To whom Nesis will serve

The largest Russian silver producer and one of the leading gold miners Polymetal (Polymetal), founded by the owner of the IST group, oligarch Alexander Nesis, is going to re-register in Kazakhstan from the British island of Jersey.

The island was included in the list of jurisdictions unfriendly to the Russian Federation, which makes it impossible to pay dividends to Polymetal shareholders. Registration in Astana will allow Nesis to "throw gold" to its partners, among whom were large international companies that announced a boycott of Russia.

More details - in the material of the correspondent of The Moscow Post.

Nesis has enough foreign partners in Polymetal - they want to get to the Russian bowels, despite all the formidable rhetoric and political pressure of their countries. Among the key shareholders is the American investment group BlackRock.

In March 2022, i.e., after the start of the SVO and the introduction of new packages of draconian sanctions, the structure increased its shares in Polymetal to 10.08%. Therefore, it can count on the "tithing" of dividends. Alexander Nesis himself and his family through the IST group and a number of offshore companies, according to various estimates, can have from 10% to 28% of the capital.

At the same time, the same BlackRock in August 2022 announced the closure of a large exchange-traded fund of Russian securities Russia ETF.

There were concentrated assets for more than $800 million. I.e. "Investors" are in no hurry to help Russian companies earn money and develop our exchange market - but they are falling for money from gold mining. But it's not just about BlackRock.

The American investment group with assets worth hundreds of billions of dollars also has enough shareholders. And in fourth place out of many dozens is another American investment company - Capital Group with a share of 5.38%. She, in turn, also has a number of shareholders, where we easily find the German pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG (Bayer), which is the largest shareholder with a share of over 10%.

BlackRock shareholders. Photo: wikipedia.org

Bayer is engaged not only in pharmacology, but also in the supply of products for agriculture. And she turned out to be one of the most ardent sanctions, with the filing of the German government, which announced a boycott of the Russian market back in the first half of March 2022. And not only the Russian one - Belarus, the state allied to us, also fell under the ban.

It turns out that Bayer, having left the Russian market for the most part, is in no hurry to withdraw from assets associated with Russian companies - in particular, with Mr. Nesis's Polymetal. And Nesis is in a hurry to re-register his brainchild in Kazakhstan so that his partners BlackRock, Capital Group and Bayer AG can receive their dividends from the company's work.

By the way, Polymetal ore production in 2022 increased by 25.3%, to 9.4 million tons, and processing by 10.5%. And although the company reduced the total production of gold by 7.6% and silver by 6.4%, this is explained by the planned shutdown of the Amur MMC for maintenance. I.e. potential and earnings remain enormous.

But that's not all. Other Western structures boycotting our market were also on the list of Capital Group holding shares. These are Siemens AG, Volkswagen AG and a number of others that have left our market. All of them are also waiting for dividends from Nesis.

You can recall, for example, how Siemens did not return the turbine for Nord Stream to Gazprom after a planned repair in Canada - it remained there. Such are the "partners."

Taxes in pocket

Thus, Nesis helps Western "sanctions" to make money on Russia. At the same time, he himself is besotted with a series of scandals, and can underpay taxes to the budget.

Recently, a story surfaced with the Sredneuralsky Search Bureau (SUPB), which, according to Pravda UrFO journalists, has a traceable connection with the Polymetal group.

At the end of last year, specialists from the Federal Tax Service calculated that the ISMS underpaid the mineral extraction tax (MET) by 13 million rubles. Now the company is trying to challenge the claims of the fiscal in court.

At the same time, earlier the Department for Subsoil Use of the Ural Federal District suspended the license of the ISMS for the operation of the Pervomaisko-Verkhoturskaya gold ore area. The basis for this decision was the repeated disregard of environmental legislation by industrialists.

Saum Mining Company, controlled by a group associated with Alexander Nesis (managed by Polymetal UK JSC), also faced a similar dispute with the Federal Tax Service. I.e. this may be far from an isolated case.

However, it is clear why Nesis could decide on such a thing - Polymetal has repeatedly experienced great financial problems. In 2017, the net loss of the JSC, which is managed by his brother Vitaly, exceeded 12 billion rubles, in 2019 - 2.5 billion rubles.

And these are far from the loudest scandals involving the structures of Nesis, a big lover of offshore companies. In May 2020, the Limassol District Court arrested the assets of the parent structures of the IST group, including ICT Holding Ltd, in the amount of more than 8 billion rubles. The arrest was imposed as part of interim measures at the suit of the structures of the United Wagon Company (UWC), at the origins of the creation of which was the IST group.

Alexander Nesis does not forget about expensive Western partners. Photo: TACC/Fotoimedia

UWC had many problem debts, as a result of which they came under state control - to the banks Trust and Otkritie. They received over 51% of UWC. Nesis received problems in court - UWC itself became the plaintiff. The lawsuits were related to transactions concluded back in 2015-2018. The plaintiff controlled by the Trust argued that the transactions could be non-market, and their purpose could be to withdraw money in favor of other companies of Alexander Nesis.

Where could the money be withdrawn? Yes, at least in the same Cypriot and any other offshore companies. Therefore, the oligarch is clearly out of hand with the Western business community and the oligarch who is aggressive towards Russia. Therefore, you can get dividends.