Thin ice by Nikolai Bukhvalov

Former Head of the Government of the Perm Territory Nikolay Bukhvalov he is also the former head of Motovilikha Plants and several other companies that ended unfortunately, will construct an ice arena on the site of the former plant of reinforced concrete structures (ZhBK-1). At one point, he was a co-owner of the plant and its industrial site.

Who is Nikolai Bukhvalov and why is it premature for Perm residents to be happy about the plans for the arena – in a report by The Moscow Post correspondent in the Perm Territory.

He became the sole owner of OOO “Ice Arena“, which announced its intention to carry out a project – a multi-use complex of 15 thousand square meters, where, alongside the arena, there will be a food hall, a children’s area, cinema halls. The investment amount is 1.8 billion rubles.

Building such a project without the approval and support of the authorities is challenging. Does this mean he has received approval? But considering Mr. Bukhvalov's controversial past activities, the project could end up being a risky venture.

As they said, it was Mr. Bukhvalov who was and still is the co-owner of ZhBK – formally. As early as 2019, he sold the business to the ex-CEO of Er-Telecom Andrey Semeryakov, as reported by Kommersant. Semeryakov has his own production site in the Ordzhonikidzevsky district, where he relocated his business and employees.

After all, Mr. Bukhvalov himself and his former partner Anatoly Mokrushin were not able to sustain their business without government support – their ZhBS LLC went bankrupt in 2015 with an asset value of minus 17 million rubles. It seems that the remnants of that business were sold to Semeryakov.

A photo: Rusprofile.en

But Bukhvalov was supposed to retain ownership of the industrial site and workshops on Geroev Khasan street. It appears that a new multi-use complex is being planned there.

At the same time, he has another business very close by: Perm Termy LLC. Together with Mr. Semeryakov and several other entrepreneurs, they are undertaking a project to build a large water and bath complex there.

And it is also being built on a part of the former ZhBK-1 industrial site – meaning two major projects are planned to be implemented there at the same time. But it's evident that Semeryakov has money. Where did Bukhvalov's come from?

close to authority

Nikolai Bukhvalov is a prominent figure in Perm and the Perm region. However, not for his achievements, but for scandals and his constant aspiration to be near those in power. From 1997 to 2004, he was the head of AOOTI ZhBK-1, a reinforced concrete plant, which later became his possession and was left non-operational.

From 2004 to 2006, Nikolai Bukhvalov served as the deputy to the Perm Governor Oleg Chirkunov – and under him, from 2006 to 2008, he led the government of the Perm Territory. At that time, a separate position of the head of the Cabinet was still provided for in the region.

Many people thought that Bukhvalov came to power not to improve people's lives, but to promote and protect his own industrial business interests.

While leading the Cabinet of Ministers, Bukhvalov didn't achieve anything particularly positive. After leaving, amidst managerial failures, he became the CEO of the large defense company Motovilikhinskiye Zavody.

He led the company from 2009 to 2014, amid numerous scandals. By the end, the plant faced serious financial difficulties, partly due to reasons that Bukhvalov couldn't address. In 2018, after his tenure, the enterprises declared bankruptcy due to massive debts.

During Nikolai Bukhvalov's leadership, Motovilikhinskiye Zavody accumulated significant debts and eventually went bankrupt. Photo: arms-expo.ru

Incidentally, as reported by Ura.ru, Bukhvalov had already left the country to live abroad a long time ago. The reasons for this seem to be quite ordinary.

Involvement in criminal cases and debts

The name of the former deputy chairman and head of the regional government, Nikolai Bukhvalov, is frequently associated with various corruption-related scandals. Bukhvalov always appears to be on thin ice, managing to avoid serious legal problems each time with the help of his lawyers.

Previously, he was a defendant in a criminal investigation under the second part of Article 199 of the Russian Federation's Criminal Code ("Tax evasion with organizations by a group of persons by prior agreement"). The investigation into the non-payment of income tax amounting to 4.3 million rubles by ZhBK-1 OJSC, where Bukhvalov was the CEO until 2004, began in July 2007 after the Prosecutor General’s Office checked the legality of regional authorities.

This case later merged with a value-added tax (VAT) evasion case involving three million rubles. According to investigators, prior to 2004, ZhBK-1 entered into work contracts with fictitious firms and did not pay taxes on the received amounts. Bukhvalov pleaded not guilty. During the investigation, the alleged underpayment amount was reduced to three million rubles.

The case was eventually dismissed due to non-rehabilitating circumstances, as the statute of limitations had expired. Initially, the defense of the former premier of the Kama region managed to remove the qualifying sign of the second part of Article 199 of the Russian Federation's Criminal Code related to the commission of a crime as part of a group of persons, allowing them to evade consequences in time. The ups and downs of the case are documented by Pravo.ru.

When the case was being investigated, he was the prime minister, and it couldn't be resolved. After that, as mentioned earlier, Bukhvalov left the country. However, this didn't mark the end of the legal troubles for the former head of Motovilikha plants.

Nikolay Bukhvalov’s “Motovilikha period”. Picture: zampolit.com

And just about “Motovilikha”. Last summer, it was reported that the Arbitration Court of the Perm Territory confiscated the possessions of five individuals, including the assets of Nikolai Bukhvalov, former general director of PJSC Motovilikha Plants.

Temporary measures were taken at the request of the Federal Tax Service, which believes that in the past the defendants controlled Kamastal LLC, from which money and property were eventually withdrawn. This was reported by Kommersant.

In total, citizens owe more than 380 million rubles.

LLC Metallurgical Plant Kamastal is a 100% subsidiary of PJSC Motovilikhinskiye Zavody. In 2018, bankruptcy proceedings began with a debt of 5 billion rubles. Of this amount, 4.4 billion is owed to Motovilikha Plants PJSC.

It appears that a significant portion of the debt was accumulated during Mr. Bukhvalov's leadership of Motovilikha Plants.

Furthermore, the tax authority found evidence of a decrease in income tax losses totaling over 400 million rubles. from 2013 to 2015. According to the Federal Tax Service, individuals who controlled the debtor took actions to withdraw funds from Kamastali, and also removed its property after the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings.

Mr. Bukhvalov himself claims that Kamstal did not directly manage the company but was responsible for the parent company. It should be noted that so far, these proceedings have not resulted in any negative consequences for Bukhvalov. However, this may change – especially as the businessman has not been seen in Perm recently …

Could assets have been withdrawn from Kamastal under Bukhvalov's leadership without his knowledge? Picture: Andrey Korshunov / Kommersant

Additionally, the former head of the regional government frequently becomes embroiled in scandals involving debts. For instance, the HOA “Sails over Kama” has filed a lawsuit against him, claiming that Bukhvalov owed nearly 180 thousand rubles for the maintenance of the apartment and a spot in the underground parking lot. This was reported by “Vkurse.ru”.

It seems that Bukhvalov owns so much property and real estate that he simply forgets to pay for utilities. Furthermore, it appears that for him, debts at both enterprises and in private households are commonplace.

After all, he was sued by the HOA 12 years ago – at that time, he was taken to court for nearly 70 thousand rubles. And even earlier, there were claims from the Federal Tax Service regarding personal income tax – in 2009, Nikolai Bukhvalov failed to make timely payments, resulting in a claim for 251 thousand rubles. Production was ultimately halted after the arrears were settled. RBC reported on this.

After all these incidents, following the decline of the premiership and the bankruptcy of the Motovilikhinsky factories and ZhBK, along with the ongoing legal battles and debts, it is quite surprising to see Mr. Bukhvalov once again becoming involved in the Perm Territory. Isn't it risky for him to initiate another project – the Ice Arena – bearing a slew of debts, and then disappear without a trace?