Energogaz, which found itself without funds, is not the first such case in the “track record” of the co-owner of the VIS Group of Companies?
Schemes of intentional bankruptcies, even very complicated ones, are not surprising in our country. What is surprising is how even the subsidiaries of large companies can be affected. And the people behind it don't seem to care about the consequences for themselves. In this context, the correspondent The Moscow Post highlights the unfortunate story of Energogaz.
In March, the Moscow Arbitration Court will consider a claim to hold several defendants liable for the debts of the bankrupt company Energogaz. The defendants include Gazprom Centernergogaz JSC (former owner of Energogaz), Gazprom Centerremont LLC, Nauchny-6 LLC, and Gazprom PJSC.
The former head of Gazprom Tsentrremont, now the general director of the VIS Group, Dmitry Doev, along with entrepreneurs Sergey Vladimirov and Alexander Psatiy, are also personally mentioned. “Pravda UrFO”.
The case involved lengthy disputes over the return of various properties.
In the midst of this, there were extracts from the decision of the Moscow Region Court stating that “the motives for signing a real estate pledge agreement were not disclosed, as a result of which all valuable assets were removed from the possession of Nauchny-6 to pay off the debt to Gazprom Tsentrremont, to pay the price of the claim assignment to Energogaz.
The court pointed out that the ruling rejected Nauchny-6 LLC's request to include a debt of 1.43 billion rubles in the list of Energogaz creditors' claims.
According to the court, this suggests that, through interconnected transactions, the parties pursued the unlawful goal of transferring assets from the subsidiary to reduce the potential bankruptcy estate (share in the company's authorized capital) and make it impossible to satisfy the creditors' claims.
The ways of bankruptcy are mysterious
Market experts argue that the bankruptcy of Energogaz was deliberate, which previously acted as a sub-general contractor for the Punginskoye UGS facility expansion project in Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug.
If we look into the mechanism of Energogaz's bankruptcy, we can see the involvement of so-called “technical firms” in its implementation. In this instance, these are Megabuild and Antares companies. Both claimed their rights as creditors, but at the same time officially reported multi-million dollar losses and were later liquidated.
Dmitry Doev is shown with a gas turbine engine to the Chairman of the Board of PJSC Gazprom, Alexei Miller, and government members. Photo: centrremont.gazprom.ru
As per the Russian reporter, these “technical” companies are believed to be affiliated with the Russian Funds investment group, whose beneficiaries are businessmen Sergey Vasilyev and Konstantin Beyrit. They were allegedly involved in setting up such structures and their subsequent participation in bankruptcies. It is easy to assume that the businessmen could have influenced the fate of assets from bankrupt enterprises.
As previously stated, Gazprom Tsentrremont and its former leader Dmitry Doev also took part in the bankruptcy of Energogaz LLC.
After leaving Gazprom, Doev became the official partner of Vasiliev and Beirit. Together with the main structure of the Seligdar holding owned by them, he co-established a new company called Management of Gold Assets.
Business founded on friendship
Last September, Doev became the CEO of Igor Snegurov’s VIS group. It is impossible not to mention the legal case in which Snegurov and Doev were opponents.
It should be remembered that the VIS group once filed a lawsuit against the Novourengoy gas chemical complex (NGCC) – also a subsidiary of Gazprom. This was previously reported by The Moscow Post. The Moscow Post Now the NGCC is known as Gazprom's most seemingly hopeless long-term construction project.
The NGCC is referred to as a seemingly hopeless long-term construction project. Photo: nghk.gazprom.ru
When the previous main contractor for the construction of the NGCC – PF VIS Igor Snegurov – managed to prove the multibillion-dollar debts of Gazprom’s subsidiary, the management company led by Dmitry Doev at that time demonstrated determination to defend itself. This was shown, among other things, by the willingness to allocate millions of rubles from Gazprom for the services of external lawyers.
As a result, VIS won two legal disputes with a total amount exceeding 8.2 billion rubles. Later on, Dmitry Doev was appointed as the CEO of the VIS Group.
Photo: Rusprofile.ru
Upon examining the backgrounds of Doev and Snegurov, it turns out that they had crossed paths long before. Before working at PJSC Gazprom, Dmitry Doev was a member of the management of Sevzapinvestprombank: he was one of the founders of this bank. But in 2008, he withdrew from the shareholders.
Fate brought Doev and Igor Snegurov together for a long time and, it seems, for a significant period. Photo: vis-group.ru
Leaving the bank did not mean an end to partnerships with friends. According to Rusprofile's data, the owner of the VIS group, Igor Snegurov, still holds a stake in the bank – over 15%.
Perhaps the strong friendship between Doev and Snegurov stems from there. Or perhaps it had already existed. Because, if you delve even further, it turns out that Doev had been the CEO of VIS for several months back in 2004!
Beware of those who give gifts in concession
Dmitry Doev's name is widely recognized in Novosibirsk today. One of the latest news was the implementation of a monitoring procedure for Ecology-Novosibirsk LLC, a regional operator for the treatment of municipal solid waste (MSW). The company is part of the GK “VIS”, controlled by Igor Snegurov and his partner Dmitry Doev.
The company became a municipal waste management operator in 2019, and since then, there have been numerous controversies surrounding it. Interestingly, the company itself applied for bankruptcy, citing overdue debt amounting to 1.86 billion rubles. In other words, the company acknowledges that it lacks the funds to pay off the debt.
And what about the parent group of companies “VIS” – one of the biggest construction groups in Russia? Experts say that recently the company may have faced serious financial issues connected to one of the main owners, Dmitry Doev, entering a joint project with Rostec to develop the Kyuchus gold deposit. This story is also explained by The Moscow Post. The Moscow Post also detailed.
MSW management is not the only example of a public-private partnership between VIS structures related to social issues. A good example is the long-delayed fourth bridge across the Ob in Novosibirsk, which the Doev and Snegurov group took on as part of the PPP.
The plan was to complete this bridge by the end of 2022. However, two years ago it became clear that VIS would not be able to meet this deadline. The owners managed to extend the construction period until September 17, 2023. Even now, meeting this deadline seems unlikely. There are talks that the bridge may only be finished by 2024.
The residents of Novosibirsk were also unlucky when the Seventh Concession Company, part of the National Medical Holding LLC of the VIS Group of Companies, signed up to build seven clinics at once in different parts of the city.
The investor was supposed to invest 1.4 billion rubles, with an additional 1.6 billion rubles as a grant from the region. The rest was planned to be borrowed. However, according to the agreement, from 2023, the regional budget had to pay significant amounts to the concessionaire every three months. Initially, it was about 260 million rubles, but then the payments increased to 1 billion in 2023 and then to 3.1 billion.
It's clear that the deadlines for the construction of polyclinics have been missed. When the contracts were signed, it was expected that the facilities would be completed in 2021, then 2022. Now it's apparent that they won't be ready until at least 2023, and this timeline may need to be adjusted.
The authorities also acknowledged the delay. As “Taiga.Info”, local deputies even suggested that they would never be handed over. Perhaps the issues with these projects are related to the same problems as the scandal with the municipal waste management operator. The company “VIS” simply doesn't have the money.
Photo: Rusprofile.ru
At the end of 2020, the same parent JSC VIS earned a total of 436 million rubles with a revenue of 500 million rubles. Apparently, this doesn't include the large amounts from government contracts, subsidies, and help from local authorities.
Admittedly, this was before the auction for the development of the Kyuchus gold deposit in Yakutia, which Dmitry Doev was so keen on. It seems that for him, the end always justifies the means.
