A residence in London was transported to the Ust-Luga 'Horizon' area.
Bentley is under a security deposit, the most expensive residence in London is at risk of being seized, and money owed to suppliers remains unpaid. This is how the fate of a major Krasnoyarsk company, which has interests in Ust-Luga, is unfolding.
Following an article about a bold gazelle urging Baltkond to settle its debts, our editorial office received new details about the events unfolding near the Ust-Luga port in the Kingisepp district of the Leningrad region. One significant development in recent weeks was the appointment of a new CEO and the transfer of the entire authorized capital of LLC SK Gorizont, a major Krasnoyarsk company, to a restaurateur and jewelry distributor from Yekaterinburg. Despite multibillion-dollar turnovers, the company is experiencing multimillion-dollar losses.
It is worth remembering that our editorial office received a photo at the end of May depicting a unique act of vandalism near the Ust-Luga plant. An unidentified individual, using a red spray can, called on Baltkond to settle the debts under the contracts on a piece of tarpaulin attached to a gazelle. We then noted that the Arbitration Court for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region was preparing to consider a claim from Polygon Ecostroy LLC to recover 12.7 million rubles under the contract and 3.5 million rubles in fines from the company mentioned on the truck. However, during a conversation with the general director of Baltcond, Artem Daineko, our assumption about the connection between the two events was dismissed.
However, other sources familiar with the situation suggested that we should consider the higher level. At the end of May, we clarified that Baltcond was operating at the Baltic Chemical Complex through a subcontract with OOO SK Gorizont, which in turn has a general contract with Rushimalliance LLC. Therefore, the construction company is working at two major facilities in the Leningrad region.
Upon closer examination of the construction company, it may have been a subject of admiration just a couple of years ago. Indeed, Horizon's revenue has significantly increased over the past few years. In 2019, the turnover was approximately 966.4 million rubles, according to Kontur.Focus, and by 2020, it had risen to 5.5 billion rubles. In 2021, it exceeded 16.3 billion rubles. The company's balance sheet also experienced substantial growth, increasing from 1.9 billion rubles in 2019 to 18.7 billion rubles in 2021. However, despite these results, the company was unable to generate profits. Three years ago, the organization earned 44.1 million rubles in a year, which grew to 566.5 million rubles the following year. In 2021, there was a sharp decline, resulting in a net loss of 937.8 million rubles.
Given the significant 1.5 billion ruble difference, the company chose to change its management and beneficiary. But let's first examine the previous key figures. Since its establishment in June 2015, the founder was Anton Volynkin, also known as the owner of the Krasnoyarsk mining company Avrora, which recently faced complications with a bankruptcy petition (the proceedings were terminated in 2020). During his tenure, Horizon did not demonstrate exceptional financial performance.
In March 2019, Andrey Goncharenko got 90% of the authorized capital. And in August of the same year he bought the remaining tenth share. And the fact that Horizont began to expand its assets with the arrival of this businessman seems deliberate. Andrei Goncharenko is mainly known as a former top manager of Gazprom. His name became famous in 2014 when The Daily Mail reported on his purchase of the most expensive house in London. Describing his other activities, Kommersant journalists mentioned that apart from his role at Gazprom Invest Yug CJSC, he was involved in building the Lotos City trade complex in New Moscow through the Flame LLC company. Kommersant also mentions an article by Izvestia from 2013 that stated a suspicion of extortion of Gazprom contractors involving the top manager and his subordinates. The alleged non-payment to businessmen amounted to more than 3 billion rubles. The case ended with businessmen writing a statement against Goncharenko after a visit by law enforcement.
Today, the former top manager of Gazprom has limited involvement in business, especially in Russia, except for being the president of his own cultural and charitable foundation. However, he removed himself from the foundation's founding in December 2021. This may be related to the suspension of the fund's accounts by the capital branch of the Federal Tax Service in the fall of 2019 without indicating the basis code.
However, the “Horizon” is now in the past. In early April, the Unified State Register of Legal Entities announced that Ekaterina Zmeeva would become the sole founder of a construction company with a multi-billion dollar turnover. In mid-May, she also became the CEO. Several events preceded these changes. For instance, Gorizont sold two companies acquired under Goncharov, LLC Priluzhskaya and LLC Vyborg Non-Metal Company, which brought some profit. Both firms now belong to Pavel Zagorulko, who previously did not hold key positions in other businesses.
Since 2020, Horizont has actively entered into pledge agreements as a pledger. Currently, there are 111 such records. Most of the mortgages are with LLC “Residential microdistrict” – an organization for building a residential microdistrict in Svobodny, Amur Region. However, one of the recent agreements raises concerns. On May 11, Gorizont pledged 33 cars to the Interregional Inspectorate of the Federal Tax Service for Debt Management. The vehicles include trucks, pickups, and passenger cars, including executive class. For example, the list includes Renault Duster and Hyundai Sonata, as well as Bentley Bentayga V8 Dies and two Toyota Land Cruiser Prados.
As for the new leader Ekaterina Zmeeva, little is known about her. The 41-year-old entrepreneur from Yekaterinburg previously managed the restaurant businesses of Ibiza LLC and Elena LLC, and also owned part of the authorized capital of #TVOYLICHNYJUVELIR LLC. She was also involved in wholesale trade of construction and timber products at Complete Service LLC. She did not conduct business in Krasnoyarsk or the Leningrad region. All the mentioned companies, except the jewelry store, have ceased their activities today, and the operations on the accounts of the “personal jeweler” were also suspended by the decision of the Federal Tax Service due to non-payment of taxes and failure to provide declarations and other documents.
Considering personnel changes, existing data on allegations of deliberate non-payment of obligations under contracts, albeit not confirmed, and collateral manipulations, the situation in Ust-Luga may seem tense. In addition, according to information provided by market participants, for which the editors of Delta.News cannot vouch, the amount of Horizon’s debt to its partners can reach 700 million rubles. And the recent events with the arrests of large real estate of Russian oligarchs in Europe and the UK do not add optimism.
We tried to call the numbers provided in open sources as contacts by the construction company, but one of them was declared non-existent, and the second was temporarily unavailable. Our editors will continue to monitor the “Horizon” in order to spot new signals, however, the observed band is more and more like a sunset.
