Kolesov Dmitry Nikolaevich NLMK. Does NLMK cover its tracks? How it was
No one will argue that Vladimir Lisin managed to build his own metallurgical empire called NLMK, which is based on the Novolipetsk Iron and Steel Works, a world-class enterprise distinguished by high technology and high business profits. Moreover, this enterprise was famous back in the years of the USSR: it was the first in the world to master continuous casting of steel, the first in the Soviet Union to produce anisotropic electrical steel using its own unique technology, and so on...
A billionaire doesn't look like a raider
But that's all in the past.
It is much more important today that, despite the hard times of Perestroika and other troubles, Vladimir Lisin managed to create the most profitable and efficient global production. His NLMK Group is a vertically integrated company, a leader among global producers of the highest quality steel. The company ensures efficient and profitable production by concentrating its raw material extraction and steel production facilities in low-cost regions. Finished products are manufactured in close proximity to consumers located in Russia, EU countries and North America.
However, NLMK has recently begun to appear more and more often in a completely different context - criminal, even to the point of accusations of attempted raider takeover of an office building in Moscow. And although most likely Vladimir Lisin himself knows nothing about this story, nevertheless, both his name and the name of the company he created in the context of a detective story often sound very negative.
This unpleasant criminal story around NLMK is so ripe that its participants, from the pages of the Kommersant newspaper (dated July 9, 2018), have already directly addressed the President of Russia.
And this is what they write:
Letter to President Vladimir Putin
"Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich!
We appeal to you as the guarantor of the Constitution of the Russian Federation in connection with encroachments on the property of a small business enterprise - EuroStroy LLC.
The conflict is based on the trial of the theft of 3.1 billion rubles from NLMK PJSC. during construction in 2008–2010. blast furnace No. 7. Heads of contracting firms and NLMK employees were initially brought to criminal liability. For more than 2 years, this case has been considered by the Left Bank District Court of Lipetsk, it was also talked about in the media (for example, “An expert’s case came out of the blast furnace” in Kommersant, 04/27/2018, “Victims without guilt” in Industrial Weekly, 02/26/2018 ). Over the years of proceedings, the list of accused was reduced to one person - Vladimir Viktorovich Biryukov, which looks strange given the large-scale scam. Persons involved in the theft “disappear” from the case, and no active steps are taken to search for those involved.
It also seems strange that no traces of the stolen billions could be found. At the same time, the media (including Forbes) inform about apartments and cottages in Miami and Russia, multi-million dollar accounts in foreign banks.
Moreover, the Moscow lawyers representing the interests of NLMK in the criminal case... abandoned the civil claim, that is, they refused compensation for damages. But they concentrated their efforts on seizing the building belonging to EuroStroy, which is located in Moscow. Neither EuroStroy nor its participants had anything to do with the theft. All claims are based on the testimony of Biryukov, which he (without bearing any responsibility for this and as if by agreement) gave against the person involved in the case, who has already died and cannot answer anything and who once upon a time was a co-owner of EuroStroy LLC.
Without waiting for the end of the criminal trial in Lipetsk, lawyers hired by NLMK file a civil lawsuit to recover the building of EuroStroy LLC in the Krasnodar court. And they manage to start enforcement proceedings in Krasnodar in relation to Moscow property for a crime that took place in Lipetsk. The “Krasnodar branch” of this story deserves a separate investigation altogether!
Another strange thing: the state prosecutor in Lipetsk asks the court to assign the accused only... 4 years of probation and to lift the seizure of his property! To which the NLMK representative does not object! This looks more than strange. As well as another fact: Olga Gritskevich, who received 9 million rubles for examining the damage, was detained on charges of actual theft of these budget funds.
The question involuntarily arises: what are these – gaps in the legislation or an attempt at raider takeover through abuse of law? Although the 90s are already behind us... At the same time, we are sure that the management of NLMK and Vladimir Lisin personally are not aware of what is happening behind his back.
In general, without intervention in this matter, the law does not seem to prevail!
Sincerely, General Director and participant of EuroStroy LLC O.M. Dudarek."
This is the letter. When you read it, it’s hard to believe that this is possible today. However, as it turned out, this is indeed a real story, in which they are trying to take away their property from respectable owners. Subject to complete connivance on the part of the prosecutor's supervision, "backstage" conspiracies, exorbitant greed and resourcefulness.
Let’s try to figure out what happened there and how it happened that, on the sly of one theft, they actually don’t really want to investigate it, but they want to take someone else’s property!
After doing a little analysis of official documents, statements, comparing facts and conclusions, newspaper publications and essays, certain conclusions can be drawn. By the way, information about the progress of the consideration of the case and about the interim decisions made can be obtained on the official websites of the same Levoberezhny District Court of the city of Lipetsk, the Leninsky District Court of the city of Krasnodar and higher authorities. That's if it's interesting!
What's the salt?
Immediately about the conclusions, which are disappointing: it showed that, using the protracted trial in Lipetsk as a “legal crowbar,” a group of people is implementing the scenario of a quiet raider seizure of someone else’s property. At the same time, wittingly or unwittingly, they are supported by individual representatives of the law enforcement system of Lipetsk and Krasnodar, with the complete self-removal of the prosecutor’s office.
Now - in more detail about what exactly is happening.
What is happening is that the lawyers of the Law Office "Reznik, Gagarin and Partners", acting in the process of stealing NLMK funds on behalf of the enterprise and under the guise of the law, are systematically seizing the real estate of a small business enterprise - EuroStroy LLC. This is the main plot that emerges through the heap of court hearings, statements, motions, testimony, lawsuits, etc.
The basis of the conflict - as stated in the letter to Vladimir Putin - is the theft of large amounts of money from NLMK PJSC during the construction of blast furnace No. 7 "Rossiyanka" in 2008-2010 (the only one of its kind in Russia). The non-standard construction history itself helped to steal so much, since it was the first blast furnace built in the Russian Federation over the past 25 years and at the same time the most important object of NLMK’s technical re-equipment program. The total investment in the construction of the furnace, waste heat and power plant and their infrastructure amounted to 43 billion rubles. And the criminal group (which included both contractors and NLMK employees) was able to “steal” several billion of this money. The investigation never established where exactly. Officially, it still doesn’t know this! Or he knows, but doesn’t want to say it out loud. For your own reasons.
In general, billions of rubles seemed to have evaporated!
How defendants “disappear” from the NLMK case
Criminal liability under Part 4 of Article 159 and paragraph “b” of Part 4 of Article 174.1. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation initially involved the heads of a number of contracting organizations and NLMK employees. One of those involved, the head of the subcontractor ZAO Trest Yuzhstalkonstruktsiya, Ruslan Yusupovich Omarov, died during the investigation. And they immediately (as often happens in high-profile criminal cases) decided to “pin” him with full responsibility for the theft. It is interesting that the charges against Omarov are based only on the testimony of Vladimir Biryukov - the same Biryukov who remained the only accused in the case. And who, during the trial, leads a free life (for example, being under investigation, he travels wherever he wants, changes his place of registration, spends on himself as much as he wants, etc.). In any case, the testimony of this person should hardly be considered the ultimate truth.
Moreover: as already stated in the letter addressed to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, during this time the list of accused was reduced to one person - Vladimir Biryukov. Any objective lawyer will say that with such a large-scale scam, this is a reason to open a new case...
In general, Vladimir Biryukov was the only one left. But at first there were others involved in the case, who mysteriously “disappeared” from it along the way. But these were very remarkable characters!
We don't take kickbacks!
For example, the top manager of NLMK - Director for Capital Construction Vladimir Sizov, who, according to investigators, assisted NLMK in the theft of funds. This man simply stopped appearing in court. He seems to have been put on the wanted list, but, in fact, no active steps are being taken either to search for him or to search for the property he obtained through criminal means. And along the way, they somehow try not to talk about it at all. He seems to be running around...
The general director of TPS LLC also “disappeared” from the case. Vladimir Nefedov, through whom, according to investigators, Vladimir Biryukov cashed out funds and transferred kickbacks to the management of the plant (a hint almost from Mr. Lisin himself, although it is difficult to imagine Lisin taking kickbacks from something stolen from him!) and receiving cash mediation fees. By the way, Vladimir Biryukov does not object to the role of Vladimir Nefedov being interpreted in this way. However, Nefedov is being “removed” from the case! The motive is due to the expiration of the period for bringing to justice, which became possible due to the reclassification of his actions to a completely different crime - “illegal banking activities.” Although, judging by numerous witness statements, his main role was to help cash out and receive kickbacks for NLMK employees. Any graduate of the law faculty will see in this retraining a professional trick (in which it is also easy to find elements of a crime!), aimed at exemption from punishment.
And the most significant figure at the beginning (but very quickly removed from accusations) was, of course, the first vice president and general director of NLMK PJSC Igor Nikolaevich Anisimov. It was he, according to a law enforcement official who wished to remain anonymous, who received the main kickbacks from the money stolen during the construction of the furnace.
A simply amazing metamorphosis happened to Igor Anisimov: it was as if he was erased from the actors, as if there was no person at all in that situation, and allegedly it was not he who signed the contracts and all the construction documents, it was not he who accepted the “imaginary” volumes of construction work, it was not he who gave instructions for making “left” payments. And although the documents bear his signatures, as if by magic, Anisimov was gone - Biryukov was to blame for everything. And Biryukov obediently nods: “It’s all my fault. But there’s nothing to take from me, and I don’t know where the billions went!”
The topic of stolen and never found billions is a special issue.
Where did the billions go?
So, the investigation never found the money stolen from Vladimir Lisin. No traces! And this despite the fact that almost all the people involved (who are wanted and who have been excluded from the case) are very wealthy people. However, it seems that these facts are of little interest to the investigation and the prosecutor's office.
But you don’t really need to look for it. For example, Forbes openly writes that in 2012 (precisely during the period of the theft), Igor Anisimov purchased three apartments in Miami (USA) with a total cost of about 7.5 million US dollars. He owns two apartments in the Trump Tower II condominium, and another apartment with a total area of almost 300 square meters. m with three bathrooms, three bedrooms and a living room is located in the luxury Bal Harbor condominium on the Atlantic coast. By the way, money laundering through the acquisition of luxury real estate is one of the most common forms of legalization of stolen funds.
Vladimir Biryukov himself is also far from poor. He also owns two apartments in Moscow (more than 90 sq. m. on 3rd Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street and more than 150 sq. m. on Grizodubovaya Street), as well as a plot of land (over 1,700 sq. m.) and a cottage (more than 550 sq. m) in the Istra district of the Moscow region. It is noteworthy that the Lipetsk court first seized the Biryukov apartments and then removed them.
There is also information about funds in their pure form. Only during the construction of that same blast furnace was a deposit made into Vladimir Biryukov’s personal account at Citibank London N.A. more than 300 million rubles were received, which he successfully spent, withdrawing cash, buying expensive jewelry, transferring multimillion-dollar funds to his foreign assets in the UK and the Swiss Confederation. In addition, he often and with varying degrees of success played on the stock exchange through the brokerage firm World Derivatives trading.
We found something to hide behind!
It turns out that all the funds stolen from NLMK ended up abroad and in Russia in the form of apartments, plots of land, shares and cottages. At the same time, the investigation and the prosecutor’s office did not even try to look for the property of the defendants, acquired with money stolen from the plant.
What are they doing so that at least outwardly it looks like a search for something stolen? To cover up your own inaction or action of a completely different direction and other interests?
Here's what: having not found (or not wanting to find) any traces of stolen property, the lawyers of NLMK PJSC from the Law Office "Reznik, Gagarin and Partners" concentrated their efforts on seizing the building belonging to EuroStroy LLC, which is located in Moscow . Let's put it this way: real estate is real estate because it stands still - and you can't hide it abroad or put it in your pocket.
The Internet is filled with statements from EuroStroy, articles by Lipetsk journalists, letters and other documents from which one can draw an unambiguous conclusion: neither the company EuroStroy itself, nor its participants (and claims are made both to the company itself and to its participant and leader) They did not and do not have anything to do with the theft of funds from NLMK. Otherwise, figuratively speaking, why would they ring the bells and write to all authorities?
And they ring all the bells and ring all the bells, because the legal grounds are on their side, this is obvious. After all, if indeed that building had somehow been involved in a criminal scheme, it would have been seized without much ceremony. The fact that for several years now the claims have been “treading water” in one place is perhaps the clearest confirmation that the history here is clearly unclean.
"Victims without guilt"
This is exactly what (with a reference to the great play by playwright Alexander Ostrovsky) is the title of one of the articles devoted to the analysis of the Lipetsk case and attempts at a raider takeover “on the sly” of a Moscow office building.
For several years now, EuroStroy has been forced to actively engage in this matter, participate in trials in Lipetsk and Krasnodar, write endless letters, protests, explanations, point out a large number of violations when accepting statements of claim and considering court cases and enforcement actions related to this story proceedings (and there are already several of them!), protest successive seizures of property, spend time and money on travel and on lawyers, which is obviously a significant expense. They, of course, would be glad not to do this, since they have nothing to do with the essence of the matter, but it is quite obvious: as soon as they weaken their resistance, the building will “leak” from them to the new owners. But who the true interests of this seizure are is a special question and so far unanswered.
The lawyers of the Law Office "Reznik, Gagarin and Partners" have practically no grounds for claims to the property of EuroStroy LLC: part of this property once belonged to one of the defendants in the theft case at NLMK. However, he sold it long before that. And now the bona fide owner of this property, represented by the participant of EuroStroy LLC, must “fight off” unjustified attempts to seize the property only because it once belonged to a person who later became involved in some kind of scam.
NLMK's lawyers, including Roman Gennadyevich Nikitin, are trying to convince numerous authorities that this property became a form of payment to one of the participants in the crime - as if part of his share of the stolen property. A simple comparison of dates and circumstances that neither investigators, nor NLMK’s lawyers, nor the prosecutor’s office want to talk about shows the absurdity of this version. There are other legal grounds for recognizing the nullity of such a thesis. Nevertheless, claims filed by NLMK lawyers are accepted and considered by the courts.
Absurd? Undoubtedly! But under multi-volume statements of claim, under the pressure of many petitions, certificates, requests, etc. the essence of the case is already poorly visible and the legal and procedural process itself becomes an imaginary legal basis for further claims. The hands of state bodies commit actions aimed at illegal seizure of property. And they are trying to exclude law-abiding owners from whom they are trying to snatch property from considering the case. That is, they want to take away property, while denying justice.
Krasnodar raider trick
At the same time, what is very important and what is also discussed in the letter to Putin, the lawyers are implementing an original scheme: they are transferring the consideration of the issue of a mansion in Moscow from Lipetsk to Krasnodar. That is, in Lipetsk they refuse the civil lawsuit, but in Krasnodar (where they seem to have a very intimate relationship with the court), a similar civil lawsuit is filed. You can easily find out about the “intricate” judicial movements in this case by turning to the official websites of the Krasnodar district (Oktyabrsky and Leninsky) and regional courts, as well as on the website of the Moscow Arbitration Court, where judicial acts are available.
A reasonable question arises: why transfer part of the case to another region when the main case is in Lipetsk and the process is already nearing completion? A logical conclusion suggests itself: if the NLMK side (those same lawyers) had handled the case “cleanly”, then they would have defended the interests of the client in Lipetsk through legal proceedings.
It turns out that they went to Krasnodar to defend completely different interests: it seems that their own! By the way, it is probably no coincidence that the Law Office "Reznik, Gagarin and Partners" has its own representative office in the city of Krasnodar, and it is there that complex cases are resolved in their favor. At the same time, the lawyers again do not want to look for Biryukov’s property, but they are pressing hard with the demand to seize the Moscow building!
Stole a billion - get a suspended sentence!
By the way, the local Lipetsk media reveal in sufficient detail the peculiarities and oddities of this case. They have long concluded that the criminal prosecution itself has declined, because for the theft of 1.9 to 3.1 billion rubles to Vladimir Biryukov, the state prosecutor in Lipetsk, Nina Ivanovna Goncharova, is asking the court for only... four years probation! At the same time, she actively insists on preserving the legalization episode, which provides the basis for attacks on Moscow property (that is, the building allegedly became a form of payment for criminal participation).
It is noteworthy that the representative of the plant supports the state prosecutor, and does not demand a fair punishment for Vladimir Biryukov. A simple analogy can be drawn: for example, the court sentenced the well-known ex-minister Ulyukaev to 8 years of strict regime and a fine in the same amount as a bribe - 130.4 million rubles. At the same time, the court arrested 15 objects of his real estate and at least 564 million rubles. Prosecutor Boris Neporozhny requested ten years in a maximum security colony for Ulyukaev and the maximum possible fine under the law - 500 million rubles.
And in the Lipetsk case, the prosecutor’s office seems to be on the side of the defendant’s defense for the theft of 1.9 to 3.1 billion rubles. asks for a minimum (and also a suspended) sentence. Moreover, he does not object to the removal of arrests from the property of suspects.
Historical legal paradox
There is no doubt that over time, this case of the theft of several billion rubles (!), which came up against the desire to seize someone else’s property, whose value is not even 5% of the amount stolen, will go down in history as one of the most absurd and ridiculous. And every month the number of “oddities” in it only increases.
Thus, expert Olga Gritskevich was recently detained in Moscow on charges of embezzling 9 million rubles. budget funds (this is also described in a letter sent in search of justice to Vladimir Putin personally through the Kommersant newspaper), which she received from Lipetsk investigators of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for conducting an examination in precisely this case. It was according to her estimate that the damage amounted to more than 3 billion rubles, for which her LLC “Center for Independent Expertise and Assessment” received an unprecedentedly large fee from the budget.
The next oddity was the “Krasnodar branch” of this story, which needs to be discussed in more detail and separately! The Leninsky and Oktyabrsky courts of the city of Krasnodar have already made several “strange” decisions, and the Krasnodar judges have already celebrated their luxurious weddings!
The competence of judges of the Leninsky District Court - Marina Nikolaevna Shipunova and Roman Gennadyevich Zhmetkin, judge of the Oktyabrsky District Court Alexander Vladimirovich Zelensky, judges of the Krasnodar Regional Court Vladimir Fedorovich Kislyak, Roman Vladimirovich Shakitko, Andrey Viktorovich Kudinov, Maria Vladimirovna Dementeeva is called from specialists familiar with this case, huge doubts. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to at least have the judges’ qualification board check their professional suitability and knowledge of the law. It also doesn’t hurt to check their welfare. And civil case No. 2-6276/17 on the claim of NLMK PJSC against V.V. Biryukov, O.M. Dudarka, Z.K. Ataev. It wouldn't hurt to take special control. It is not clear where the chairman of the Krasnodar Regional Court Alexander Dmitrievich Chernov is looking in this story.
The legality of the actions of the Krasnodar bailiff Mikhail Nikolaevich Vlasenko, who initiated enforcement proceedings against Vladimir Viktorovich Biryukov, also requires verification, while making no attempts to search and seize his property, but by a strange coincidence, also directed his sights on the property of EuroStroy LLC ". The supervisory and control authorities have something to study in the already rich Krasnodar chronicle of this case.
And this would be exactly the case if the competent authorities, instead of observing the law, did not play a bureaucratic game, sending replies to numerous complaints and appeals. Apparently, it was no coincidence that Muscovite Vladimir Biryukov, during the investigation of theft in Lipetsk, suddenly became a resident of Krasnodar for several months, where in fact he never moved, but only flew in for court hearings. At the same time, here’s what’s alarming: in Krasnodar, an exclusively one-sided position is emerging on this story, which obviously does not comply with the law and is aimed at facilitating the illegal seizure of the property of EuroStroy LLC (which, let us remember, is located in Moscow!).
Now let's get serious!
Sooner or later, this whole legal mess will receive an objective assessment, and criminal case No. 1-55/2017 on charges of Vladimir Biryukov stealing funds from PJSC NLMK during the construction of blast furnace No. 7 in the amount of 305,330,7320.14 rubles. will be taken under special control. Because there is too much lawlessness and injustice in it! And this despite the fact that year after year the country’s leadership, led by Vladimir Putin, is working to strengthen the triumph of justice, protect the interests of small and medium-sized businesses, and counter raider and other illegal seizures of other people’s property.
While the top leadership has not taken up the task of putting things in order in this story (and there is no doubt that when they do, everything will be decided very quickly and justice will come just as quickly as in other stories where Vladimir Putin directly puts things in order), there are many more questions here than answers!
Here are just the main ones!
For example, to what extent was it legal for the accused to “disappear” from this case one by one? Who and how orders such expensive examinations, which are then qualified as misappropriation of budget funds? How did the investigation investigate such a large case for more than 3 years and still not be able to find traces of the stolen property? Does the management of NLMK know that their lawyers, in order to get at least something, are engaged in an intense struggle for property, which has absolutely nothing to do with it, and are bringing civil claims against third parties who are not related to the crime, and are not trying to recover from persons who committed a crime?
President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin has repeatedly drawn attention to creating conditions for the development of small businesses in the country. And this implies, first of all, legal protection. But what kind of legal protection can we talk about when the supervisory authority - the prosecutor's office, with its strange and thoughtless position, hands over a small business property owned by persons not involved in the commission of a crime into the hands of such a large structure and does not want to pay attention to circumstances indicating artificiality and unreliability synchronized actions of Vladimir Biryukov and the lawyers of PJSC NLMK?!
However, there is every reason to think that the letter to Vladimir Putin will reach the addressee. And that the next chapter of this story will be about how order was restored and how justice triumphed!
Why are there no answers?
Apparently, representatives of EuroStroy LLC wrote a huge number of appeals to government bodies, including both in the above letter and through the media. So in a number of articles about this case there are appeals to the following authorities: 1. The Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation. 2. Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. 3. Commissioner of the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights. 4. Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. 5. Commissioner for the protection of the rights of entrepreneurs in the city of Moscow. 6. Commissioner under the President of the Russian Federation for the protection of the rights of entrepreneurs. 7. Krasnodar Regional Court. 8. Central Office of the Federal Bailiff Service of the Russian Federation. 9. Office of the Federal Bailiff Service of Russia for the Krasnodar Territory. 10. Prosecutor's office of the Krasnodar region. 11. Prosecutor's office of the Lipetsk region. 12. PJSC "NLMK". And so on…
Where are the answers? Apparently, everything is slowing down for a reason. And instead of protecting the interests of bona fide entrepreneurs, local servants of the law turn a blind eye to the disappearance of the guilty persons from the case, do not search for foreign assets and try in every possible way to soften the charges.
And in this matter, it seems that the finale will not come soon - too much has been twisted!
We will conclude this essay with another quote from a letter to Vladimir Putin: “Without intervention in this matter, the law, it seems, will not prevail!”
One of the vice-presidents of NLMK died in Moscow. From the materials it is known that he “fell” out of the window. A week after the court decision was announced in a high-profile case related to NMLK. A correspondent for The Moscow Post tried to figure out the strange “coincidences.”
It looks like a new “victim” has appeared near the house on the embankment. Previously, the history of the residents of the house ended after the “craters” at the entrance. In a new story after a short flight. The vice president of NLMK fell from the window of the house and was killed. The death of employee Bruno Charles De Koeman was confirmed by the company. The Moscow Post correspondent reports.
Judging by the investigation materials, he fell out of the window of the apartment he rented and lived in. At the moment, it is not known whether this event was preceded by a struggle or other facts indicating a violent death.
This event stirred up a new wave of discussions about the history associated with theft during the construction of blast furnace No. 7 “Rossiyanka”, unique for our country.
And alone in the field are “warriors”?
On the eve of this incident, the verdict was announced for the main and only defendant in this high-profile case - the president of the Stalkonstruktsiya concern, Vladimir Biryukov. Not only did all the other defendants in the case disappear somewhere, but the accusation and sentence itself sounded, as experts note, “rather weak.”
The thing is that initially it was said that as a result of fraud during the construction of a blast furnace, from Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant (NLMK) could have been stolen from 1.9 to 3.1 billion rubles. And as a result, the court of the Left Bank District of the city of Lipetsk found Biryukov guilty of theft of 1.6 billion rubles. His punishment was 4 years suspended imprisonment. At the same time, some of the charges against Biryukov were dropped due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
The court of the Left Bank District of Lipetsk gave the only defendant in the NLMK case a suspended sentence
It also seems strange that the lawyer representing the interests of NLMK was completely satisfied with this court decision. According to him, the company is now focusing on recovering losses. Only she is trying to recover the losses not from Biryukov, but from a company that is not even directly related to the case.
NLMK is trying to acquire an office building (complex of premises) in Moscow with an area of about 960 sq. m. m., which belongs to Eurostroy. And here several questions arise at once: why does the company not want to throw all its efforts into searching for other defendants in the case, why did it not seek a more stringent solution?
In fact, Biryukov avoided responsibility, and the judge’s decision only plays into the hands of the company in the fight for the disputed real estate.
How was it?
The sluggish way the case was conducted and the strange things that happened to it suggests that there was no interest in finding the true culprits in the theft of funds. Moreover, the “victims” of NLMK themselves did not seem to want to get to the bottom of the truth. The first scapegoat was the head of the subcontracting organization JSC Trest Yuzhstalkonstruktsiya, Ruslan Yusupovich Omarov. He turned out to be a very convenient accused. The investigation hastened to pin all the “dogs” on him. In this case, the accusations were based on the testimony of Vladimir Biryukov.
But Ruslan Omarov died in January 2016, when the investigation was in full swing. Relatives were against terminating the case against him on non-rehabilitating grounds. There are rumors that they were confident in Biryukov’s false testimony and wanted a full investigation to rehabilitate Omarov. Is it possible to believe the testimony of a person who himself was involved in fraud?
It is strange that NMLK employees who oversaw the project completely disappeared from the case. So, during the investigation, the investigators looked closely at the director of capital construction, Vladimir Sizov. After all, we are talking about construction, and this should be under his control.
Even Igor Nikolaevich Anisimov, the first vice-president and general director of PJSC NLMK, was not brought to justice. According to some reports, his signatures were allegedly on the documents for the project and he accepted the work. In theory, including those that were not completed and through which funds were withdrawn! Maybe he could tell me where the withdrawn money ended up.
Igor Anisimov - allegedly it was his signatures that were on the documents for the work that were used to withdraw funds from the company
The director of TPS LLC, Vladimir Nefedov, may have known about the money. He could play the role of the person through whom Biryukov cashed out funds. Moreover, some sources report that during the investigation, Biryukov himself allegedly confirmed this fact and described the entire chain and Nefedov’s participation in it. Nefedov was removed from the case, reclassifying the charge as “illegal banking activity,” and then closed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
Surprisingly, one loses the impression that all this happened with the tacit consent of NLMK’s lawyers and management. It is difficult to imagine that such a large and influential company could not ensure that all of the above-mentioned individuals were brought to justice. One might think that people of higher rank were involved in the theft. Could they guarantee Biryukov a minimum punishment and take the rest out so that they wouldn’t say anything unnecessary? The death of Ruslan Omarov, a man who could possibly shed light on the circumstances, looks especially “piquant.”
Was there a “boy”?
An attentive reader will probably have noticed that in the whole case of theft of funds at NLMK there is nothing about EuroStroy LLC or about office buildings. If you are attentive and strong in geography, you will be surprised that the case of theft during the construction of a blast furnace was considered by the court of the Left Bank District of Lipetsk, the building is located in Moscow, and the issue of its alienation is being considered in the Leninsky Court of Krasnodar.
How could this happen? And the whole point is that Vladimir Biryukov sold the company EuroStroy LLC, which once belonged to him, to Ruslan Omarov. Since then the company has changed its owners. As you might guess, the current owners of the company and the building are in no way connected with Biryukov and do not owe NLMK anything.
The company's owners themselves consider NLMK's legal claims to be nothing more than an attempt to take over. They directly wrote about this in an open letter addressed to President Vladimir Putin. In their letter, the businessmen write that “... the Moscow lawyers representing the interests of NLMK in the criminal case... abandoned the civil claim, that is, they refused compensation for damage.” This was in the court of the city of Lipetsk.
This was perhaps deliberate in order to open a claim case in another region. Isn't it more convenient to conduct proceedings in one court? Apparently the lawyers representing the interests of NLMK have some special attitude towards this city. Or maybe specifically for this court?
By coincidence, the law office "Reznik, Gagarin and Partners", which represents the interests of NLMK, has its own representative office in Krasnodar. Local residents say that the office manages to win the most complex and controversial cases. Is this possible because the judge is more favorable to lawyers?
If “greasing” takes place, then is it any wonder that the wedding of the daughter of the judge of the Krasnodar Regional Court (and member of its presidium) Elena Khakhaleva became the loudest and most scandalous? The thing is that, according to the declaration for 2016, the judge earned about 2.6 million rubles. While the wedding of his daughter, Sophia, was played for all 2 million... and dollars!
Will Judge Elena Khakhaleva have a hand in the building case?
This could be attributed to the imagination of local journalists, but as eyewitnesses say, the wedding really was rich. The young people received congratulations from such artists as Nikolai Baskov, Valery Meladze, Vera Brezhneva and other pop stars. By the way, according to local experts, controversial issues of property are one of the most common in the practice of Judge Khakhaleva. Could the judge have crossed paths with the lawyers of Reznik, Gagarin and Partners?
It is worth noting that it is not only Judge Khakhaleva who demonstrates suspicious wealth. For example, Biryukov unexpectedly found himself the owner of several apartments and a plot of land with a cottage. Lawyers do not want to receive them, no matter how Biryukov was found guilty of theft by the court. Meanwhile, one of the apartments is located in the center on 3rd Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street, with an area of more than 90 square meters. m. The second apartment with a simpler location, but 150 sq. m. m.
Anisimov, who seemed to sign the papers on which the work was accepted, actually purchased three apartments in Miami, USA. Moreover, he became their owner at approximately the same time that the theft was committed. According to some estimates, the totality of this property may exceed $7.5 million!
Could the “soul of the poet” fail?
It would seem, what does this have to do with the matter of distant 2012 and the current incident with Bruno Charles De Koeman, who joined NLMK only in 2017? Let's remember that he was appointed vice president of research and development. On the official website of the company it is written that “his area of responsibility will include coordinating the activities of research centers, production sites of the Group...improving processes...” It is worth noting here that blast furnace No. 7 “Rossiyanka”, not only for its time, but even now, is quite is unique in itself, and can certainly be included in the “production site”. Obviously, when an employee takes on such a high position, before developing something new, he reviews the old one.
It turns out that Bruno Charles De Koeman could not ignore the documentation about the blast furnace. Obviously, such a find could be shocking to a foreign citizen. After all, even for an unprepared person it is clear that the matter is “not clean.” Moreover, if the initial damage of 3 billion rubles was reduced to 1.6 billion rubles. How many could have actually been “taken away” from the project? The total investment in the construction of the furnace, waste heat and power plant and their infrastructure amounted to 43 billion rubles!
The total budget of the blast furnace amounted to 43 billion rubles!
Considering that most of the defendants were not in the dock, can we assume that an agreement was reached with them? How do you negotiate with a foreigner? He also has a completely different mentality. For him, reporting theft is a duty and obligation, which he implements without hesitation. Could he have gone to the company management with this information and was this not a mistake?
After all, the case already involves the death of at least one person involved who could shed light on the events of 2012 - Ruslan Omarov. Apparently, the story has gone very far, so it’s hard to believe that the damage could have amounted to only 1.6 billion rubles, which the court recognized.
The extent of the damage is also not so simple. The expert who was assessing the damage caused to NLMK was detained. Olga Gritskevich, head of the Center for Independent Expertise and Evaluation LLC (CNOiE), was detained on suspicion of particularly large-scale fraud. We were talking about a contract for damage assessment. According to the investigation, having received a contract from investigators of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Lipetsk region to conduct an examination, she committed the theft of almost 9 million rubles allocated for these purposes.
And here many experts froze in bewilderment. Firstly, how can an expert herself commit theft if the money was initially allocated to her (her company)? Secondly, some were confused by the amount of the contract. Couldn't the people representing NLMK's interests have done something wrong to get the desired result? At the same time, we could not be talking about an increase, but, on the contrary, a decrease in price.
It is also strange that the case was initiated not at the request of the court or investigators of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but by employees of the law firm "Reznik, Gagarin and Partners." It can be assumed that they were the initiators of the “underestimation” of damage, but at some point the expert could have “kicked”? For example, she asked for a large amount or simply tormented her conscience. Involving security forces as a means of pressure is a common practice.
So it turns out that there are too many coincidences and oddities around this blast furnace case. It would seem that the company and its lawyers have every chance of getting theirs back. But instead, they are trying to take the building away from the owners, who have nothing to do with the theft case from NMLK! Important persons involved in the case disappear somewhere from the case. Persons who could shed light on events suddenly die. The experts involved in the case turn out to be allegedly dishonest. And the only defendant gets off with a suspended sentence! Isn't this a reason to send the case for further investigation?
NLMK Group announces the appointment of Anatoly Hebnev as Vice President for Supply and Dmitry Kolesov as Vice President for Repair Management System.
The position of Vice President for Repair Management System has been created for the first time in the NLMK Group. Dmitry Kolesov has worked in the company as director of planning and organization of repairs since 2016.
Since 2012, Anatoly Hebnev has held the position of Deputy Vice President for Procurement of the NLMK Group. Vice President of Supply was Brijesh Garg, who moved to the newly created position of Director of Supply for NLMK International, the management company for the foreign assets of the NLMK group.
“In less than five years, Brijesh Garg created one of the best supply services in the Russian metallurgy - almost all key processes were automated, centralization of procurement of global categories of materials and raw materials began, and order processing times were significantly reduced. Now Brijesh will have to extend the group's successful experience to its overseas assets. The main task of Anatoly Hebnev in his new position is to further centralize procurement and, as a result, optimize the company’s expenses in this direction. Dmitry Kolesov, as vice president, will be responsible for implementing advanced equipment condition management systems and increasing the efficiency of repair work at the group’s enterprises,” NLMK Group President Oleg Bagrin commented on the appointments.
Anatoly Hebnev has been working in the NLMK group since 2005. He led the company's control inspection and the management of the implementation of the integrated SAP ERP information system. Since 2012, he held the position of Deputy Vice President for Purchasing. Before joining the NLMK group, he held senior positions in St. Petersburg companies. He graduated from the Baltic State Technical University with a degree in Pulse Heat Engines and the St. Petersburg International Institute of Management with a degree in National Economics and Law. Has an MBA degree.
Brijesh Garg has worked as Vice President of Supply for the NLMK Group since April 2012. He began his career in 1985 at Tata Steel (India) as a production engineer. Subsequently, he held various positions in this company, as well as at metallurgical enterprises New-Zealand Steel (BlueScope Steel, Australia) and ArcelorMittal, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.
Has 19 years of experience in supply chain management and business process reorganization at large metallurgical plants. Has 13 years of industrial engineering experience. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering, is a Certified SAP Solutions Consultant, and holds a CPIM (Production and Inventory Management) certification from the American Production and Inventory Society (APICS).
Dmitry Kolesov has been working for NLMK Group since June 2016. He began his career in companies in the mining and metallurgical industry in 1998. Since 2005, he has been the executive director of the Almaty Heavy Engineering Plant, and since 2006, he has been managing the SSM-Tyazhmash enterprise for five years " From 2013 before joining NLMK, he held senior positions at the United Aircraft Corporation. Dmitry Kolesov graduated from the Cherepovets State Industrial Institute with a degree in Lifting and Transport, Construction and Road Machinery and Equipment and the St. Petersburg State Technical University with a degree in Management.
02/03/2017 General Director of OJSC Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works Pavel Shilyaev signed documents on new personnel appointments.
Sergei Ushakov, who previously worked as Deputy General Director of OJSC MMK for commerce, was appointed to the position of Deputy General Director of OJSC MMK for production.
Sergei Nikolaevich began his career at MMK in 1991 as a steel caster at the CCC, and went through all the stages of production from shift foreman, section manager, deputy manager, shop manager, chief blast furnace operator, to MMK chief engineer. An important milestone in the career of any production worker is the position of shop manager. Sergei Nikolaevich successively headed the CCC and ESPC. And in 2009, he became General Director of the MMK Metalurji metallurgical plant in Turkey, then headed OJSC MMK-METIZ. In 2014, he headed the United Service Company (USC LLC).
Deputy General Director of OJSC MMK for production Sergei Laskov will head OSK LLC. Sergei Alekseevich began working at MMK in 2001 as a senior heat engineer for rolled products and pipes at LPC-6; before that, after graduating from MGMI in 1985, he worked for 16 years in the Stavropol region. At MMK, Sergei Alekseevich has the positions of deputy head of the coatings shop, head of the sheet rolling shop No. 5, head of the sheet rolling shop No. 11, deputy chief engineer of MMK and director of labor protection, industrial safety and ecology.
Sergei Nenashev, who previously worked as the director of labor protection, industrial safety and ecology at OJSC MMK, will assume the duties of head of the commercial unit of the plant.
Sergey Nenashev began his career at MMK Group in 2007 as director of Magnitogorsk Service Center LLC. In 2011, he became part-time director of MR-1 CJSC. In 2015, after the integration of enterprises into the United Service Company, he was appointed director of OJSC MMK for labor protection, industrial safety and ecology.
Director of OSK LLC Alexander Mukhin will head the technical department of the plant. After graduating from MGMI in 1995, Alexander Mukhin came to MMK at production plant No. 5 as a cold metal cutter. He was a shift supervisor, a senior foreman, a section supervisor, and a deputy supervisor at LPC No. 9. In 2010 - head of medical treatment center No. 5, and then headed medical treatment center No. 11. For the last two years he headed the United Service Company.
A new appointment awaits Grigory Shchurov. Grigory Viktorovich began his career at MMK in 1999 in the department of new technologies, working as a bureau chief, group chief, and deputy shop manager in various structures of the plant. In 2008, he became the head of medical treatment center No. 7. He worked in the technological department of the plant in the positions of deputy head and head of department. In 2013, he became the technical director of OJSC MMK, and then headed the technical department of the plant. Now Grigory Viktorovich will take the position of director for labor protection, industrial safety and ecology at OJSC MMK.
Commenting on these appointments, General Director of OJSC MMK P. Shilyaev noted: “The current rotations are largely aimed at developing the personnel potential of managers. In this case, one can also see strategic goals. The change in the head of the production unit of the enterprise reflects the company’s course towards the development of metallurgical processing. It is known that there are two main profiles at Magnitogorsk - metallurgical and rolling. Sergei Ushakov is not only one of the most experienced managers, but also an excellent specialist in metallurgical processing. In turn, the program for the coming years includes the modernization of production facilities. Here is the experience of Sergei Laskov in the management of the largest. company of the Group will be the most in demand, because he is behind the construction and commissioning of the 2000 cold rolling mill complex. Alexander Mukhin’s organizational talent will be implemented in a new direction for him - the formation of MMK’s technical policy. I am sure that one of the most difficult tasks is the implementation of the policy. Grigory Shchurov will be able to successfully solve the field of labor protection and ecology, and solve it in close connection with the technical policy of the plant. Sergei Nenashev will have to take responsibility for one of the most significant vectors of the plant’s development - commercial. I congratulate my colleagues on their new appointments and sincerely wish them further success in their new positions."
In turn, NLMK Group announces the appointment of Anatoly Hebnev as vice president for procurement and Dmitry Kolesov as vice president for repair management system.
The position of Vice President for Repair Management System has been created for the first time in the NLMK Group. Dmitry Kolesov has worked in the company as director of planning and organization of repairs since 2016.
Since 2012, Anatoly Hebnev has held the position of Deputy Vice President for Procurement of the NLMK Group. Vice President of Supply was Brijesh Garg, who moved to the newly created position of Director of Supply for NLMK International, the management company for the foreign assets of the NLMK group.
“In less than five years, Brijesh Garg created one of the best supply services in the Russian metallurgy - almost all key processes were automated, centralization of procurement of global categories of materials and raw materials began, and order processing times were significantly reduced. Now Brijesh will have to extend the group's successful experience to its overseas assets. The main task of Anatoly Hebnev in his new position is to further centralize procurement and, as a result, optimize the company’s expenses in this direction. Dmitry Kolesov, as vice president, will be responsible for implementing advanced equipment condition management systems and increasing the efficiency of repair work at the group’s enterprises,” NLMK Group President Oleg Bagrin commented on the appointments.
Anatoly Hebnev has been working in the NLMK group since 2005. He led the company's control inspection and the management of the implementation of the integrated SAP ERP information system. Since 2012, he held the position of Deputy Vice President for Purchasing. Before joining the NLMK group, he held senior positions in St. Petersburg companies. He graduated from the Baltic State Technical University with a degree in Pulse Heat Engines and the St. Petersburg International Institute of Management with a degree in National Economics and Law. Has an MBA degree.
Brijesh Garg has worked as Vice President of Supply for the NLMK Group since April 2012. He began his career in 1985 at Tata Steel (India) as a production engineer. Subsequently, he held various positions in this company, as well as at metallurgical enterprises New-Zealand Steel (BlueScope Steel, Australia) and ArcelorMittal, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.
Has 19 years of experience in supply chain management and business process reorganization at large metallurgical plants. Has 13 years of industrial engineering experience. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering, is a Certified SAP Solutions Consultant, and holds a CPIM (Production and Inventory Management) certification from the American Production and Inventory Society (APICS).
Dmitry Kolesov has been working for NLMK Group since June 2016. He began his career in companies in the mining and metallurgical industry in 1998. Since 2005, he has been the executive director of the Almaty Heavy Engineering Plant, and since 2006, he has been managing the SSM-Tyazhmash enterprise for five years " From 2013 before joining NLMK, he held senior positions at the United Aircraft Corporation. Dmitry Kolesov graduated from the Cherepovets State Industrial Institute with a degree in Lifting and Transport, Construction and Road Machinery and Equipment and the St. Petersburg State Technical University with a degree in Management.