Chichikovs return: why did Severilov stay at the DVMP?

Connection with offshore companies, participation in the scandalous story with the seizure of shares of the Far Eastern Shipping Company as state revenue and the stories of ex-minister Mikhail Abyzov did not prevent Andrei Severilov from again taking a high post in the FESCO transport group. The day before, he was re-elected chairman of the board of directors of DVMP, the group's parent company.

The correspondent of The Moscow Post tried to understand why this happened.

Entrenched in office

Despite the fact that back in January 2023 (in May, they could not appeal the verdict), the offshore companies with which Andrei Severilov was associated lost their DVMP shares through the court, he himself did not seem to lose confidence in FESCO.

On August 8, 2023, Severilov Andrei Vladimirovich was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of PJSC DVMP, the parent company of the FESCO group, which manages such strategic assets as Vladivostok Commercial Sea Port, container terminal complexes in Novosibirsk, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk and Tomsk. He has held this post since November 2020.

Photo: https://www.e-disclosure.ru/

The company is a strategic, among other things, having its own fleet, which includes 34 transport vessels, which carry on its own sea lines, and such an afrant.

Photo: https://www.fesco.ru/ru/about/

Severilov and offshore

Earlier, The Moscow Post has already said that a Russian businessman with an ambiguous reputation, Andrei Severilov, and his business partner living in Gibraltar, Mikhail Rabinovich, who recently lost FESCO shares, may be related to a whole chain of offshore firms. And those, in turn, for 2017-2019 had the opportunity to withdraw billions of rubles from Russia in the form of dividends. The fact that Severilov and Rabinovich were indeed related to offshore companies was also stated in the court's decision in the case of the seizure of shares of the Far Eastern Shipping Company as state revenue.

As follows from the materials of the court, at the time of consideration of the dispute, 92.4% of the shares of the DVMP were registered with the defendant companies, the beneficiaries of which were, including Mikhail Rabinovich - 32.5% and Andrei Severilov - 23.8%. At the same time, the Prosecutor General's Office (the plaintiff in this dispute) directly stated that, in her opinion, offshore companies, Rabinovich and Severilov were also responsible for corruption offenses committed by Magomed Magomedov, who, being a senator, and then a civil servant, despite the ban, was engaged in business. In the meantime, he occupied government positions nominally with shares in the business owned by his brother - Ziyavudin.

Photo: https://mos-gorsud.ru

We will not retell the whole thing, we will note only some important milestones.

Thus, from the claim it followed and was confirmed by the FESCO share ownership scheme that the ultimate beneficiary of Caestano Management Limited through Parallel Trustee Ltd was the defendant, Andrei Vladimirovich Severilov. It was also associated with such offshore companies as Kalamita Trading Limited, Rikima Holdings Limited, Vovosa Co Limited, Mirichia Holdings Limited. But the judge also noted that... "the director of Rabinovich's company M.D. is the offshore through which the structure of Severilov's ownership A.V. is built, which once again indicates the commonality of these assets." And several other firms had relations with Rabinovich, including Smartilishes Consulting, Enviarty Consulting.

The court in its decision clarified that in the legal state judicial protection is provided only for those rights and interests that arose as a result of legitimate behavior, and the presence of such in the actions of Severilov A.V. was not found. The court was convinced that the defendants, pursuing private interest, neglected the requirements of the current legislation.

Photo: https://mos-gorsud.ru

That is, the court back in January pointing out that Mr. Severilov actually violated the law in his private interests, deprived the companies associated with him of shares, and in August 2023 (the paint on the verdict did not dry out) he was re-elected to a high post in the same company where he inherited. Here we have questions about the Sledky and the Prosecutor General's Office, which initiated that lawsuit.

And, if you look into the list of the board of directors of the DVMP, then there you can find other persons related to the "case of the Magomedov brothers." For example, Jan Bliznets, who until June 2021 was the owner of the Nautilius LLC. Or Evgeny Melnikov is the former owner of Zavodinvest LLC. Moreover, Melnikov today is the director of Davinchi Holding Company LLC, which belongs to Severilov, and earlier Rabinovich was among the owners. Mr Bliznets could also be related to Severilov's companies, according to a source in The Moscow Post.

That is, Severilov not only retained the post himself, but also "his people" remained in the company. But what about the position of the Prosecutor General's Office?

Photo: https://ar2021.fesco.ru

In our opinion, the actions of the businessman directly contradict the course on deoffshorization outlined by the President of the Russian Federation earlier. Indeed, in addition to the above assets, he was associated with other offshore companies. For example, as follows from the reports of Loko-Bank for 2020 - TINGUETA HOLDING LIMITED is the nominal holder of shares of PALAMEDOS CORPORATION LIMITED in favor of A.V. Severilov. In turn, in the TINGUETA HOLDING scheme, it is indicated as the owner of PARALLEL NOMINEES CYTHEES PRUS LIMITED. In the same Loko-Bank, Severilov's business partner, Mikhail Rabinovich, also inherited offshore.

Participation in the case of the Magomedov brothers is not the only scandalous story in which Severilov noted. Let us recall at least his role in the case of the writer Sergei Tyulenev, which the editors talked about in several materials. Seals fell victim to their gullibility. According to him, he gave his Cypriot passport to an old acquaintance to a certain Andrei Severilov, and later unexpectedly turned out to be the founder of 300 foreign companies.

It will not be superfluous to recall that Severilov's surname had previously flashed in connection with the companies of the ex-Minister of the Open Government Mikhail Abyzov. The foreign court called Severilov a nominal beneficiary of the offshore company Batios Holdings Ltd and the judge stated that he allegedly acted in the interests of Abyzov. And the ex-minister, as we remember, today is charged with creating a criminal community using his official position, fraud, illegal entrepreneurship and laundering criminally acquired money and property. It was about a scam worth 4 billion rubles.

But even this is not the whole story. Rabinovich and Severilov were able to inherit in Belarus.

Traces of a duet in Belarus.

15 years ago, the Russian company Grand Express, among the beneficiaries of which was Andrei Kushnaryov, signed an investment agreement with the Belarusian government on the construction of a plant for the production of railway cars and tank containers on the basis of the Osipovichi carriage depot. The Osipovichi Car Building Plant CJSC was created under the project, in which the company from Russia received 76% of the shares and the Belarusian Railway received 24%.

In 2011, a loan agreement was signed between the Eurasian Development Bank and SZAO Osipovichi Carriage Building Plant. The guarantor for it was Kushnarev and Mikhail Rabinovich, already known to us. The guarantees of the government of Belarus also appeared in the case.

But even then, in 2011, Alexander Lukashenko rather harshly criticized the Russian company for disrupting the construction time: "You will not do it, you will not do it by the end of the year, we will refuse your services, and we will do it ourselves. Car-building production in the country will be. The question is, with you or with someone else. "

As a result, the plant was launched in 2013, but it could not reach the design capacity, and then completely began bankruptcy proceedings. Debts on the loan were forced to pay off the Ministry of Finance of Belarus, because it was issued under state guarantees.

In 2020, the Deputy Prosecutor General of Belarus, speaking in the interests of BelZhD, filed a lawsuit against the former owners and top managers of the HIA, putting up losses in the amount of 23 million euros and 16.2 million rubles. It was mentioned that losses were received, among other things, due to the equipment supply contract by Parkmill Impex LLP (UK). This episode also appears in a legal dispute considered in 2022 in the arbitration of Moscow. Of these materials, it is known that rather large sums were recovered from Rabinovich in the courts of Belarus. And it was, among other things, about the non-delivery of equipment by some foreign companies.

Photo: https://kad.arbitr.ru/

Thus, the story with the Belarusian plant also ended sadly. Today, the enterprise in Osipovich, which was predicted to become a city-forming company, is selling property as part of a bankruptcy case.

If we study the base of Russian arbitrations, then there we will find some continuation of this story, but not only Rabinovich, but also Davinchi Management Company LLC, owned by Severilov, is already taking part in it. The company acted in the interests of Rabinovich.

Moreover, in 2022, LLC "UK" Davinchi "through a Russian court demanded a refusal to recognize in Russia the decision of the Economic Court of the city of Minsk regarding losses.

It would seem that Severilov is here, if in the Belarusian trace we are talking about Rabinovich?

According to the informant The Moscow Post, a Cypriot company related to the Russian company Parallel. YuK "and Severilova allegedly registered eight offshore legal entities for Rabinovich and Kushnaryov. Their nominal directors and shareholders were allegedly Armando Vila Cabrera, Ekaterina Papanikolau, Anastasia Euripidou, Oleg Gonchar. Some of these persons were mentioned in the case of the "Magomedov brothers" and their connection with both Rabinovich and Severilov was traced in the court materials.

Moreover, according to the Panama Dossier, with a certain PARALLEL NUMBERS LTD., which is related to the Russian company Parallel. YuK, "a certain ARMANDO ROGEL VILA CABRERA is associated. The full namesake CABRERA was involved in a legal dispute, which was heard in the Supreme Court of the Eastern Caribbean Islands, and stated that he was de companion to Mr. Severilov.

The informant among the offshore companies that may be related to Rabinovich and Kushnaryov named IMBRISMO HOLDINGS LTD, MARAVILLA TRADING LIMITED, NOEZ TRADING LIMITED, PALLEANO HOLDING LIMITED, SITIS HOLDING LIMITED, STREGALO INVESTMENTS LIMITED, ABASTERIA SERVICES LIMITED and BVI. ENSWELL DEVELOPMENT LTD. According to open data, for example, in IMBRISMO HOLDINGS LIMITED, PARALLEL NUMBERS CYPRUS LIMITED is listed as secretary. Namely, with PARALLEL NUMBERS CYPRUS LIMITED, the Panama Dossier indicated the connection of a certain Andrei Severilov (ANDREW SEVERILOV), through another offshore company from the British Isles - ORANGE HOLDINGS LTD.

Did these offshore companies go to the money of the loan allocated for the implementation of the project in Belarus?

Photo: https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/nodes/10137389

There is a completely reasonable bewilderment, how with such introductory Severilov could be re-elected head of the board of directors of the strategic asset of Russia and where does Sledkom look?