Votinov Rosneft arrested. Statement of PJSC NK Rosneft regarding the refusal to extradite the former vice-president of Rosneft Andrey Votinov

Rosneft Andrey Votinov. Russia is charging him with fraud. The defense insists that the case against Votinov is fabricated, as he "refused to participate in the corruption plan supported by Sechin and opposed the political support of Rosneft for the regime."

We have translated the court order and share with you the most interesting statements of the witnesses and the judge.

Hearings were held in the spring of 2018. The disposition at the beginning of the process was as follows: Russia requested Andrei Votinov, who is hiding in the UK, who is accused of several cases of fraud with Rosneft money at once. Votinov, through his lawyer, insisted that "the persecution is politically motivated and imposed by Igor Sechin, the chief executive officer of Rosneft, close to President Putin."

The prosecution stated that during the year in 2013-2014 Votinov rented for the Tuapse refinery, a subsidiary of Rosneft, an unfinished office building, transferring about 157 million rubles for this to his accomplice Alexandru Firichenko, then - the director of the All People Are Equal group of companies, which owned the building. During the hearings, other cases of fraud were also mentioned, in which, according to the investigation, Votinov was involved.

One of the first in the document is the testimony of a British political scientist specializing in Russian political processes, Professor Richard Sakwa. “Based on the evidence presented to the court, Professor Sakva was able to say that the persecution was initiated by Igor Sechin. He explained that Sechin was closely associated with President Putin, he ran Rosneft, and was involved in corporate raiding of various companies. He allegedly put pressure on Bashneft. According to Khodorkovsky, he initiated his prosecution in the Yukos case. He is part of security forces(in the English text - part of the siloviki), an influential caste that took on the role of defenders of the state.

Sakva said that the security forces “bribed the judiciary, especially the Investigative Committee Russian Federation". “Sechin is a very powerful man who recently framed a state minister and was behind his arrest on corruption charges after the latter brought money in a briefcase to a meeting with Sechin (so in the text of the British court ruling).”

The judge stressed several times that “when Sechin was called to testify, he refused four times because he was too busy,” and that by this alone he “created the impression that he was above the law.”

Other defense witness, co-owner and CEO construction company Graviton Alexander Yarchuk "explained that the first Graviton case was filed against him following a complaint by Igor Sechin from Rosneft to the Russian Interior Minister dated August 26, 2015." Yarchuk, whose extradition request was also sent by Russia, claims that he was "selected as a target for extradition because of his connection with Votinov."

Graviton signed a contract with a subsidiary of Rosneft - the same Tuapse refinery- dismantling of the old and installation of a new berthing facility. According to investigators, the work was not done in principle, and the management of the refinery, including its then general director Votinov, who signed the contract, kept the multi-million budget of the project. “Sechin said that after an internal audit by Rosneft, it turned out that a payment of 137.9 million rubles from the refinery company to the subcontractor Graviton had been made, although the work had not been completed in full. Votinov is not named in Sechin's letter. Yarchuk suggested that it would be unusual for Sechin to write a letter about such an ordinary case. Thus, Yarchuk believes that these charges were invented and politically motivated.”

In their evidence, the defense refers to a document signed by Sechin called "Action Plan", which, according to witnesses, describes in detail the stages of the prosecution of Votinov. However, the court did not attach much importance to this document, stating that it could be interpreted differently: the board of Rosneft, having learned about the possible impending fraud, provided for an action plan to detect and investigate it.

After hearing evidence, Senior District Judge Emma Arbuthnot agreed with much of the evidence regarding figures of Igor Sechin. “I found out, and it is also recognized by Caudwell (Peter Caudwell, the representative of the Russian Federation in the case of the extradition of Votinov), that Sechin, the chief executive officer of Rosneft, is a very influential person, Putin's right hand and his close friend. I find that the complaints of Sechin and other important Rosneft managers are at the heart of the request. I acknowledge that there is evidence that Sechin was involved in corporate raiding in the past, as explained by a witness. I accept the testimony of Gladyshev (candidate legal sciences Vladimir Gladyshev, a Russian lawyer in London, invited by the expert as a specialist experienced in extradition cases), that “the ethic of achieving commercial, personal and political goals through blatant manipulation of the Russian legal system is deeply embedded in the corporate culture of the highest echelons of Rosneft. The controversial way in which Sechin acquired Bashneft's assets is also reflected in Gladyshev's report. Criminal and civil cases have been used against the company to obtain its assets."

“I accept that there is a lot of evidence pointing to Sechin’s involvement in appropriation of oil giant Yukos Rosneft. Sechin is well known as part of the siloviki who stand in defense of the state,” the judge announced. way to get everyone." The judge noted that "the tone of the conversation was in some cases threatening, and that it seemed that Sechin would use the power at his disposal to put pressure on others."

Emma Arbuthnot found it "an unusual feature of this case that Sechin, the CEO of a huge company, is personally involved in this process." In the end, she noted that “in the Russian Federation it is often difficult to distinguish between politics and business”, as happened in this case.

The court refused to extradite Votinov to Russia, as "this is one of those exceptional cases where the defendant showed that there is a real risk that he will suffer from a gross violation of the norms of justice" in the event of extradition.

Andrey Votinov lost his position as vice president of Rosneft in 2014 due to a series of scandals related to fraud with the money of the state corporation. Votinov himself claims that he was set up by the top management of the company. Now he is in London. In Russia, criminal cases have been opened against him.

Andrey Votinov //Photo: cryptopilot.ru

Law enforcement authorities suspected Andrey Votinov, former vice president of Rosneft for capital construction, and Alexander Firichenko, deputy of the Tuapse City Council, of embezzling 114 million rubles. The accomplices caused major damage to the state corporation with the help of an agreement on the sublease of land owned by Rosneft.

According to Kommersant, criminal cases against the former vice-president of NK Rosneft for capital construction Andrey Votinov and the ex-general director of the construction LLC Group of Companies All People Are Equal, deputy of the Tuapse City Council Alexander Firichenko and North Caucasian federal district filed under Part 4 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud committed by a group of persons on an especially large scale). During the investigation, it was established that in June 2012 Andrey Votinov, who then headed LLC RN-Tuapse Oil Refinery (Rosneft), together with the deputy of the Tuapse city council and the general director of the construction group All People Are Equal, Alexander Firichenko, as well as others by unidentified persons decided to commit the theft of funds from the refinery by breach of trust. According to investigators, the All People Are Equal Group of Companies was established by Andrey Votinov and controlled by him. A sublease agreement was concluded between the construction company and the Tuapse refinery land plot with total area 17.2 thousand sq. m (Tuapse, Sochinskaya street, 3) in the amount of 113.8 million rubles. This land belonged to the administration of the Krasnodar Territory and was leased from the Civil Code. Investigators believe that Andrey Votinov and Alexander Firichenko were aware that this plot of land could not be used in full by the Tuapse Oil Refinery, since the All People Are Equal Group of Companies plans to erect buildings and structures on it. Nevertheless, according to the materials of the investigation, Andrey Votinov was able to convince the management of Rosneft Oil Company of the need to conclude a sublease agreement and pay for it. According to the documents available to the investigators, from October 2012 to February 2015, Alexander Firichenko, acting according to a previously agreed plan with Andrey Votinov, organized the construction of a warehouse with an area of 5.6 thousand square meters on this site. m, administrative building with an area of 6.4 thousand square meters. m and a dining area of 2.7 thousand square meters. m, owned by GK. At the same time, the employees of the Tuapse refinery, according to the case, at the direction of the general director Andrey Votinov, transferred 113.8 million rubles from the settlement account of the plant to the settlement accounts of OOO GC All People Are Equal. for the lease of land that was actually used by the construction company. Thus, sums up the investigation, Andrey Votinov and Alexander Firichenko, acting on a preliminary conspiracy, abducted cash The refineries disposed of them at their own discretion and caused damage to Rosneft in the amount of 113.8 million rubles.

According to Kartoteka.ru, All People Are Equal Group LLC was registered in 2007 in Tuapse, the main activity is the construction of buildings, the founder of the organization is Eizan Limited (British Virgin Islands).

So far, Rosneft has not commented on this situation. Meanwhile, Mikhail Maslov, the current general director of All People Are Equal Group LLC, denies that the company is controlled by Andrey Votinov, claiming that foreign shareholders appointed him to the position. According to Mr. Maslov, a criminal case against the former general director of the construction company, Alexander Firichenko, was initiated immediately after the Krasnodar arbitration ordered LLC RN-Tuapse Oil Refinery to pay the company a debt and a penalty in the amount of 95 million rubles. for late payments on four leases. “The Tuapse ten-story building, built and owned by LLC GC All People Are Equal, is actually owned by Rosneft Oil Company. Although the criminal case has not yet been investigated, the building has already been transferred to the oil company for storage as an interim measure, and now employees of the Tuapse refinery are working there,” said Mr. Maslov. He notes that the construction company estimates the cost of the building at 1 billion rubles, and the debt of Rosneft to the company as of March 2016, according to him, is 575 million rubles. The CEO also noted that the arbitration claims of the Tuapse Oil Refinery against the construction group of companies for the recognition of lease agreements as invalid and the return of funds were filed this year after a change in the management team at the refinery.

Prepared by Denis Tverdov

The security forces began to investigate the case of Andrey Votinov, former Vice President for Capital Construction of Rosneft Oil Company.

The Investigative Committee suspects not only Votinov of corruption, but also the ex-director of the All People Are Equal group of companies, deputy of the Tuapse City Council Alexander Firichenko.

The group was headed by Votinov, who managed the Tuapse oil refinery (refinery), established the construction company All People Are Equal, and, together with Alexander Firichenko and other accomplices, stole 113.8 million rubles from Rosneft using a land sublease agreement.

Igor Sechin, of course, “did not notice” the loss.

The piquancy is that the materials of the investigation indicate: Andrey Votinov was able to convince the management of Rosneft Oil Company of the need to conclude a sublease agreement and pay for it. Here the question arises: how did he persuade the leadership? Did you give a bribe?

More specifically, from October 2012 to February 2015, Alexander Firichenko, acting according to a previously agreed plan with Andrey Votinov, organized the construction of a warehouse and other buildings on the site.

In turn, the employees of the Tuapse refinery, at the direction of the general director Andrey Votinov (!) transferred 113.8 million rubles from the settlement account of the plant to the settlement accounts of All People Are Equal Group LLC for the lease of a land plot that was actually used by a construction company.

It turns out that the accomplices stole the funds of the refinery, disposed of them at their discretion and caused damage to Rosneft in the amount of 113.8 million rubles. And all this with the tacit consent of Sechin ...

Rosneft does not comment on the situation.

After all, Andrey Votinov is not just a member of " United Russia", who at the beginning of 2013 became a member of the board of Rosneft and its vice president for capital construction. He, Votinov, distinguished himself by the fact that he was able to return the Tuapse refinery and RN-Tuapsenefteprodukt under the control of Rosneft, for which Sechin thanked him.

But, apparently, gratitude was not enough, and Mr. Votinov decided to turn the case on 113.8 million rubles with the consent of the leadership.

"No pity"

On whom, on whom, but on the top management, Rosneft does not save. In 2015, Rosneft published data according to which 13 top managers, including Igor Sechin, earned 2.8 billion rubles in the crisis year of 2014. Mr. Sechin "earned" a billion rubles from this amount! Against the background of the crisis, payments from a budget oil company to one person of such an amount looks like a spit from the public.

Recall that at the end of August 2013, Rosneft paid shareholders more than 85 billion rubles - 25% of net profit (Sechin owned at that time 0.0075% of the shares - for $ 5 million). By August 29, 2013, Sechin brought his share in the company's equity to 0.0849%, acquiring shares for almost 2 billion rubles, including through a bank loan. Motivating the increase in his share, Sechin explained that Rosneft shares are undervalued, and he considers investing in the development of his company a positive trend for management.

Igor Sechin, President of the oil and gas company Rosneft

At the beginning of 2014, Igor Ivanovich announced another mass purchase of shares by top managers of a state-owned company. The assets were bought by 16 top managers, their total share increased from 0.13324 to 0.185042%. The largest stake was acquired, of course, by Igor Ivanovich Sechin. Its share has changed from 0.0849 to 0.1273%, and at the close of trading on Tuesday on the Moscow Exchange was worth more than 3.1 billion rubles.

On loans from state banks and huge dividends from top managers, the president of Rosneft amassed a multi-billion dollar fortune (the energy company's assets alone are estimated at 3 billion rubles). For a billion, Igor Ivanovich will be able to buy himself more shares and live on dividends.

By the way, since the foundation of the company, every year the level of Rosneft dividends has grown by 50%, until in 2011 it reached a third of net profit. In 1999, the oil giant's dividends were 3.4%, in 2011 and 2012 - 33% and 25%, respectively, and continue to grow.

"The law is not written"

Even in their best years Rosneft had to account for violating antitrust laws.

So, in October 2009, the Federal Antimonopoly Service imposed a fine on Rosneft in the amount of almost six billion rubles for the abuse of a monopoly position in the wholesale market of petroleum products recorded in the first half of 2009.

As the FAS then calculated, these actions led to an increase in prices in the wholesale markets of motor gasoline, diesel fuel and aviation kerosene in the first half of 2009. And in December 2011, Rosneft was fined again in a new antimonopoly case. The company was fined 2 billion rubles for “abuse of a dominant position by establishing and maintaining a monopoly high price for diesel fuel and jet fuel in the 4th quarter of 2010 - January 2011”. But it seems that now they have managed to “agree” with the FAS.

Last year, it turned out that Igor Sechin's Rosneft wants to hide part of the tenders. Mr. Sechin personally sent a letter to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev insisting that "the interests of control must be combined with the observance of trade secrets."

If you understand the veiled wording, it becomes clear that Rosneft is proposing to allow state-owned companies not to publish the initial maximum purchase price for “unique or technically sophisticated equipment.”

In February this year, Sechin was joined by Alexei Miller, head of Gazprom. Top managers asked Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to withdraw most of their transactions from the law "On Public Procurement". On the sidelines they say that the managers will soon "put the pressure on Medvedev."

"Everyone is walking!"

People from Rosneft are used to being paid for by the “parent company”. The Alliance Oil holding, which is part of Eduard Khudainatov's NOC, may soon become bankrupt. And it immediately became clear that a company led by Igor Sechin could buy out a private company.

Alliance Oil has a high leverage of 3.6 EBITDA and net debt of $1.9 billion. Almost 70% of the company's debt is denominated in dollars, while 68% of the proceeds from the sale of oil, on the contrary, are in rubles. But Igor Ivanovich and the Russian budget really need a loss-making company. After all, it is headed by Khudainatov.

Mr Khudainatov is Sechin's favorite. Eduard Khudainatov came to the position of vice president of Rosneft back in 2008. Already in 2010, Khudainatov became a shareholder of Rosneft - almost immediately after his appointment as president.

His predecessor Sergei Bogdanchikov sold his entire stake (0.0012%). And Khudainatov bought 0.0028% on the same day (the transaction amount is two million dollars). Taking into account the latest acquisition, his stake in Rosneft now stands at 0.0483%, and its value is approximately 40 million.

Eduard Khudainatov, owner of JSC "Independent Oil and Gas Company"

Khudainatov is not just a top manager of Rosneft. He and his relatives have been in the oil business since the early 1990s. Khudainatov in 1993 was vice-president of the Evikhon oil company in the Khanty-Mansiysk Okrug, created by a government decree in 1992 (it developed the Upper Salym, West Salym and Vadelyp fields).

Khudainatov's wife Marina was a co-owner of the Salymneftservis company, which had gas stations in the Tyumen region. Khudainatov's brother, Zhan Khudoynatov (as the surname is indicated in the register), headed the oil company Severneft (OOO NK Severneft), which owns a license for geological exploration and production of hydrocarbons within the West Yarokhinskiy license area in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

Reverta (until 2012 - Parex banka) is trying to bring the Khudainatov family to justice. The Bank of Latvia lent them $75 million, which Zhan Khudainatov, as the general director of Severneft, received for the project of the future gas processing plant in Novy Urengoy.

By the way, Severneft became the guarantor of the loan, and the brother of Eduard Khudainatov provided security - a license to develop the Zapadno-Yaroyakhinsky field with recoverable oil reserves of 25 million tons and gas reserves of 17 billion cubic meters. m, as well as commercial production of 1 billion cubic meters. m of gas per year. In 2011, a family of reputable state oilmen decided that they could not repay their debts.

Severneft self-liquidated, reissuing a license for the Severneft-Urengoy company, and then sold it to the owner of Evrokhim, Andrey Melnichenko.

One can imagine how Eduard Yurievich will consolidate the business. Moreover, in parallel, the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the YNAO is investigating the activities of Zhan Khudoynatov, managers Mikhail Avsyannikov and Sergey Skuridin, suspecting them of fraud on an especially large scale and attempted deliberate bankruptcy.

It seems that it is becoming a tradition to "excuse" your partners and friends from the law. A top manager lives by the principle "everything is for friends, the law is for enemies." True, the enemies are rather personal. But there are still people in law enforcement agencies who, by all appearances, believe in the law. Hence the beginning of the investigation into Votinov's activities. The case could lead to the resignation of Sechin himself.

mbk.sobchakprotivvseh.ru

From left to right - Sechin, Votinov, Putin (visit to the Tuapse refinery). Photo by RIAN

Westminster Magistrates Court decides not to extradite Russia former vice president Rosneft Andrey Votinov. Russia is charging him with fraud. The defense insists that the case against Votinov is fabricated, as he "refused to participate in the corruption plan supported by Sechin and opposed the political support of Rosneft for the regime."

We have translated the court order and share with you the most interesting statements of the witnesses and the judge.

Hearings were held in the spring of 2018. The disposition at the beginning of the process was as follows: Russia requested Andrei Votinov, who is hiding in the UK, who is accused of several cases of fraud with Rosneft money at once. Votinov, through his lawyer, insisted that "the persecution is politically motivated and is being imposed by Igor Sechin, the chief executive officer of Rosneft, close to President Putin."

The prosecution stated that during the year in 2013-2014 Votinov rented an unfinished office building for the Tuapse refinery, a subsidiary of Rosneft, transferring about 157 million rubles to his accomplice Alexandru Firichenko, then - the director of the All People Are Equal group of companies, which owned the building. During the hearings, other cases of fraud were also mentioned, in which, according to the investigation, Votinov was involved.

One of the first in the document is the testimony of a British political scientist specializing in Russian political processes, Professor Richard Sakwa. “Based on the evidence presented to the court, Professor Sakva was able to say that the persecution was initiated by Igor Sechin. He explained that Sechin is closely associated with President Putin, he runs Rosneft and has been involved in corporate raids on various companies. He, according to evidence, put pressure on Bashneft. According to Khodorkovsky, he initiated his prosecution in the Yukos case. He is part of security forces(in the English text - part of the siloviki), an influential caste that took on the role of defenders of the state.

Sakva said that the security forces "bribed the judiciary, especially the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation." “Sechin is a very powerful man who recently framed a state minister and was behind his arrest on corruption charges after the latter brought money in a briefcase to a meeting with Sechin (so in the text of the British court ruling).”

Another defense witness, co-owner and CEO of the construction company Graviton, Alexander Yarchuk, “explained that the first Graviton case was brought against him after a complaint from Igor Sechin from Rosneft to the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation dated August 26, 2015.” Yarchuk, whose extradition request was also sent by Russia, claims that he was "selected as a target for extradition because of his connection with Votinov."

Graviton signed a contract with a subsidiary of Rosneft - the same Tuapse refinery- dismantling of the old and installation of a new berthing facility. According to investigators, the work was not done in principle, and the management of the refinery, including its then general director Votinov, who signed the contract, kept the multi-million budget of the project. “Sechin said that after an internal audit by Rosneft, it turned out that a payment of 137.9 million rubles from the refinery company to subcontractor Graviton had been made, although the work had not been completed in full. Votinov is not named in Sechin's letter. Yarchuk suggested that it would be unusual for Sechin to write a letter about such an ordinary case. Thus, Yarchuk believes that these charges were invented and politically motivated.”

After hearing evidence, Senior District Judge Emma Arbuthnot agreed with much of the evidence regarding figures of Igor Sechin. “I found out, and it is also recognized by Caudwell (Peter Caudwell, the representative of the Russian Federation in the extradition case of Votinov), that Sechin, the chief executive officer of Rosneft, is a very influential person, Putin's right hand and his close friend. I find that the complaints of Sechin and other important Rosneft managers are at the heart of the request. I acknowledge that there is evidence that Sechin was involved in corporate raiding in the past, as explained by a witness. I acknowledge the testimony of Gladyshev (Ph.D. Vladimir Gladyshev, Russian lawyer in London, invited by the expert as a specialist experienced in extradition cases) that “the ethic of achieving commercial, personal and political goals through blatant manipulation of the Russian legal system is deeply embedded in the corporate culture of the highest echelons of Rosneft. The controversial way in which Sechin acquired Bashneft's assets is also reflected in Gladyshev's report. Criminal and civil cases have been used against the company to obtain its assets."

“I accept that there is a lot of evidence pointing to Sechin’s involvement in appropriation of oil giant Yukos Rosneft. Sechin is well known as part of the siloviki, who stand in defense of the state,” the judge announced. “In a secretly recorded conversation, someone from Rosneft said that “if Igor Ivanovich [Sechin] gives the order, they will find a way to get everyone.” The judge noted that "the tone of the conversation was in some cases threatening, and that the impression was created that Sechin would use the power at his disposal to put pressure on others."

Offshore addresses of government officials: Yuri Solovyov (VTB), Nikolai Kosov (IIB), Mikhail Arustamov (Transneft), Andrey Votinov (Rosneft), etc.

Vedomosti took part in the international journalistic investigation about the owners of offshore companies, trusts and funds. The investigation began after the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung received documents on the beneficiaries of several thousand offshore companies, which were served by the largest registrar and consulting group Mossak Fonseca. The German newspaper shared the data with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which invited more than 300 journalists around the world to investigate the situation. In the materials about offshore companies there were traditionally a lot of Russians related to government agencies or politicians. Only a few addresses are mentioned in the photo gallery.

Yuri Solovyov

In the materials received by the Süddeutsche Zeitung and ICIJ, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of VTB Yuri Solovyov named as a British citizen. It is mentioned that his London address was an apartment at Thornwood Lodge Thornwood Gardens - a quiet green place between Holland Park and Kensington Gardens in central London.

British real estate websites indicate that the last transaction with this apartment was in 2006, and call its cost - 2.27 million pounds.

Nikolai Kosov

The Chairman of the Board of the International Investment Bank (which includes 9 member countries), Nikolai Kosov, in the materials received by the Süddeutsche Zeitung and ICIJ, is named as the beneficiary of two family trusts and companies owning real estate in the historic center of London.

In particular, several apartments at 52 Pall Mall, famous for its gentlemen's clubs in the Victorian era.

Right next to Kosovo's house is St. James's Palace, it can be seen from the window, and nearby is Piccadilly Circus.

Mikhail Arustamov

As the address of the former Vice President of Transneft Mikhail Arustamov in 2014, in the materials received by the Süddeutsche Zeitung and ICIJ, Cyprus is indicated, an apartment in a house on the seafront on Vasileos Georgiou Street A44 in Limassol.

Andrey Votinov

address former member of the Board of Rosneft, its former vice-president for capital construction Andrey Votinov, in the materials received by the Süddeutsche Zeitung and ICIJ, as of the summer of 2015, Monaco is named - 2 Avenue des Ligures 98000.

Votinov's apartment is located in a picturesque high-rise building just a couple of hundred meters from the sea.

Olga Babakova

Olga Babakova is a relative of a State Duma deputy from United Russia Alexandra Babakova also mentioned in connection with London. Her address in the materials obtained by the Süddeutsche Zeitung and the ICIJ is an apartment in Richmond Court 200 Sloane Street SW1X 9QU. On the ground floor - boutiques, and nearby Hydepark and Buckingham Palace.

Babakov, as the materials show, transferred to Olga Babakov in September 2011 the ownership of AED International (British Virgin Islands). Moreover, the request for the transfer of shares was received in 2013, and the administrators asked for the transfer to be dated 2011.

Votinov Rosneft arrested. Statement of PJSC NK Rosneft regarding the refusal to extradite the former vice-president of Rosneft Andrey Votinov