The Okeanrybflot group of companies in the Kamchatka Territory has decided to give up some of its fishing quotas.
Valery Ponomarev, a senator from the Kamchatka Territory, was believed to be connected to this group. It seems like Ponomarev really needs money. The problems resulting from the bankruptcy of Interprombank, where he was a shareholder, have not been resolved.
Senator with Gold
According to the Kommersant publication, the Okeanrybflot Group, through its subsidiary JSC Alaid, transferred the rights to catch over 3.6 thousand tons of cod per year to the seaside group Sigma Marine Technology. Okeanrybflot is one of the largest fish producers in Russia. The company holds quotas for catching over 280 thousand tons of fish resources per year.
As of March 2020, 49% of Okeanrybflot JSC was owned by the senator from the Kamchatka Territory Valery Ponomarev and Igor Yevtushka, a former deputy of the local legislative assembly. At the same time, since Ponomarev has been a senator since October 13, 2021, he cannot be involved in business.
However, since companies like JSC (basically closed joint-stock companies) may not publicly disclose information about their shareholders, it is possible that Ponomarev transferred his shares in Okeanrybflot to a third party. There is also no information that the politician transferred his share to trust management.
Valery Ponomarev. Photo: council.gov.ru
At the end of 2020, Okeanrybflot's revenue decreased. If the company reported a revenue of 18.3 billion rubles in 2019, it only brought in 17.3 billion rubles in 2020. That means the revenue fell by about one billion rubles. Similar dynamics were observed in Okeanrybflot's net profit. The company recorded a net profit of 4.1 billion rubles in 2019. In 2020, it was 2.7 billion rubles. A decrease of approximately 1.4 billion rubles per year. At the same time, the cost of sold quotas is estimated at 11 billion rubles. Clearly, Okeanrybflot may attempt to improve its compromised financial position by selling quotas.
It's worth noting that fishing is clearly a source of significant wealth for Ponomorev and Yevtushka. In the Federation Council, Ponomarev was one of the wealthiest members. His annual income is estimated to be around 2.7 billion rubles. His partner, Igor Yevtushok, who receives about 2.3 billion rubles a year, is not far behind.
If we recall the previous 'fish' activities of Senator Valery Ponomarev and former deputy Igor Yevtushka from the Kamchatka Territory, it's worth noting that in 2018 their asset was at the center of a scandal.
As reported by The Moscow Post, the company 'Make Fish Ltd' (part of 'Okeanrybflot') had a conflict with Boris Nevzorov's organization 'Ustkamchatryba'. Nevzorov's company won the competition for the lease of a large fishing area, covering 60 hectares, but the head of Delta Fish Ltd. quickly sent a letter to German Zverev, president of the All-Russian Association of Fisheries, asking to review the auction results. According to Okeanrybflot Group representatives, the competitor allegedly provided false information about the number of employees in the company.
Deadly Aircrafts
The activities of Valery Ponomarev and Igor Yevtushka's helicopter business were quite unclear. According to The Moscow Post, a Vityaz-Aero helicopter crashed into a lake in South Kamchatka Reserve in August 2021, resulting in 8 deaths among 3 crew members and 13 passengers. The cause of the crash was attributed to challenging weather conditions, which led to a pilot error and the Mi-8 crash.
Senator Valery Ponomarev and former regional legislative assembly deputy Igor Yevtushok co-own Vityaz-Aero with another former deputy, Igor Redkin, who was previously suspected of causing a man's death due to negligence.
Igor Evtushok. Photo: old.zaksobr.kamchatka.ru
Vityaz-Aero has been involved in previous accidents. In January 2020, a group of 18 tourists and the crew of an airline helicopter were evacuated from Mutnovsky volcano due to icing, preventing the helicopter from taking off.
In April 2017, a Vityaz-Aero helicopter made a rough landing near the Mutnovsky volcano, injuring 3 passengers and damaging the aircraft.
In December 2015, a Vityaz-Aero Mi-8T helicopter made a rough landing near the heliport of the Kshukskoye gas condensate field in the Sobolevsky district, resulting in 1 fatality and 11 injured passengers and crew members. Many accidents involving Vityaz-Aero vehicles were linked to the company's inadequate monitoring of equipment maintenance.
Unlucky banker
Valery Ponomarev also had a role in the banking sector. In July 2019, he became the majority shareholder of Interprombank, where he and his wife owned 26.29% of the shares. However, the bank is currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, following the revocation of its license by the Central Bank on April 16, 2021.
The bank's financial performance raised numerous concerns as net assets, net profit, and the loan portfolio all decreased significantly between December 2019 and December 2020.
The Central Bank specialists' verdict was very clear. Interprombank was found to have underestimated the required reserve amount and engaged in transactions with non-core assets to artificially improve financial performance and conceal its true financial position. In addition, Interprombank violated federal laws and Bank of Russia regulations, leading to the imposition of measures including two restrictions on attracting funds. However, these efforts were in vain, and the bank ceased operations after the license was revoked.
It is possible that the Central Bank and the Deposit Insurance Agency will hold the management and owners of Interprombank responsible. Perhaps anticipating this, Valery Ponomarev may attempt to address the situation by selling quotas from the Okeanrybflot subsidiary to quickly obtain funds.
