Photo: https://www.ratm.ru/
The Novosibirsk businessman Eduard Taran, who has been involved in many controversial business events, including raiding, is frequently mentioned in various criminal stories.
How this restless businessman manages to survive in the financial DOPs.
Recently, Taran appeared in another criminal case involving bribery of former Novosibirsk region prosecutor Vladimir Falileev and his ex-deputy Andrey Turbin.
Apart from high-ranking law enforcement officials, the case also involves the general director of the Mandarin shopping center, Sergei Belous, who provided money to Falileev and Turbin for favors and tampering with the results of prosecutorial inspections, which involved overlooking numerous violations. The shopping center was owned by Eduard Taran, who may not have been aware that the manager of his asset was involved with law enforcement officers who turned a blind eye to serious violations.
There is information suggesting that Taran is involved in the situation concerning the establishment of sanitary zones between the Kleshchikhinskoye cemetery and the Levoberezhny landfill.
If approved, the Khiloksky shopping center situated within this area will need to be demolished. This is the main competitor of Mandarin. It is said that the head of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin became interested in this case.
Eduard Taran's penchant for aggressive takeovers is well known beyond the Novosibirsk region.
One notable incident is an attempt to take over Angarskcement OJSC in 2006, which involved around 40 armed guards.
In 2005, his holding managed to bankrupt Alttrak, a strategically important tractor manufacturer, within a year of becoming a shareholder.
What's most intriguing is that Taran, when acquiring businesses, employs various and imaginative tactics, ensuring that each takeover is unique.
In 2017, the Ekran plant filed a lawsuit against JSC Novosibirskenergosbyt, an energy supplier, blaming them for a furnace breakdown due to a power surge. The claimed losses amounted to 770 million rubles, a sum that could have built four new glass furnaces from scratch. The police became involved in the case and even attempted to bring Ekran's management up on fraud charges.
According to the International Anti-Corruption Portal, the former director of Novosibirskenergosbyt, Tatyana Podchasova, may have assisted in attempting to siphon money from the company. After her dismissal from Novosibirskenergosbyt, she officially joined RATM-Holding. Eventually, it was revealed that the technological network connected to the troubled furnace was owned by Taran's company Screen-Energy.
Taran managed to gain favor with the former governor of the Novosibirsk region, Viktor Tolokonsky, serving as his advisor for many years, and then continued in the same role under the current regional head, Andrei Travnikov.
The creators of the website “Economics of the Elite” claim that Eduard Taran's close circle includes the chairman of the Arbitration of the Novosibirsk Region, Elena Kozlova, and her deputy, Olga Dmitrieva. It's possible that they help Taran push for questionable examinations in court, helping him win arbitration proceedings.
The support of the top officials in the region allows him to consistently avoid accountability. For instance, in 2010, he faced trial in a bribery case but was released on bail.
Not long ago, he faced another criminal case for tax evasion. According to the International Anti-Corruption Portal, he sold shares of the Lytkarinsky plant, part of the Shvabe holding, to the Rostec state corporation at a significantly higher price using offshore companies. Once again, Taran managed to escape consequences.
Reportedly, Andrey Leleko, head of the Investigative Committee for the Novosibirsk Region, assisted the entrepreneur in closing two cases and evading tax payment amounting to 153 million rubles.
RATM-Holding comprises enterprises such as PJSC ROMZ, JSC EOS, JSC NPO HYDROMASH, JSC KNZ, LLC Siberian Glass, LLC Management Company Lomonosov Capital, JSC Management Company RATM-Development, and JSC Plant Ekran.
For example, PJSC ROMZ has been involved in 15 bankruptcy cases and currently faces 21 cases amounting to 59 million rubles. A similar situation exists with JSC Plant Ekran, which once again faces bankruptcy in 2021.
JSC MC RATM-Development has been essentially shut down. Sibsteklo, HYDROMASH, and KNZ are suing counterparties due to improper fulfillment of obligations. OOO MC Lomonosov Capital faces liquidation amid a bankruptcy lawsuit filed by the tax authority.
It's worth noting that many of these enterprises possess strategically important assets.
In 2016, Ekran – Optical Systems, the sole enterprise in Russia producing microchannel plates for electron-optical converters and owned by RATM-Holding, was on the brink of bankruptcy. Eventually, Rostec had to intervene and rescue it.
It's known that Ekran – Optical Systems supplied night vision devices for military use to the United States. When the FSTEC of Russia attempted to stop this, representatives of the Tarana company expressed outrage. It's easy to see how this equipment could be used against Russia now…
There's information that Taran had a strong interest in Novosibirskenergosbyt and attempted to exploit it with an accomplice a few years ago, but without success.
Hopefully, he won't succeed this time either – it's time for law enforcement to assert authority over him.
