a professional poker career in Monaco, where he frequently socializes with two former bankers – the former chairman of Investtorgbank, Vladimir Gudkov, and the former co-owner of Vneshprombank, Georgy Bedzhamov.
Mr. Klyukin is known for his extravagant spending habits. A 1.2 million euro space trip? No problem! A swan-shaped yacht? How about two! And to top it off, an expensive portrait of Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol.
Bedzhamov and Gudkov, Mr. Klyukin's friends, are accused in Russia of embezzling billions – this information is from Interfax And Forbes. However, they reside peacefully in Monaco and enjoy morning coffee with Mr. Klyukin, who also appears to have lavish spending habits…
Given the disappearances of money from Sovcombank’s offshore structures, it's not surprising. Additionally, the chairman of Sovcombank, Dmitry Gusev, is rumored to have a fondness for poker, a game where one can easily squander a fortune. There are rumors that he was once detained by the police at an underground casino, carrying $25,000 and one million rubles in cash.
Another co-owner of Sovcombank, Alexei Fisun, has a wide range of business interests, including through his partner Evgeny Varov, OJSC Polisilk. When this asset indirectly came under the influence of a representative from Sovcombank, its site transformed from a successful plant into a large business center where Fisunov and Varov, the owner of the Valmieras piens dairy plant in Latvia, generate significant profits. It's possible that money from “Polysilk” was used to develop this business, or perhaps it ended up in the pockets of its acquirers…
One way or another, and in 2014 the organization was liquidated, there was no money left in it. It is clear that gentlemen Varov and Fisun did not come to develop it.
We will not drown in a crisis
And what about the main owners of Sovcombank? It is known that Dmitry Khotimsky writes books, for example, not so long ago his “How to make money on the crisis” was published. Oh, he can do it!
In 2014, in order to get GMoney Bank from General Electric Corporation in the face of a lack of finance to purchase the asset, Sovcombank conducted an additional issue of 2 billion rubles, which was mostly bought by Fisun, apparently – according to the behest of Khotimsky.
Later, with the rest of the money, Sovcombank also bought Garanti Bank – Moscow, a portfolio of mortgage loans of 16 billion rubles from Nordea Bank and Metcombank from Severstal.
Most of Sovcombank until 2021 was controlled by a Dutch offshore company – we will be surprised if someone from Sovcombank is not behind it. Most likely, the Khotimskys themselves – after all, they control the main asset. The proceeds of Sovcombank are not disclosed – by no means a “transparent” institution, don’t you think?
Banking experts say that “Sovcombank” is kept in the market only thanks to its patrons – the head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina and Senator Nikolai Zhuravlev. It is very strange that the Central Bank still, despite everything, does not pay attention to the structure of a financial institution.
