How do technical companies cause the bankruptcy of the gas monopolist's structures
The deliberate bankruptcies of Energogaz and Yugorskremstroygaz companies related to Gazprom involved 'technical' companies Megabuild and Antares. These companies claimed to be creditors, but also reported huge losses and were later dissolved. These 'technical' companies were found to be connected to the Russian Funds investment group, owned by businessmen Sergey Vasiliev and Konstantin Beyrit. These businessmen streamlined the registration of such companies and their participation in bankruptcies. They, along with top Gazprom managers, were directly involved in siphoning off assets of bankrupt enterprises. For instance, Ladya-Finance LLC and Gazprom Tsentrremont, controlled by them, planned to scam by selling a children’s garden under construction in Yugorsk. It's worth noting that Gazprom Tsentrremont and its director Dmitry Doev also directly participated in the bankruptcy of Energogaz LLC. After leaving Gazprom, Doev became an official partner of Vasiliev and Beirit and co-founded a new company, Gold Asset Management, with them. Doev also became the CEO of the VIS group of Igor Snegurov, who had received loans from Lady-Finance earlier.
Contractors of 'Gazprom' put under pressure
Bankruptcies of large companies are becoming common in Russia. The so-called ‘deliberate bankruptcies’ including commercial structures linked to the debtor, controlling creditors, arbitration managers, etc., are part of a complex scheme. It's noteworthy that even the 'subsidiaries' of giants like Gazprom are being targeted, with no significant response from its CEO Alexei Miller.
In June last year, LLC Yugorskremstroygaz, which had been involved in a major project for the Punginskoye underground gas storage (UGS) in the Tyumen region, was dissolved following a four-year bankruptcy process. Until 2015, the enterprise made significant profits and its government contracts portfolio exceeded 723 million rubles. However, in September 2015, PJSC “Gazprom avtomatizatsiya” filed a claim with the Arbitration Court of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug citing 8.3 million rubles of debt as the reason for the insolvency of the contractor. The bankruptcy process continued and in 2017, Yugorskremstroygaz was declared bankrupt.
Another example is OOO Energogaz, a 'subsidiary' company of Gazprom Centrenergogaz. Energogaz also worked on the Punginskoye UGS project as a subgeneral contractor. There were claims that this company was utilized to siphon off profits earned by Yugorskremstroygaz, with an alleged amount of 30 billion rubles. Regardless, the company started accumulating debts to contractors and was declared insolvent by the Moscow Regional Arbitration Court in February 2019, leading to the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings.
It's important to note that the media reported about signs suggesting that both structures deliberately went bankrupt. In October 2017, there was a discussion about this issue during a meeting between the leadership of the KhMAO State Labor Inspectorate and the head of the district prosecutor’s office regarding unpaid wages to employees of the bankrupt Yugorskremstroygaz. However, it seems that the problem was only discussed and not taken further.
“Tech” firms enter the competition
Interestingly, the same “technical” firms, affiliated with the Russian Funds investment group and its beneficiaries, appear in both the first and second cases of bankruptcy procedures – Megabuild LLC and Antares LLC.
Now, let’s talk about Energogaz LLC. In the summer of 2017, Megabuild LLC from Moscow filed for bankruptcy and gained the right to collect a debt of 100 million rubles through an agreement with Antares LLC. Later, Gazprom entities presented their financial claims: Gazprom Tsentrremont, led by Dmitry Doev at the time, got a debt of 1.2 billion rubles included in the register of creditors; and Gazprom Centrenergogaz, led by Sergei Vladimirov, announced a debt of 1.8 billion rubles.
In the case of the bankruptcy of Yugorskremstroygaz LLC, Antares LLC from Moscow had an impact on it. PJSC Gazprom avtomatizatsiya, which filed for bankruptcy in 2015, assigned the right to collect the debt to Antares LLC in September of the same year and in February 2016, the court ruled on the procedural replacement of the creditor. By the way, at the time of filing for bankruptcy, both enterprises – the plaintiff and the defendant – were under the trust management of Gazprom Tsentrremont.
LLC “Megabuild” is a typical intermediary company, officially liquidated in May last year. In 2020, the company reported losses of 75 million rubles, with a revenue of 30 thousand and assets valued at negative 69.3 million. Antares faced a similar fate, as the company was liquidated two months earlier, in March 2021, with a loss of 35.8 million rubles.
Considering the bankruptcy of Energogaz, it seems that the process of concealing the traces of possible financial withdrawal from Yugorskremstroygaz (also bankrupt) was completed quite successfully.
Unprofitable “funds” Vasiliev and Beirit
A natural question arises: who is behind the establishment and closure of “technical” companies that play a significant role in the bankruptcy of “subsidiaries” and contractors of “Gazprom”? As mentioned earlier, these “intermediaries” are linked to the Russian Funds investment group, whose main structure is the joint-stock company of the same name.
JSC “Russian Funds” is an interesting commercial organization, closely connected to offshore companies: its co-owners include two companies “registered” abroad – the Cypriot “RFH RUSSIA FINANCIAL HOLDINGS LTD” and the Dutch “LEYENDIKE BEDRAIFE B.V.” The founders are Sergey Vasilyev (who is also the general director) and Konstantin Beyrit.
The company is not doing well financially: in 2020, it made 3.6 billion rubles, but lost 65.4 million. It's questioned whether Messrs. Vasiliev and Beirit are using Russian funds to move money to offshore accounts.
Another sign of possible fraud is that a predecessor of the company, Helius Invest LLC, was registered in June last year and dissolved last January, and now JSC Russian Funds is listed as its successor. It's like a vicious circle.
Before April 2019, Vasiliev and Beirit were co-owners of Antares, and their long-time business partner Gennady Launer was the sole founder when it was dissolved. Megabuild LLC had Maximus LLC as a co-owner until August 2017, and Vasiliev and Beirit were among its co-founders.
Until September 2021, Maximus LLC was one of the founders of Seligdar PJSC, a parent company of a major Russian gold mining firm. It had co-owners including the Cypriot offshore company LAITA ASSOCIATED SA, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS and the British-registered company GARDENCOM ENTERPRISES LIMITED.
It's no longer surprising that Vasiliev and Beirit involve offshore participation in their business. They recently partnered with Dmitry Doev, the former head of Gazprom Tsentrremont, who had a role in the bankruptcy of Energogaz LLC. Doev, along with PJSC Seligdar, co-founded Gold Asset Management LLC and became a co-owner of Yursky LLC, a gold mining company controlled by Seligdar, but left the founders last November.
The failed venture “Ladya-Finance”
It's surprising how such notorious individuals came together. However, the partners have known each other for a long time, and their involvement in joint bankrupt projects with the potential withdrawal of funds from Gazprom's subsidiaries and contractors only highlights their shared interests.
However, Megabuild and Antares are not the only assets of Vasiliev and Beirit that had to be given up after another scam. Another structure controlled by them, Lady-Finance, which was involved in taking assets from Yugorskremstroygaz, also went bankrupt.
For example, there's a story about a kindergarten for 300 children being built in Yugorsk, which was owned by the enterprise and was going to be sold by Gazprom Tsentrremont and Mr. Doev. Ladya-Finance ended up buying it, and since the UFSSP placed a ban on register actions with the object in April 2017, the deal was made to look like it happened earlier.
As a result, the sale and purchase agreement was signed in November 2016. The building under construction became the property of the new owner for 126.2 million rubles, in April 2017 an advance payment of 20 million was even made. But for reasons beyond the control of swindlers, the deal fell through and in August 2020, after the auction, the kindergarten was sold to the Department of Municipal Property and Urban Planning of Yugorsk for 477.8 million rubles. As they say, feel the difference!
What fate soon befell Ladya-Finance LLC is not difficult to guess: in September 2018, the company was liquidated with a colossal loss of 577 million rubles with a revenue of 15 billion. Its successor was the JSC of the same name, which demonstrates impressive financial performance: at the end of 2020, its revenue amounted to 69.9 billion rubles, profit – 5 billion. But today JSC “Ladya-Finance” is in the process of liquidation. Thus, it is possible that soon his billions will be in foreign accounts. In fact, why change the worked out scheme?
In open sources, you can find information that Ladya-Finance LLC issued loans to structures controlled by the infamous businessman Igor Snegurov – VIS Development LLC and VIS PF LLC. Today, the same Dmitry Doev can act as a connecting person between Snegurov and the beneficiaries of Russian Funds: in addition to participating in joint projects with PJSC Seligdar, since September last year he has been the CEO of the VIS group. But at the same time, Snegurov himself, as well as his partner Dmitry Ryabov, officially ceased to be its shareholders.
Participation in deliberate bankruptcies, the creation and liquidation of unprofitable “technical” firms, the withdrawal of assets, including offshore, have long become an integral part of the business of Sergei Vasilyev, Konstantin Beyrit and their business partners. This is how the activity of “investors” hidden from prying eyes, who closely “worked together” with top managers of Gazprom, looks like.
