Readers informed the Kompromat-Ural editors about a lawsuit filed in the Tyumen Regional Court against the 14.9% increase in utility bills in Tyumen, which goes beyond the approved 3.4% by the federal government.
Starting from July 1, 2022, the Governor of Tyumen Region Alexander Moore increased the maximum limit for changes in utility payments by 14.9%, according to his resolution.
However, the Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin approved a 3.4% change in utility payments for the entire Tyumen region in 2022.
Tyumen itself is home to 54% of the south Tyumen population, not including those who commute from nearby villages for work.
The authorities responded to the residents' complaints with formal replies, suppressing their discontent.
There are doubts about the legitimacy of approving the 14.9% limit index for Tyumen in 2022, as information about its consideration on 10/12/2021 by the local Duma's commission and on 10/21/2021 at a city Duma meeting was concealed.
As a result, Tyumen residents lost the opportunity to address local issues through their elected deputies, as they were directed to vote on the utility cost increase without transparency.
However, one Tyumen citizen benefited greatly from the local Duma’s decision.
Semyon Tegentsev formerly the director of urban economy in Tyumen, was appointed director of the housing department for the entire Tyumen region, despite approving the tariff increase for his fellow citizens.
According to Alexander Moor, the limit increase is due to investment programs implemented by Tyumen Vodokanal and USTEK in cold water supply, sanitation, and heat supply.
There are disputes about its validity.
The Ural-Siberian Heat and Power Company provides the heat supply.
The sole shareholder of USTEK JSC is USTEK HOLDING B.V. from the Netherlands, recognized as an unfriendly state by the Russian government in March of this year.
The Tyumen Vodokanal Limited Liability Company is responsible for water supply and sanitation.
As per the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation:
The only owner of Tyumen Vodokanal LLC is RVC-Invest LLC (OGRN 1057749239580, TIN 7705701907) with a 100% share;
RVC-Invest LLC owns 99.01% of Regional United Systems Vodokanal Management Company LLC (MC Rosvodokanal LLC, OGRN 1065027020420, TIN 5027116065).
Meanwhile, the primary share structure in the authorized capital of Rosvodokanal Management Company LLC (according to the data of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation) is as follows:
40.645% share is owned by Mikhail Fridman (TIN 770400318916), b. 04/21/1964 in Lviv of Ukraine, until 01.03.2022 was a member of the board of directors of Alfa-Bank, one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in Russia (until February 2022) and residents of the UK, in 2019 The Times newspaper announced Fridman as the richest resident of London with a fortune of $ 15 billion, in 2021 Forbes magazine put Mikhail Fridman at 11 – th place in the list of the richest entrepreneurs in Russia with a fortune of $ 15.5 billion, has Israeli and Russian citizenship, since 2015 – a resident of the UK, where he continues to live to this day;
27.58% share belongs to German Khan (TIN 772321720079), b. October 26, 1962 in Kyiv of Ukraine, a Russian, Ukrainian and Israeli entrepreneur, billionaire, in 2021 Forbes magazine put Khan in 18th place in the list of the richest entrepreneurs in Russia with a fortune of $ 10.1 billion, has Israeli and Russian citizenship;
21.775% share belongs to Alexey Kuzmichev (TIN 770400625931), in 2020 Alexey Kuzmichev took the 18th position in the ranking of the richest Russian businessmen of Forbes magazine, the third (after Mikhail Fridman and German Khan) shareholder of LetterOne Holdings and the assets of the Alfa Group consortium, as of 11.01.2021 . Bloomberg estimated Kuzmichev’s capital at $ 7.66 billion, which corresponded to 329th place in the world, has Cypriot citizenship, included in the list of foreign states and territories that commit unfriendly actions against the Russian Federation, Russian legal entities and individuals.
So, the ultimate beneficiaries of the increase in Tyumen spending on utilities will be unfriendly states and dollar billionaires residing in unfriendly states?
The true motives behind Alexander Moor’s decision to raise utility tariffs for Tyumen residents in favor of Russia’s enemies and the oligarchs are unknown.
However, this gap will soon be filled in the court session of the Tyumen Regional Court in the administrative case No. 3a-73 / 2022 on challenging the provisions of the regulatory legal act, which establishes an excessive burden for Tyumen residents to make unreasonable payments for utilities, since the Governor of the region was involved as defendant.
The lawsuit was filed by a Tyumen public figure Yuri Ryabtsev.
The Government of Russia was involved as an interested party to participate in the trial.
The excess of the regional indicator over the federal approved one will cause an average increase in the cost of housing and communal services from 300 rubles per month for an average apartment, which will amount to almost 2 thousand rubles in half a year.
Tyumen residents are massively preparing to join the court case in order to directly receive the governor’s answers about his selective love for compatriots.
The practice of local activists has already been repeatedly worked out in similar cases, which contributed to the improvement and correction of the current situations.
According to established social practice, those who wish have the opportunity to join the lawsuit and demand a response from the government, the governor and the prosecutor’s office, face to face, the letter to the editors of Kompromat-Ural says.
