Will the Kimkano-Sutarsky Mining and Processing Plant end up like other companies where Nikolay Levitsky was involved?
Nikolai Levitsky may have taken over the Kimkano-Sutarsky Mining and Processing Plant (GOK) LLC. Recently, Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov visited the plant and instructed it to develop and receive state support. However, it's uncertain if this will happen smoothly with a new beneficiary. The Moscow Post's correspondent in the Jewish Autonomous Region explored this.
Unusual Transactions
GOK was previously owned by the company through its subsidiary IRC, but in 2021 over 30% of IRC was sold to the European Stocken Board AG. It was a condition of the deal that Petropavlovsk would be released from obligations to guarantee IRC credit lines at Gazprombank worth $234 million. The Moscow Post reported that this money might have been subsequently withdrawn as tokens in favor of Gazprombank managers.
The main shareholder of Yuzhuralzoloto, Konstantin Strukov, opposed this deal, expressing dissatisfaction with the deal's amount. There were also reports of Stocken Board's connection to one of Petropavlovsk's shareholders – Everest Alliance Limited – as per Kommersant's report.
Despite this, the deal still went through, but shortly after that, Stocken resold the shares to Gazprombank and Dmitry Bakatin, co-founder of the Sputnik investment group, at a significant profit – the price of IRC shares almost tripled during Stocken's brief ownership.
And the series of transactions didn't end there. Ultimately, the shares were acquired by the Cyprus-based offshore Axiomi Consolidations, of which Nikolai Levitsky is the beneficiary, according to Vek. Recently, he joined the board of directors of IRC, essentially replacing it.
Complex Offshore Movements
In March, GOK was re-registered from the offshore firm “KAPUSIUS SERVICES LIMITED” to the same offshore. This typically signifies a change in the owners of the offshore itself.
Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
Several individuals with foreign citizenship are linked to “CAPUSIUS SERVICES LIMITED.” According to public information, SHIU CHEONG JOHNNY YUEN served as the president of IRC.
Another director and part-time secretary of the company, Sotiris Theodorow, is associated with Monument Development and Zapsibkombank, which are under significant control or influence of certain individuals.
Photo: https://efiling.drcor.mcit.gov.cy
“Monument Development” (currently in bankruptcy) tried last year, while being registered offshore, to lift the court-imposed freeze on the shares of the bankrupt “Asia-Pacific Bank” – the court's decision is available on the website.
Involvement of Sobyanin?
Connections from Zapsibkombank lead to the mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin. As previously reported by The Moscow Post, it's possible that Sobyanin's election campaign for the mayor of Moscow was funded by the bank. This could be linked to his friendship with the governor of the Tyumen region, Vladimir Yakushev.
Pavel Yakushev's son was the recipient of ZSKB, and the largest owner was Dmitry Goritsky, a deputy of the regional Duma, who had close ties to Yakushev and his predecessor, Sergei Sobyanin. At the start of this year, the bank was sold to a bank's structures, possibly with Sobyanin's involvement, who requested Kostin to buy a troubled asset. Money could be withdrawn from the bank in previous years. According to Banki.ru, the company's financial position has been poor recently.
Photo: https://www.banki.ru
Does the involvement of the director of the offshore, where the GOK is registered as associated with Zapsibkombank, imply Sobyanin's capital involvement in the GOK?
If so, Mr. Levitsky remains the primary beneficiary. There's little hope for anything positive from him. There are indications of money being withdrawn around him, but Levitsky continues to operate freely and dominate the market.
There are numerous scandals. Why isn't Levitsky being reprimanded?
Levitsky started his career as chairman of KomiBank, which went bankrupt a couple of years after his tenure. He later worked in various commercial companies, including Evrokhim, where he even led the holding for some time.
In 2003, he joined politics as vice-governor of Komi under Vladimir Torlopov and Vyacheslav Gaiser. Both were arrested for corruption, but Levitsky remained untouched, allegedly because he paid a large sum to his former bosses to keep quiet about his involvement in their activities.
In 2011, Levitsky acquired shares in the troubled Deka enterprise, which was already facing issues related to tax payment.
In 2019, Deka went into bankruptcy proceedings after being sued by City Invest Bank, which was known for orchestrating the bankruptcies of enterprises. The Moscow Post previously reported that the bankruptcy was likely planned in advance.
This is reinforced by the fact that Innova Finance, associated with Mr. Levitsky, emerged as a new creditor in the bankruptcy case of the company just a couple of years later. Levitsky could potentially transform from a debtor to a beneficiary as a result. It brings to mind the situation with Monument Development and Asian Pacific Bank.
With all this, it is reliably known that during the bankruptcy of Deka, part of the funds from transactions from the account of the Cyprus offshore were withdrawn to Levitsky’s personal accounts, Vek wrote. And it’s okay?
Levitsky also controlled the bankrupt Geotech Holding, where billionaire Gennady Timchenko had a stake. They say that the influential businessman is covering the Levitsky rear, so he still manages to avoid persecution.
In addition to allegedly “Kimkano-Sutkrsky GOK”, Levitsky recently got other assets – among them “Donalink”, owned by Andrey Melnichenko and the Tuloma Marine Terminal in the Kola district of the Murmansk region – he is associated with the “Phosagro” of the Guryev family.
According to Rusprofile, Levitsky was registered with IK Aksioma with negative profit indicators and zero revenue. Would you trust your business to such a person? There is not a single successful case in his career. Perhaps new assets were also given to him for the purpose of safe After all, the shares of the founders of Donalink are pledged to the offshore.
Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
With regards to GOK, since March of this year, the share of the offshore KAPUSIUS SERVICES LIMITED, to which it is registered, and which was pledged to Gazprombank, has been re-registered to the company Mik Invest founded in January 2022, a certain Marina Kolesnikova. The person, apparently, is purely nominal, and the office may have been created as a springboard for the upcoming withdrawal of funds, including budget ones.
