Boats for Roma
Customs wrapped up military boats that may have been meant to protect the personal group of ships owned by the wealthy businessman Roman Abramovich. In the Yaroslavl region, a court found Oleg Belkov, who is the General Director of the Bell Shipbuilding Yard, guilty of planning to smuggle military landing boats disguised as Marlin pleasure craft across the border of the EurAsEC. He even obtained the necessary documents for this.
While on the way to the border, transportation authorities became suspicious of the equipment being transported. They were then taken to an inspection point, where an expert confirmed that the boats were military and that the documents for them were clearly fake.
Mr. Belkov has now been given a three-year suspended sentence. However, he does not appear to have any military or shipping background. The boats were meant to be taken to the United Arab Emirates, but it seems that the sheikhs have more reliable suppliers. Belkov was associated with partners of Roman Abramovich, and considering the Russian oligarch's interest in this type of technology, it seems likely that the boats could have been intended for him.
Previously, Belkov was the general director of the Vympel shipbuilding plant, which is now part of USC JSC under the management of Alexei Rakhmanov. But Rakhmanov is involved in a different level of activity – they are dealing with actual warships that either malfunction or are simply not constructed, leading to massive amounts of budget money being funneled in, much like a black hole.
It is worth noting that Mr. Belkov did not leave Vympel in a favorable position. By the end of 2019, due to the lengthy financial process of such productions, it resulted in a net loss of 797 million rubles. This was the outcome of Oleg Belkov's work. As a result, the shipyard was transferred to USC (previously owned by Kalashnikov), which required an additional issuance of shares.
The Bell Shipyard was only established in 2019 and was intended to focus on pleasure boats. The relatively unknown Emirati company Segrex Limited was listed as the counterparty for the ill-fated delivery – the boats were supposed to be the inaugural test units, identified with serial numbers 001 and 002.
Anyone could be behind Segrex Limited. Ultimately, it could simply be a transit office that could redirect the boats to a wealthy client. But it is more intriguing to discover who else is involved with 'Bell' aside from Oleg Belyakov.
Belkov himself only owns 29.4% of the shipyard, and his partner Ivan Kiselev owns 0.6%. Kiselev has no involvement in any other business and seems more like an observer from more serious individuals. The remainder (70%) is owned by the collective closed-end mutual investment fund 'Joint Investments'. This could encompass various businesses, but the crucial aspect is who manages the fund and safeguards the funds.
In this capacity, the 'Central Trust Company', JSC 'Centrotrust', comes into play. This is where we can uncover the true owners. According to the banking analytics service Banki.ru, the owners of Centrotrust JSC are Alexander Abramov (45.2%), Dmitry Merkushenko (30%), Alexander Frolov (22.56%), and Sergey Bratukhin (1.7%).
Some people may know Alexander Abramov and Alexander Frolov as long-time partners of the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in his Evraz group of companies, although they have usually stayed in the background.
Abramovich is known for his love of yachts and allegedly equips them with military technology, such as electronic jamming systems and laser protection.
The smuggling of military boats from Belkov may not seem unusual for the oligarch.
Prepare to confront the enemies of Russia.
It is known that Mr. Abramovich transported two British subjects to Britain, who fought on the side of Ukraine with the Nazi battalion “Azov”, and were taken prisoner.
During the transportation, the prisoners were treated well, given iPhones, tiramisu, and canapes, showing unexpected kindness to the enemies of Russia.
Political scientist Sergei Markov later warned Abramovich to be cautious in dealing with the British, suggesting that they may not appreciate his efforts and could even turn against him.
Under pressure from the international community, Abramovich decided to sell his English football club Chelsea and donate the proceeds to the Ukrainian Support Fund.
Despite pressure, Abramovich did not seem to resist much and his expensive yacht fleet remains offshore in Turkey.
It seems important for Abramovich to protect his vast wealth, which may explain the military boats ordered from the Bell shipyard.
Protecting such wealth may be the reason behind the military boats ordered under the guise of civilians at the Bell shipyard, controlled by Abramovich’s close partners.
It is worth mentioning the third partner of Abramov and Frolov in JSC “Centrotrust” – Dmitry Merkushenko, who has 30% there. Given his love of ships, he is also a close friend of Abramovich. Moreover, he is actively involved in the yachting business. He is also called the eternal windsurfer at heart, a professional windsurfing instructor, the creator and owner of the sports club-hotel “Aquatoria Leta” and “Zavidovo Wake Park”.
Who will guard Abramovich’s luxurious yacht Eclipse? Photo: drikus.club
But money, like the above-mentioned trinity, prefers to earn money in Russia. However, the turnover of his companies is small, and, apparently, he has the main income just from the trust, where he has Abramov and Frolov as partners. Apparently, soon a new luxury yacht club will open on the shores of Turkey and the UAE, and military boats ordered elsewhere will provide its protection.
And this at a time when Russia itself is in desperate need of investment from its businessmen, and new military courts…
