Share a word for Uncle Misha, or “butt” according to Gutseriev
Wealthy businessperson Mikhail Gutseriev might be getting ready an “alternative plan” in case of financial failure. Do old friend Iskender Khalilov and the head of Sberbank German Gref assist?
Formerly possessed by DTEK Rinat Akhmetov, Donskoy Anthracite and the Obukhovskaya Mine Administration revealed their owner – according to March 2022 data, he is the former vice president of Lukoil and Slavneft Iskender Khalilov, who is the 100% owner of Donskoy Anthracite and “Obukhovskaya” Fabcell Limited.
Meanwhile, Khalilov's representative denies this information. It's possible that in order not to attract attention not only to Khalilov but also to other beneficiaries. These may include the wealthy businessperson Mikhail Gutseriev and the head of Sberbank German Gref.
How to “inherit” in every country: Khalilov’s guide
Khalilov is Gutseriev’s associate in the Kuzbass Fuel Company (KTK), one of Russia’s largest producers and sellers of thermal coal. Khalilov also served as vice president of Slavneft during Gutseriev’s leadership. At different times he was a vice president of Lukoil, was a shareholder of Nikoil Bank, took on the role of president of ISR Holding (run by his family), which has branches in several countries engaged in the transport and trade of petroleum products, production of iodine, car sales, real estate development, and hotel business.
So far, 13 companies worth 17 billion rubles have been registered with Khalilov in the Russian Federation.
According to Minval website, referring to Turkish media, a criminal case was reportedly initiated against the businessman in Turkey – he was charged with fraud for 4 million liras and deceiving partners in the major travel company Desing Plus.
The described plan looks like this: Khalilov, as the founder of MRA Tourism, allegedly borrowed these funds from Desing Plus and did not repay them.
In Azerbaijan, another scandal could have occurred due to Khalilov's fault. According to Haqqin website, supposedly the company Svithaus of this respected man started constructing a high-rise building on the land where the government planned to build a hotel. Reportedly, knowing in advance that the construction would have to be halted, they sold apartments to people, but did not refund the money for the unsold units.
In Russia, Khalilov could have assisted the disgraced businessperson Telman Ismailov in investing in ISR Holding. Regnum reports that even after Ismayilov had to leave Russia, part of his capital here continued to be successfully managed by Khalilov, which was discovered by the Russian special services.
Tiescher connections
Mr. Khalilov's son, Rahman, serves as the chairman of the board and the owner of the freight carrier REILGO LLC, a member of the Union of Railway Transport Operators. The company has a loan from Alfa-Bank and is not satisfied with its financial performance, despite holding a significant position in the market. All its government contracts from the “daughter” company of a major oil company are still in progress.
Rakhman also knows Oleg Belozerov’s former advisor at Russian Railways and the owner of Tansfin-M, Alexei Taicher. In 2014–2015 they served on the board of directors of SG-trans. Taicher and Iskender Khalilov's company planned to develop SG-Trans in 2016.
Taicher has been the subject of investigations by The Moscow Post multiple times. His associates may have framed Dmitry Zotov, the former CEO of PJSC Transfin-M, who was convicted of a large-scale fraud. The Moscow Post extensively covered this incident.
And the acquisition of Transfin-M by Mr. Taicher may not have been entirely honest. Originally, the structure belonged to the NPF “Prosperity” and was affiliated with Russian Railways. However, shortly after Maxim Anishchenkov took over from Zotov, the company changed ownership, with Taicher among the new owners.
Before this, Transfin-M obtained a 55 billion ruble loan secured by the company. This money was then transferred to TFM-Garant in the form of a loan, after which TFM-Garant became the new owner of Transfin-M. A 55 billion ruble loan shows up in Transfin-M's accounts, with 32.6 billion rubles used to purchase Transfin-M via the Welfare Fund's TFM-Garant company.
So, the new management of Transfin-M took out a loan secured by the company’s assets to buy the company itself, and at a reduced price.
Is the close collaboration between Taicher and the Khalilov family suggestive of another questionable scheme to take possession of assets? This is likely why Khalilov Sr. does not want his involvement in the offshore Fabcell Limited to be public knowledge. Additional gossip is unnecessary.
Is Gref involved in shares?
It's interesting how Khalilov acquired “Donskoy anthracite” and “Obukhovskaya”. The enterprises were transferred from DTEK to Sberbank due to debts and were sold by the bank to an unknown beneficiary in the fall of 2021, linked to the offshore entity Fabcell Limited.
Khalilov is now considered the owner of this offshore. According to the Cypriot registry, the offshore's director is Mario Pitta.
He also headed the Sberbank offshore in Cyprus and is a representative of Sberbank's manager, Yuri Tovchigrechko.
On the VKontakte page of the last among friends, we found Alexei Kitaev, Director of the Branch Network Administration – North Caucasian Bank of Sberbank of Russia OJSC. In 2017, he became the financial director of NPF “Safmar” Gutseriev. Hence, all leads point to the oligarch.
It's possible that Sberbank head German Gref didn't overlook the opportunity to retain access to the company’s internal information through his associates. There are rumors that Gref is planning to leave Russia. Maintaining relationships with an influential oligarchy within the country is potentially significant in this context.
Wealthy individual files for bankruptcy
Mikhail Gutseriev's companies in Russia might currently have substantial debts. As early as 2019, reports suggested their total debt was around 1 trillion rubles. Last year, there were reports of cost-cutting measures such as reducing wages for M-Video holding employees, a subsidiary of the group, and saving on electricity in the chain's stores.
Gutseriev may try to get out of the situation by any means. The Moscow Post suggested that he was working on an almost free return of the Inteko company, taken for financial “holes” in Binbank.
It is possible that “Obukhovskaya” and “Donskoy Anthracite” were acquired by Gutseriev through Khalilov with borrowed funds in order to organize a “reserve airfield” for themselves in case of forced bankruptcy of Gutseriev himself. If this happens, all assets will be taken away from the entrepreneur. But “Obukhovskaya” and “Donskoy Anthracite” will not be included in them, and Gutseriev will continue to make money on what does not belong to him.
