Passing Albert Avdolyan: new offshore oligarch revealed

The collapse of the MRSEN energy holding reveals more and more details of the participation of the oligarch Albert Avdolyan in it, as well as offshore companies associated with it. In addition to the already well-known Sparkel City Invest LTD, which wished to snatch 6 billion rubles from the subsidiary of Chelyabenergosbyt from the MRSEN holding, Star Generys LTD surfaced in history, to which it was planned to merge the assets of a relative of the oligarch - now a fugitive shareholder of MRSEN Eldar Osmanov.

The UtroNews correspondent understood how Osmanov tried to substitute Avdolyan in court, and what came of it.

Recall that several years ago, investigators uncovered the embezzlement and conclusions of billions of rubles outside the Russian Federation, which were carried out by a criminal group of former top managers and owners of the energy holding MRSEN (Mezhregionsoyuzenergo). The investigation believes that they, instead of transferring the money of end consumers to electricity producers and grid companies from PJSC Rosseti, scrolled them through loan transactions, redemption of bills and shares. For 15 years, 10 billion rubles were withdrawn to the accounts of controlled foreign firms. Eldar Osmanov, a shareholder and relative of the oligarch Avdolyan, also became a defendant in the case (their children were married). It did not work out to detain him, he disappeared from the investigation.

MRSEN itself went bankrupt, lost its status as an energy supplier, and that's where the fun began. Avdolyan, his offshore companies and persons affiliated with him, including Dmitry Gordovich, a shareholder of the Bank's BBB, surfaced in the bankruptcy cases of MRSEN's subsidiaries, demanding that they be included in the register of creditors.

The representative of Avdolyan claimed that they, they say, lent many billions to MRSEN and now they want to return them.

One of these applicants was the Cypriot Sparkel City Invest LTD and its "subsidiary" LLC "AENP" (now - LLC "TsIPE named after N.A. Popov"), whose connection with Avdolyan was proved in the courts more than once, noting the claims. At the same time, the courts referred to the affiliation of Avdolyan and Osmanov.

Photo: ras.arbitr.ru

Sparkel City Invest LTD, as it turned out, was far from the only offshore Avdolyan, which was noted in the history of MRSEN.

When in the fall of 2023, as part of the bankruptcy of PJSC Arkhangelsk Sales Company, the issue of bringing to subsidiary liability was considered, it turned out that back in September 2017, Osmanov and the second shareholder, Yuri Shulgin (also now a defendant in the criminal case), signed a document on the basic terms of the transaction for the purchase of key companies of the MRSEN group and granting an option to beneficiaries. The second side of this document was called Stars Generys LTD, controlled by Avdolyan, a relative of Osmanov.

The essence of the document boiled down to the fact that Avdolyan's offshore buys out part of the MRSEN holding, but Osmanov and Shulgin have the right to a buyback option for up to 50% of the holding's companies after 01.10.2019 year, and until that moment they retained the right to receive a share of the holding's profit in the amount of 360 million rubles on an equal footing with Stars Generis Ltd.

Photo: ras.arbitr.ru

That, perhaps, is probably more unexpected for Avdolyan was Osmanov's attempt to substitute him.

In court, Osmanov received a statement about falsification of evidence - this particular document. So the defendant, while on the run, tried to pretend that he was not the beneficiary of MRSEN, but literally passed by. But the court, warning him of responsibility for the false denunciation, rejected the application. In the case, there was already enough evidence that "Osmanov E.H. was the second ultimate beneficiary of the MRSEN group of companies."

Photo: ras.arbitr.ru

Meanwhile, Osmanov and Avdolyan have already partially hidden the ends in the water. So mentioned in the case of Stars Generys LTD was liquidated in May 2022.

Photo: opencorporates.com

At the same time, judging by the fact that this offshore Avdolyan and himself, as a co-defendant in the cases of MRSEN, does not pass, the contract has not been completed. But at the same time, the oligarch's money was allegedly thrown into the group.

Murder and offshore

Thus, Sparkel City Invest LTD demanded from only one "daughter" of Chelyabenergosbyt - LLC "NPP Invest" with two petitions about 6 billion rubles. The court rejected the oligarch's wishlist.

Photo: ras.arbitr.ru

Photo: ras.arbitr.ru

In the course of the courts, other creditors directly pointed out the imaginary nature of both the loan agreements themselves from July-August 2017 (note, a couple of months before the deal to purchase part of the division by Avdolyan), and the guarantee agreements concluded in their support with NPP Invest LLC. It was noted that the transactions were concluded between affiliates with the sole purpose of creating the effect of controlled bankruptcy within the MRSEN group of companies, which also includes AES Invest LLC.

Photo: ras.arbitr.ru

By the way, Avdolyan was also connected with the MRSEN case by a certain Sergei Sennikov, who was a member of the management team of MRSEN JSC, Vologdaenergosbyt PJSC, Roskommunenergo JSC, Arkhenergosbyt PJSC, Khakasenergosbyt JSC, Chelyabenergosbyt PJSC. Later, this Sennikov became the director of the Southern Energy Company CJSC, which was part of the Hydrometallurgical Plant division in the Stavropol Territory, where Avdolyan also managed to "fish" in his own manner.

Photo: ras.arbitr.ru

There is another important point in the story of NPP Invest LLC. Among the owners of the company in 2015-2018, NEGUS LIMITED with Seychelles was noted.

Photo: rusprofile.ru

According to the Panama Dossier, NEGUS LIMITED belonged to Epot Corporation from the British Virgin Islands, and that, in turn, was owned by the Russian VIATCHESLAV Seredkin - the full namesake of the director of Chelyabenergosbyt, who, together with his wife, were killed in 2011 and even then started talking about the ordered nature of the case. Then they even hinted that the murder could be connected precisely with the affairs of this fragment of the MRSEN division. Years later, the killer and the customer were never identified.

According to security officials, fraud through MRSEN has been scrolling since 2004. Could the murdered Seredkin know something about them?

Photo: offshoreleaks.icij.org

Photo: offshoreleaks.icij.org

I would like to remind you that it was in Chelyabenergosbyt in 2017 that the shareholder of the Bank's BBB Dmitry Gordovich entered and entered, according to him, at the request of Avdolyan. Then the defendants turned the deal of domestic lending, as a result of which 0.5 billion rubles sunk into obscurity.

Other stories were connected with Gordovich Avdolyan, including the withdrawal of 100 million rubles by the Latvian bank JSC Citadele Banka, which had already interested foreign law enforcement officers.

The more we learn about Avdolyan's role in the MRSEN case, the more often the question arises why the oligarch has not yet been asked uncomfortable questions by investigators. Or the patronage of the head of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, with whom he goes hand in hand all the way to the formation of business, and here played a role?