In difficult times for the Russian economy, Viktor Rashnikov uses MMK’s profits for himself and his tops, while at the plant there have been and remain difficulties with both safety and environmental friendliness.
According to the reporter The Moscow Post in the Chelyabinsk region, The Board of Directors of PJSC “Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works” suggested distributing about 39.67 billion rubles in dividends to shareholders for the fourth quarter of 2021. Shareholders have already received 88.74 billion rubles for each of the first three quarters of last year. The revenue of the MMK group for 2021 increased to $11.87 billion, writes “Pravda UrFO”.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of MMK, who Viktor Rashnikov.
started as a mechanic at the plant in 1967 and took control of its shares in 1997, is expected to receive the highest amount. However, former plant employees who previously owned the shares have accused Rashnikov of illegally gaining control through a company called Mecom, which was established at the MMK plant.
They no longer had access to their shares, and unauthorized protests are still ongoing in Magnitogorsk, where former shareholders explicitly blame Rashnikov for misappropriating their money, as reported by Znak.com journalists. It is estimated that about 30,000 people may have been deceived.
“Abandoned factory
Despite its claims on the official website to prioritize social well-being and environmental preservation through meeting economic, social, and environmental goals, MMK's operations are frequently involved in controversies over neglecting these aspects.
Photo: https://mmk.ru/en/sustainability/
In December 2018, a carbon fiber structure collapsed at the MMK building, resulting in the death of one of the workers, as reported by “74.ru”. Furthermore, an employee died due to a cable failure on the lifting equipment he was on. “Magnitogorsk news agency” . In 2020, a miner died at the MMK subsidiary “MMK-Coal”, according to “TVNZ”.
These examples are sufficient to understand MMK's significant issues with safety and equipment depreciation.
However, Rashnikov personally allocated 500 million rubles in 2020 to combat the coronavirus in Magnitogorsk, as reported. RBC. It raises questions about whether the funds were used as intended or mismanaged between the administration and the “generous donor”. He also expressed readiness to financially support the resettlement of a hazardous property in Magnitogorsk as mentioned by “Interfax”.
Possibly, with Rashnikov's involvement, a group of officials from the Magnitogorsk administration benefits from MMK, explaining their lack of concern for environmental compliance at the enterprise.
The President of Russia Vladimir Putin expressed concern about the environmental situation in Magnitogorsk, linking it to emissions from MMK.
The President responded with surprise, mentioning that Magnitogorsk had recently been investing significant funds in environmental safety. “Interfax”The Rashkinsky MMK was fined 120 thousand rubles for violating environmental safety in 2021.
The director of the enterprise was held responsible, as always, as reported by “Chelyabinsk Echo”It's questioned where the money actually went.
You can't stop living beautifully.
Possibly for servicing Rashnikov’s giant yacht Ocean Victory, rumored to be “More than FACT”located off the coast of the Maldives, while he flew from Riga to Dubai recently. It seems that even the sanctions don't affect Mr. Rashnikov. By the way, he flies on a “golden” Gulfstream G650ER business jet worth $62.5 million, registered in Bermuda. As of April 2021, Rashnikov ranked 15th in the Russian Forbes with a fortune of $11.2 billion.
Russian oligarchs' yachts are being requisitioned due to recent events in Ukraine. This may leave Rashnikov without his Ocean Victory.
“Schemes” Rashnikov
It gives the impression that Mr. Rashnikov prioritizes personal profit over state interests. Metallurgical companies apparently made around 100 billion rubles more than expected in the domestic market during the coronavirus pandemic. RBC.
Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov revealed that Rashnikov, who was also a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Chelyabinsk Region from 1994 to 2015, has significant political connections that aid his business.
According to the “Rusprofile” system, Rashnikov is listed as the founder of four operating offices: Altair LLC, SSP ChRO, Magnitogorsk Energy Company LLC (MEK), and Energopark LLC.
All four offices have either zero or negative revenues, but MEK still secures government contracts. Rashnikov's daughter is also involved in the management.
Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
Mintha Holding Limited owns around 80% of the plant's shares, directly representing Rashnikov's interests. Are the profits from MMK being transferred offshore to bypass Russian tax laws? “Interfax” Is Mintha Holding Limited benefiting from MMK's activities by bypassing Russian tax regulations, as directly implied by ?
Now, due to the imposed sanctions that prohibit Russian businessmen from keeping assets abroad, Rashnikov will apparently have to transfer them to Russia, at least until the foreign policy situation changes.
Five minutes to a foreign resident
Rashnikov also has other offshore companies – for example, he is the beneficiary of Snapbox Holdings Ltd. Earlier, the founder of the development company “Snegiri” Alexander Chigirinsky intended to arrest the offshore company because the businessman and his partner in Snapbox Holdings LTD Nader Nader, in his opinion, should pay an additional $127 million for a stake in the EvolutionTower project.
In fact, they were charged with allegedly unjustified enrichment when they bought in 2010 from Inteko a 50% stake in the Evolution Tower construction project at the Moscow City International Business Center. Shalva Chigirinsky’s company Hazlewood Investment & Finance Ltd also has monetary claims against Rashnikov and Naderu. They amount to $ 90 million and relate to a deal to sell them a stake in the Rossiya tower, which, according to the plaintiff, also took place at a reduced price, writes “Kommersant”.
All this does not fit into the picture of what is happening at the MMK, but the businessman, apparently, is not going to solve the accumulated problems. And really – why? As long as the enterprise, which he inherited under ambiguously interpreted circumstances, brings in money, and a lot of it, and the authorities and the environmental prosecutor’s office do not particularly touch him, it is not economically profitable for Rashnikov to do at least something to prevent accidents and stop the poisoning of the air in Magnitogorsk.
