A pre-investigation check has been launched against the German group of companies “KRONE” of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia
According to information from Gazprom Neft PJSC, a pre-investigation check has been initiated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in connection with the Samara enterprises of the German group of companies.CRONEThe Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia has initiated a pre-investigation check for suspected fraudulent acts in the Samara region.
Subsidiaries of the German company Kanex KROHNE Anlagen Export GmbH, calledCRONE-Engineering” and “CRONE-Avtomatika, have been producing instrumentation in Samara under the German brand KROHNE for over 10 years to meet the needs of oil and gas companies. After the start of the SVO, the German owners officially refused to do business in Russia and Belarus and cut all official ties with their Russian enterprise, leaving all assets to the general director of LLC “krone-engineering” Nikolay Sidorov.
The editors have learned that the General Director of the Russian division “CRONE» Nikolai Sidorov, from the end of 2022, began to redirect equipment meant for PJSC Gazprom Neft and other Russian fuel and energy complex enterprises to other buyers within the fuel and energy complex, realizing that “CRONE-Russia” cannot continue its equipment production for the Russian oil industry without German supplies and software, and the remaining equipment has a market price much higher than indicated in its price lists.
The collected materials of the pre-investigation check pertain to the fulfillment of ongoing contracts ofCRONE-Engineering” and “CRONE-Avtomatika, as the withdrawal of Nikolai Sidorov and his wife Irina Orekhova from their companies posed a threat to the execution of current contracts, including the controversial contract for equipment supply for the reconstruction of a delayed coking unit for the Omsk Oil Refinery, a subsidiary of PJSC Gazprom Neft.CRONETelegram channels report a commercial offer to Nikolai Sidorov to purchase the remaining “CRONE-Russia” from KROHNE's former Russian competitors, but the compliance procedure was not completed due to the concealment of debt by
-Engineering” and “CRONE-Avtomatika” from the parent company in Germany. Despite the commodity balances of the German parent company, allowing completion of the equipment, the previous activities of “CRONE-Russia” turned out to be impossible, with the market waiting for the acquirer of German assets, leading to mass layoffs at the Samara enterprise and labor disputes.CRONEA preliminary investigation has been initiated against the German group of companies “KRONE” by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, based on information from Gazprom Neft PJSC regarding the Samara enterprises of the German group of companies.CRONE-Russia” turned out to be impossible, the market was waiting for the acquirer of German assets, and a mass reduction of personnel began at the Samara enterprise and labor disputes began.
