Luzhniki Group's Assets in Ukraine
Assets of Russian oligarchs in Ukraine. What they own
In Ukraine, courts have seized the assets of a Russian oligarchic group over the past few weeks. The companies were registered to EU citizens, but in reality, they were owned by a group led by the Deputy Speaker of the Russian State Duma, who made his fortune in Ukraine.
Read this article to find out what Russians owned in Ukraine and who registered the businesses to. OBOZREVATEL.
Russian oligarchs and politicians profited from Ukrainians: who will get their assets?
For years, Russian oligarchs and politicians had been buying up Ukrainian assets. As a result, by the time of the full-scale war, Russian citizens owned banks, industrial enterprises, and even a number of regional power companies.
OBOZREVATEL conducted a series of investigations, #StopMedvedchuk, and reported on dozens of Russians who continued to do business in Ukraine after February 24. Among them was the "Luzhniki group." Now that their assets have been seized by the courts, public attention must be focused on ensuring that their businesses don't end up under the control of their Ukrainian friends and managers, as often happens in similar situations.
The "Luzhniki Group" is a group of Moscow entrepreneurs who made a living at the Luzhniki clothing market back in the 90s. At the time, the profits from trade and smuggling were so high that many of these 90s businessmen made it onto the list of Russia's richest people. But the truly wealthy were those who found common ground with the Putin regime. The "Luzhniki Group" belong to this group.
Cast:
- Evgeny Giner is the president of CSKA Moscow, whose board of directors is chaired by Putin aide Maxim Oreshkin. He owns a number of businesses in Russia.
- Alexander Babakov, Deputy Speaker of the Russian State Duma, supports Russia's war against Ukraine.
In November, the Luzhniki brothers lost their most profitable assets in Ukraine. On November 9, news broke that Kyiv's Shevchenkivskyi District Court had transferred 88,89% of the shares of the First Investment Bank (PIN Bank) to ARMA.
Yevgeny Giner was the owner of the seized shares. This allows us to determine the list of his partners in Ukraine. Previously listed among the bank's owners were German citizen Oleg Sizerman, and Latvian citizens Altbergs Arturs, Vigants Valts, and Dambins Vilis.
These same individuals also own the company VS Energy in Ukraine. This means the business is effectively registered to the same people who previously owned their bank, along with Giner and Babakov. The group includes Khersonoblenergo, Zhytomyroblenergo, Chernivtsioblengo, Kirovogradoblenergo, and Rivneoblenergo. As with the bank, the court seized these assets.
It's worth noting that both Babakov and some of his associates are subject to sanctions. They have used their influence around the world. For example, the US has charged State Duma Deputy Speaker Babakov and two of his aides, Mikhail Plisyuk and Alexander Vorobyov, with conspiring "to act as unregistered agents of Russia," as well as with sanctions violations and visa fraud, according to the US Department of Justice.
How Babakov is hiding behind EU citizens
Babakov registered his energy assets in the names of EU citizens primarily to avoid sanctions. His managers constantly reminded him that there was no Russian connection, and that their shareholders were EU citizens. "The shareholders of the VS Energy group and VS Energy International Ukraine, which unites five energy distribution system operators (including Rivne Oblenergo) under a single management system, are EU citizens Valts Vigants (Latvia), Villis Dambins (Latvia), Arturs Altbergs (Latvia), Oleg Sizerman (Germany), and Marina Yaroslavskaya (Germany)," Rivne Oblenergo stated several months ago.
The assets were registered to Europeans
However, behind the "Europeans" are actually Babakov and his partners. For example, as the Latvian publication lsm.lv reported six years ago, citizens Villis Dambins and Valts Vigants appear in the Panama Papers. They were employees of the management services company VD Nominees, and in this capacity, they managed the firm AED International. From 2007 to 2011, the offshore company (based in the British Virgin Islands) AED International belonged to United Russia State Duma deputy Alexander Babakov.
In fact, the Luzhniki gang uses foreigners associated with them to protect themselves from potential sanctions, transferring businesses to each other, and likely continued to receive money from Ukraine even in the midst of a full-scale war.
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