Cyprus did not allow Promsvyazbank to the money arrested by the Russian court. Vacancies of the Promsvyazbank company, Ural Promsvyazbank branch in Cyprus

Promsvyazbank, owned by brothers Alexei and Dmitry Ananiev, may get the dubious honor of becoming the first major Russian financial institutions caught in a European court on charges of committing a serious crime.

The case is based on an attempt to fraudulently steal business from the Ramfood group of companies, which owns large pig breeding complexes throughout Russia. The current process may have far-reaching consequences: a precedent will be created for criminal prosecution of Russian offshore capitals and, what is most unpleasant, of backbone Russian enterprises as “criminal” organizations. It is also possible to introduce additional restrictions on the activities of Russian banks in Europe.

Yesterday at noon, the Cypriot branch of Promsvyazbank was handed a summons by local bailiffs to the first meeting of the criminal board of the District Court of Nicosia, which will be held on September 29. According to the prosecution, Promsvyazbank entered into an agreement with the Cypriot company Maxoton Holding Limited, a client and debtor of the bank, in order to take over the majority of the shares of Ramfood LLC and OOP Holding LLC.

Recall that the owner of the Dutch company United Investors Company B.V., Alexey Pavlov, at the beginning of 2015 bought a controlling stake in Ramfood Group from its founder Mikhail Kershtein. Kershtein owned a holding company, which included a pork production enterprise, a meat processing plant and a distribution network. Banks willingly provided loans for real production, so, according to media reports, the credit burden on the holding by the time of the sale was about $67 million, issued against the security of the group's property, the guarantee of the holding's members and Mikhail Kershtein himself. When it became clear to the owner that this entire pyramid of obligations would collapse and crush his business, Mikhail Kershtein began to look for partners with money. So he met entrepreneur Alexei Pavlov, who, in exchange for 80% of the business of the Ramfood Group of Companies, agreed to pull the holding out of inevitable ruin.

Only when Pavlov invested heavily in the sinking holding, Mikhail Kershtein, left by Pavlov as CEO in all Ramfood companies, with one blow deprived the majority owner of control over the business. To do this, it was only necessary to introduce a new co-owner among the founders of the parent company Ramfood, which was done with the help of Kershtein and without the knowledge of Pavlov, according to whom the manager used an invalid power of attorney. In early March, Pavlov unsuccessfully tried to challenge the deal in the Arbitration Court of the Moscow Region - the court refused to consider the case on the merits

The new shareholder was, of course, an old Cypriot acquaintance of the Ananiev brothers Maxoton Holding Limited, who contributed to authorized capital"Ramfuda" 126.5 million rubles. If we take into account that the entire authorized capital previously amounted to 62 million, then Pavlov did not have even a third of the enterprise left. At the same time, the new owners quickly began preparing the enterprise for artificial bankruptcy. Who these owners are personally is not yet entirely clear, but Alexey Pavlov is sure that these are people from Promsvyazbank, who gave the money for the purchase. Moreover, an unknown offshore company, having entered the holding, immediately wrote off the money received to pay off debts to the Cypriot branch of the bank.

The bank itself told law enforcement and the court that it did not know the ultimate beneficiary of the deal. However, in the course of the trial, Promsvyazbank will either be forced to disclose information about the client company, or seek acquittal due to the lack of evidence for the charges. But even in the latter case, as lawyers note, sanctions from the Cypriot and Russian regulators are not ruled out. A guilty verdict, in turn, may lead to further prosecution of both the bank itself and its management on an even more serious charge of money laundering, which is 14 years in prison under Cypriot laws.

The share of the Ananyevs in PSB increased to 70%. And the struggle for the Vozrozhdeniye Bank, which still belongs to them, takes on a criminal character. Who will be distributed?

As it became known to the correspondent, the Ananiev brothers became the owners of 70% of the shares of Promsvyazbank (PSB). Prior to that, they owned 50% of the shares. Most likely, the brothers passed the share of non-state pension funds(NPF), which, on the eve of the reorganization, sold their shares in PSB to the Ananiev structure Promsvyazkapital. She and I are the main shareholder of PSB

The shares were sold to the NFP "Future" by Boris Mints (10%) and "Safmar" and "Doverie" by Mikhail Gutseriev, who jointly also owned 10% of the shares. Promsvyazcapital entered into an agreement with PSB, which acquired shares for the amount of 16.5 billion rubles. and paid off the funds. However, it seems that he did not become the owner of the block of shares. At the end of January, PSB was not on the list of shareholders. Where could the shares have gone?

The story is rather dark, like everything that has recently been connected with the Ananiev brothers. It is very difficult to figure out what is true and what is false. The brothers said so much before the reorganization of the PSB that there is no faith in them.

It seems that the bank nevertheless made the purchase of 20% of the shares, but lost the money, since as a result of writing off capital up to 1 ruble, such a package now costs only 15 kopecks. A representative of the bank could not comment on why he did not have shares.

The registrar of the PSB indicated "RDC" Paritet ", in which they also refused to comment. The representative of the PSB did not give them either. What is this conspiracy of silence?

So far, experts are only guessing where the block of shares could have gone. The bank could not accept them on its balance sheet, the papers could arrive at the bank in a month or later, there were violations in the disclosure of information. Isn't that money stolen?

Where to look for traces?

RDC Paritet does indeed have clients of Promsvyazcapital JSC and Promsvyazbank PJSC.

And if everything is clear with the bank, then what is the second structure?

A subsidiary of Promsvyazcapital JSC is a company with statutory fund 10 thousand rubles "Invest with" with the main activity - investing in securities. I wonder what it's used for?

One of the co-founders of Promsvyazcapital JSC is Alexander Levkovsky, President and Chairman of the Board of SMP Bank, which is owned by the Rotenberg brothers. Could he take part in the PSB schemes? Was his money withdrawn to SMP Bank?

Transactions for the sale of PSB shares to NPFs took place on the Moscow Stock Exchange. The seller was IG Capital Partners from Future, Investment Management (Safmar, Trust) and IQG Asset Management (Safmar).

The package was bought by Promsvyaz Capital, which resold it on the same day for the same amount to PSB. What role could Promsvyazcapital, which through Dmitry Ananiev is linked to Promsvyaz Capital, play in this deal?

There are more questions than answers. A real detective story is spinning around the PSB, which, probably, only financial detectives can deal with.

Now PSB is challenging transactions with NPFs and asking them to be declared invalid. According to the bank, and experts, they could be interconnected.

Deal with MKB?

Strange, but for some reason, no one has yet raised the question of how Moscow got out of the capital of PSB commercial Bank(ICB)? And there is also a very dark story. Dmitry Ananiev said back in the autumn that MCB, which owns a 9.97% stake, must sell its shares by September 15th. And they are looking for an investor.

In early November, talking about the expected profit in the amount of 8-9 billion rubles, Ananiev said that the PSB completely closed the repo with the MKB a month and a half ago, that is, within the previously announced time frame. At the same time, the transaction did not concern a block of shares. MKB was only a nominal shareholder, which means that the rights to them belonged to another person. To whom?

On December 15, on the day of PSB's reorganization, MKB withdrew from the bank's capital, reducing its stake from 8.58% to 0%. And where is this package now and who got it as a result? And what deal did Ananiev close in mid-September with MKB? Or didn't cover anything at all? But, given the amount of transactions with NPFs, this package could cost more than 7 billion rubles. And where are they?

Cyprus vs PSB?

At the end of last week, it became known that the Limassol District Court (Cyprus) banned the PSB from keeping less than $251 million in foreign bank accounts. The court decision was made at the request of Fintailor Investments Limited, one of the 10 companies with which PSB is suing in Moscow arbitration.

PSB also cannot make transfers from the company's accounts without its consent. Fintailor Investments is owned by Kirill Lyushinsky. The company was considered affiliated with the Ananiev brothers, since during the acquisition of Vozrozhdenie Bank in 2015 by them, the company collected 10.5% of its shares. Why would a foreign company have anything to do with buying a bank?

Naturally, the lawyer representing the interests of the company denies this. What else is left for him to do? To admit that interim measures were probably imposed in the interests of the Ananyev brothers? To ensure that the money was not recovered by the decision of the Russian court.

Fintailor Investments, after the court decision, actually protects the money, which can then be levied. Probably, this goal is being pursued. Until the end of the litigation, the amount was simply “stuck” in Cyprus. And the Ananiev brothers can stand behind this.

"Renaissance" like hot cakes?

This week, it may be decided who will become the buyer of the Vozrozhdeniye bank, which is still owned by the Ananyev brothers. There are several applicants, but the main ones are the structure of Suleiman Kerimov, the Bonum Capital fund and the structure of the RZD NPF "Welfare". And here a financial thriller can turn into a crime one.

The new board of directors of the bank will be elected on March 7th. Now it has already included 11 people who are associated with Suleiman Kerimov. Representatives of Blagosostoyanie deny their interest in acquiring the bank, although they do not deny that they would like to acquire a stake in the bank and are even considering the possibility of its merger with Absolut Bank, also owned by Russian Railways.

And here the interests of the Rotenbergs, whose protege is considered the head of Russian Railways Oleg Belozerov, and Suleiman Kerimov, may collide. Last week he specially flew in from France for negotiations on the acquisition of Vozrozhdenie. Karimov is in this country under house arrest on charges of tax evasion and money laundering.

And right before Kerimov’s arrival in Moscow, Ukrainian-Russian businessman Oleg Mkrtchan, the founder of the Industrial Union of Donbass (ISD), whose shares were acquired by VEB in 2009 through the mediation of Suleiman Kerimov, was arrested in it. Rumor has it that it is three times higher than their value, but in general, about $3-4 billion could have been stolen from this deal.

Oleg Mkrtchan suffered for Kerimov?

Does anyone need Oleg Mkrtchan by himself? Probably not. He did nothing special in Russia. If not for one thing… Mkrtchan is a close friend of Suleiman Kerimov and a business partner in a deal with VEB.

They arrested Mkrtchan out of the blue. The man flew in, settled in a hotel, and the next day they came for him and accused him of allegedly withdrawing 1 billion rubles. to your offshore company. This money is part of the amount from the allocated loan from VEB ISD.

The arrest of Oleg Mkrtchan is probably a warning to Suleiman Kerimov. If you lay claim to Vozrozhdenie, we'll turn Mkrtchyan on the basis of the billions stolen from VEB. Kerimov in that deal, apparently, was tightly tied. And it was with Oleg Mkrtchan.

What will Suleiman Kerimov do? Perhaps his decision will be known this week. And the thriller with PSB and Renaissance continues. And it remains to be hoped that those who started it, the Ananiev brothers, will also fall under the distribution.

These measures were taken to ensure the property interests of the company, explained the lawyer Konstantin Astafiev, representing the interests of Fintailor Investments. He says that the company will seek the cancellation of interim measures taken against it. Arbitration Court Moscow, because "they violate the rights of the company and its customers."

Promsvyazbank received a lawsuit from Fintailor Investments, its representative confirmed. The bank assesses this lawsuit as "illegal and unfounded", aimed at delaying legal proceedings in Russia. Promsvyazbank in claims against 10 foreign companies demands that the sale and purchase transactions be declared invalid valuable papers held the day before the introduction of temporary administration to the bank, he says.

Fintailor Investments is owned by Kirill Lyushinsky, follows from the Cypriot register of companies. Lyushinsky's Facebook page lists his position as CEO at Fintailor Investments. A Vedomosti correspondent sent him messages on Facebook, but Lyushinsky did not read them.

In 2015, when the main owners of Promsvyazbank, brothers Alexei and Dmitry Ananiev, acquired Vozrozhdenie, Fintailor Investments collected 10.25% of the bank's shares. The former top manager of Promsvyazbank previously named Fintailor among the companies associated with the Ananievs. Astafyev assured yesterday that Fintailor Investments has nothing to do with the Ananyev brothers.

In fact, the Cypriot court took interim measures, says Tertychny Agabalyan's partner Ivan Tertychny. The plaintiff's lawyers provided guarantees in the amount of 100,000 euros to cover the possible costs of the defendant - in fact, we are talking about the interest that the bank may lose due to the fact that these funds cannot be transferred or placed, he explains.

In Cyprus, there are measures of English law, that is, the courts almost automatically impose interim measures even without summoning the second party, he continues. “The bank may declare its disagreement with interim measures, and if the court agrees that the claim is unfounded and litigious, then the bank may recover the guarantee,” says Tertychny.

With such litigation, the company can seek to get this money - $ 251 million - stuck in the accounts so that they can be later foreclosed on, he believes.

Fintailor Investments' decision to file a lawsuit in Cyprus is most likely aimed at having certain guarantees in the event that a decision is made against it in a dispute considered in Russia, says Irina Mostovaya, a partner at Nafko-Consultants. In such a situation, a conflict of judicial acts may actually arise if the courts of Russia and Cyprus make conflicting decisions, she continues. If the Cypriot court decides in favor of Fintailor, the interim measures taken will allow it to be executed promptly.

Why the court settled on the amount of $251 million is not known, but it can be assumed that this amount is equivalent to either the amount of claims in the litigation or the balances on Fintailor accounts, she concludes.

The order of the Limassol court actually prevents Promsvyazbank from accessing Fintailor's money. “If the bank writes off money from her accounts by the decision of the Russian court, it will violate the decision of the Cypriot court,” says Tertychny. “In the order, the court warns that if Promsvyazbank or its employees do not comply with the order, they may be arrested and their property confiscated.”

The Central Bank, which took Promsvyazbank into the Consolidation Fund in mid-December, declined to comment.

A criminal case has been transferred to the district court of the Cypriot city of Nicosia, in which the Cypriot branch of the Russian (PSB) is the main accused of fraud. The organization is accused of embezzling the business of the Ramfood group of Russian companies from its former owner, the offshore company United Investors Limited (Netherlands). On July 13, the bailiff handed the bank a notice. The first meeting of the Criminal Collegium is scheduled for September 29. He writes about this with reference to the materials of the case.

The agency writes that the organization is accused of colluding with the Cypriot "Maxoton" and other persons, illegally causing damage to the plaintiff ("United Investors Limited").

This is the first time that a major Russian bank as legal entity became a defendant in a European trial on charges of committing a serious crime, Rosbalt writes. Russian credit institution claims that the ultimate beneficiary of the Cypriot company is not known to the bank.

During the trial, the bank will be forced to either disclose information about Maksaton or fight for an acquittal due to the lack of evidence for the accusation. “However, even in the latter case, as lawyers note, sanctions from the Cypriot and Russian regulators are not ruled out,” the agency writes. A guilty verdict could lead to further criminal prosecution of the bank and its management.

According to Cypriot law, money laundering is punishable by 14 years in prison and (or) a fine of up to 500 thousand euros, fraud - 10 years, and for a legal entity - a fine.

Rosbalt cites the opinion of Georgy Zubovsky, Chairman of the Capital Bar Association. The lawyer believes that such a process creates a precedent for criminal prosecution of Russian offshore capitals and, what is most unpleasant, of backbone Russian enterprises as "criminal" organizations. “And this is not just a possible deprivation of a license to banking. This is an opportunity to use any methods in the fight against Russian companies during the period of European sanctions,” the lawyer emphasizes.

The Ramfood group of companies includes a meat processing plant in the Moscow region, a chain of stores retail, a complex for growing pigs in the Saratov region. Until December 2015, the group was 100% owned by United Investors Limited. At the moment, the companies of the Ramfood group are already in a state of bankruptcy and sale of assets.

United Investors Limited initiated a lawsuit in Cyprus and also secured a criminal case against the bank and its alleged accomplices.

The Cypriot branch of Promsvyazbank is registered in the city of Limassol at Grigory Afxentiou Street, 35. The Central Bank of Cyprus supervises the activities of the structure. Moreover, Management Company Promsvyaz has a branch in Cyprus - PSB AM (Cyprus) Ltd.