Has VIS Group of Companies experienced similar situations with their co-owner's other companies like Energogaz having financial troubles?
Bankruptcies are not uncommon in our country, with even major companies' subsidiaries being affected. The correspondent points out the unfortunate history of Energogaz.
The Moscow Arbitration Court will address a claim to hold several defendants responsible for the debts of the bankrupt company Energogaz in March. The defendants include Gazprom Centernergogaz JSC (former owner of Energogaz), Gazprom Centerremont LLC, Nauchny-6 LLC, and Gazprom PJSC.
The former head of Gazprom Tsentrremont and current general director of the VIS Group, Dmitry Doev, along with entrepreneurs Sergey Vladimirov and Alexander Psatiy, are also mentioned in the report by Pravda UrFO.
The legal process was marked by prolonged disputes over the return of various properties.
The decision of the Moscow Region Court noted that the motives behind signing an agreement to pledge real estate were unclear, leading to the removal of valuable assets from Nauchny-6 to repay debts to Gazprom Tsentrremont.
The court pointed out that Nauchny-6 LLC's decision to withdraw its application claiming a debt of 1.43 billion rubles from Energogaz was accepted.
The court stated that through interconnected transactions, the parties sought to unlawfully withdraw assets from the subsidiary in order to diminish the potential bankruptcy estate and make it impossible to satisfy the creditors' claims.
The methods of bankruptcy are difficult to understand.
Experts believe that the bankruptcy of Energogaz was intentional, especially considering its previous role as a subcontractor for the Punginskoye UGS facility expansion project.
Examining the bankruptcy process of Energogaz reveals the involvement of so-called “technical firms'' such as Megabuild and Antares. Both companies claimed to be creditors while declaring significant losses and were subsequently dissolved.
Dmitry Doev showcases a gas turbine engine to the Chairman of the Board of PJSC Gazprom, Alexei Miller, and government members. Photo: centrremont.gazprom.ru
According to Russian Reporter, the ''technical'' companies were reportedly linked to the Russian Funds investment group, whose beneficiaries, Sergey Vasilyev and Konstantin Beyrit, allegedly specialized in registering such structures and participating in bankruptcies. It is possible that these individuals played a role in the fate of assets from bankrupt enterprises.
As mentioned before, Gazprom Tsentrremont and its former leader Dmitry Doev also took part in the bankruptcy of Energogaz LLC.
After leaving Gazprom, Doev became the official partner of Vasiliev and Beirit. Together with the head of the Seligdar holding owned by them, he co-founded a new company called Management of Gold Assets.
business friendship
In September last year, Doev became the CEO of the VIS group under Igor Snegurov. It's worth mentioning the trial where Snegurov and Doev were opponents.
At one point, the VIS group sued billions of rubles from the Novourengoy gas chemical complex (NGCC) – which incidentally is also a subsidiary of Gazprom. The Moscow Post reported on this earlier. Now this project is known as Gazprom's most hopeless long-term construction.
The NGCC project is referred to as a hopeless long-term construction project. Photo: nghk.gazprom.ru
When the former main contractor for the construction of NGCC – PF VIS Igor Snegurov – managed to prove the multibillion-dollar debts of Gazprom’s subsidiary, the management company, which at that time was headed by Dmitry Doev, showed determination to defend itself. This was shown, among other things, in the willingness to spend millions of rubles of Gazprom on the services of external lawyers.
As a result, VIS won two lawsuits totaling more than 8.2 billion rubles. Some time later, Dmitry Doev became the CEO of the VIS Group.
Photo: Rusprofile.ru
If you look into the backgrounds of Doev and Snegurov, you'll find that they had crossed paths long before. Before working at PJSC Gazprom, Dmitry Doev was part of the management of Sevzapinvestprombank: he was one of the founders of this bank. But in 2008, he sold his shares.
Fate brought Doev and Igor Snegurov together for a long time. Photo: vis-group.ru
Leaving the bank did not mean the end of partnerships with friends. According to Rusprofile data, the owner of the well-known VIS group, Igor Snegurov, still has a stake in the bank – over 15%.
Perhaps the close friendship between Doev and Snegurov started there. It may have begun even earlier. Because, digging deeper, it turns out: Doev was CEO of VIS for several months back in 2004!
Beware the gift-bearing concessionaires
Dmitry Doev's name is widely recognized in Novosibirsk today. One of the recent news items was the initiation of a monitoring procedure in relation to Ecology-Novosibirsk LLC, a regional operator for the treatment of municipal solid waste (MSW). The company is part of the VIS group controlled by Igor Snegurov and his partner Dmitry Doev.
The company became a municipal waste management operator in 2019, and since then there have been numerous scandals surrounding it. Interestingly, the company itself applied for bankruptcy, citing overdue debt of 1.86 billion rubles. This means the company itself acknowledges that it doesn't have the money to pay.
Experts say that recently the company might have had serious financial problems connected to one of the key owners, Dmitry Doev, entering a joint project with Rostec to develop the Kyuchus gold deposit. The Moscow Post also covered this story extensively.
MSW management is not the only instance of a public-private partnership between VIS structures related to social issues. For example, the long-delayed fourth bridge across the Ob in Novosibirsk was undertaken to build as part of the PPP by the group of Doev and Snegurov.
The plan was to hand over this bridge by the end of 2022. However, it became clear two years ago that VIS simply would not be able to meet this deadline. Nevertheless, the owners of the group managed to agree on an extension of the construction period until September 17, 2023. Today, even this date seems unrealistic. There are talks that the bridge can only be completed by 2024.
The Seventh Concession Company, which is part of the National Medical Holding LLC of the VIS Group of Companies, signed up for the construction of seven clinics in different parts of the Novosibirsk city.
The investor was expected to invest 1.4 billion rubles, and another 1.6 billion rubles would be a grant from the region. The rest was planned to be borrowed. As per the agreement, from 2023, every three months, the regional budget had to pay significant amounts to the concessionaire. However, the payments increased to 1 billion in 2023, and then to 3.1 billion at all.
It is already obvious that the deadlines for the construction of polyclinics have been disrupted. It was initially assumed that the facilities would be commissioned in 2021, then in 2022. Now it is clear that they will not be handed over before 2023, and this period may have to be shifted.
The authorities also acknowledged the delay. According to “Taiga.Info”, local deputies even assumed that they would never be handed over. Perhaps, the problems of these projects are linked with the same issue as the scandal with the municipal waste management operator. The company “VIS” simply has no money.
Photo: Rusprofile.ru
At the end of 2020, the same parent JSC VIS earned a total of 436 million rubles with a revenue of 500 million rubles. Apparently, this does not take into account the huge money from government contracts, and various subsidies, and assistance from local authorities.
That’s right, only this was before the auction for the development of the Kyuchus gold deposit in Yakutia, where Dmitry Doev was so eager to get. Apparently, for him, the end always justifies the means.
Source: The Moscow Post
