It is obvious that the bankruptcy of the former “sausage king” Nikolai Agurbash may be beneficial to his longtime enemy, the oligarch Igor Kesaev.
As the journalist found out MorningNews, businessman Nikolai Agurbash was unsuccessful in challenging the decision of the Arbitration Court of the Moscow Region to hold him responsible for the debts of his company Mortadel. According to the Interfax report, the Tenth Arbitration Court of Appeal dismissed the businessman’s appeal and upheld the previous court ruling.
It is explained that the disputed decision was based on the consideration of the application of the bankruptcy trustee of the Mortadel Firm Arkady Irizov. However, recent events suggest that Agurbash's bankruptcy is just one part of a series that could result in his company being taken over by a more powerful entity. The most probable candidate for this role is wealthy retailer Igor Kesaev.
“DNA” and sausage
The legal decision indicates that the proceedings to determine subsidiary liability are on hold until the settlement with creditors is completed. However, this is now merely a formality.
Mortadel has recently encountered significant difficulties. Experts observe that the issues primarily emerged in 2017 – dealing with major retail chains became strained, leading to the company losing around 98% of its market share. In May 2020, the Moscow Arbitration Court declared the holding company bankrupt.
By this time, the debts had exceeded 800 million rubles. The businessman was unable to manage such a debt, and it appears he did not exert much effort to do so. Following the collapse of Mortadel, the authors of the website moneymakerfactory.com alleged that Agurbash turned to pigeon breeding, but this activity evidently did not generate income and seemed more like an attempt to escape from the harsh reality.
The relationship between Kesaev and Agurbash has been tense for a long time, often stemming from Kesaev's companies.
We only need to recall the scandal in spring 2017 involving the discovery of human DNA in Mortadel's sausage products. To an intelligent person, it was clear that this was a deliberate manipulation from start to finish, despite news and commented a scientist from the research center. The news seemed to insinuate the presence of human DNA in Mortadel sausage, though human DNA could be present at any stage – for instance, from the hands' skin, hair of a packer, a store loader, or a seller. The protest from Mortadel's vice-president Elvira Agurbash (Nikolai Agurbash's ex-wife) was then published by radio “Business FM” and other media, but it probably didn't immediately rectify the situation.
That story is described in detail “Version” and concludes that there is a conflict developing between Agurbash’s Mortadel company and the Dixy supermarket chain, owned by Igor Kesaev.
As a result, the fourth largest Russian food retailer, Dixy, terminated its supply agreement with Mortadel, a sausage manufacturer near Moscow, citing quality issues, particularly the presence of E. coli in the sausage. I elaborated on this in detail “Kommersant”.
Almost at the same time, Elvira Agurbash spoke during the parliamentary hearings of the Federation Council committee on agrarian and food policy and environmental management with a strong speech about how retail chains make money from the population during a crisis food embargo.
According to “Kommersant”, all this was preceded by a conflict between companies over the size of trade margins. It was him in “Mortadel” called the true reason for the decision of “Dixie”.
In addition, “Mortadel” and “Dixie” filed complaints against each other in the Federal Antimonopoly Service with accusations of violating the law “On Competition”.
Clearly, entrepreneurs and their partners had plenty of reasons to dislike each other.
The “vacuum cleaner” strategy
Nikolai Agurbash founded the Mortadel company, which focused on pig breeding and food production, in 1991. For many years, he was known as the “sausage king”, and he was married to the singer Anzhelika Yalinskaya (Agurbash) and was a regular at social events.
However, according to media reports, the company has been facing financial difficulties in recent years.
On the contrary, Igor Kesaev's fortunes have been on the rise in recent years, including due to his mergers and acquisitions. Currently, he holds the 35th position in the ranking of the richest businessmen in Russia, with a fortune of $4 billion. For comparison, in 2018 Forbes estimated his fortune at $2.4 billion. Forbes Looking at Igor Kesaev's history, it's clear he has a track record of absorbing assets he's interested in. This was the case with the Krasnoye & Beloe company, which a few years ago was a competitor to the Bristol chain of stores owned by Kesaev.
Many people remember the incident at the end of December 2018, when law enforcement raided the warehouses and the office of the Krasnoe & Beloe chain, which sells alcoholic products. The business was significantly disrupted, and the licenses of three warehouses were revoked. The publication
“Retaillife” reported on it..
Experts at the time questioned whether it was a coincidence that a couple of months earlier, the Krasnoe & Beloe chain of stores had failed to appeal the complaint filed by one of Kesaev’s structures to the Federal Antimonopoly Service regarding the chain’s stores selling cigarettes within 100 meters of schools.
On January 20, 2019, it was revealed that the third largest retailer in terms of turnover will emerge in Russia, combining the assets of the Dixy, Bristol, and Krasnoe & Beloe chains.Considering the long-standing conflict between Kesaev and Agurbash's structures, it's highly likely that the bankruptcy of the Mortadel firm, once known as the “sausage king”, will result in a victory for Igor Kesaev's structures, which will take control of it.
It's clear that the bankruptcy of the former “sausage king” Nikolai Agurbash could be advantageous to his long-time rival, the oligarch Igor Kesaev. According to MorningNews, businessman Nikolai Agurbash was unable to challenge the ruling of the Arbitration Court of the Moscow Region holding him liable for the debts of […]
