EPK creates a joint venture with Timken. How to jump with a faulty parachute Alexander Viktorovich Moskalenko EPK biography
Why the world's largest bearing magnate is selling his companyYou wouldn’t wish the kind of fame that Oleg Savchenko and his European Bearing Company (EPC) gained six years ago on an enemy: the terrorist attack during the musical “Nord-Ost” took place in the cultural center of the Moscow Bearing plant owned by EPK. The whole country then studied the layout of the basements of the ill-fated recreation center. Oleg Savchenko doesn’t really like to remember those times.
Today, everything is calm at the Moscow plant of State Duma deputy from United Russia Oleg Savchenko. Part of the territory was occupied by the Amedia company, which produces the series “My Fair Nanny”, “Poor Nastya” and “Don’t Be Born Beautiful”. In three years, if everything goes according to plan, the landscape of the industrial zone will be completely transformed by the Galileo business park. Only the zone will most likely be controlled not by Savchenko, but by his old friend, the famous businessman Roman Abramovich. EPK is doing well, but Savchenko is determined to sell the company.
BECOMING
MAI graduate Oleg Savchenko went into business in 1992, starting with the banal supply of computers from Singapore. Later, he turned around, becoming a participant in transactions for the purchase and sale of such industrial assets as Kuznetsk Ferroalloys, Domodedovo Airlines, and Volgograd Khimprom. The rise came at the end of the 1990s, when Savchenko met the governor of the Chukotka District, Alexander Nazarov. Soon, the entrepreneur headed the off-budget Chukotka Economy Fund, through which food purchases were made for northern deliveries. When Abramovich became governor of Chukotka, Savchenko took his side, and this seems to have been a far-sighted move.
In 2003, Savchenko, by agreement with Abramovich, ceded to former member of the board of directors of Sibneft Ivan Kulakov the rich gold Mayskoye deposit, which he received at an auction in 1997. Kulakov included it in his gold mining company Highland Gold, the affairs of which, however, did not go well, although gold prices were rising: schedules for the development of gold mines were disrupted, and once people died in an accident at the mine. As a result, Abramovich bought the company. Savchenko, meanwhile, was forming a bearing holding and did not think that he would follow the same pattern.
The businessman was actively buying shares in bearing factories, not without problems. When he decided to run for governor of the Volgograd region, the Prosecutor General's Office suspected him of misusing funds from the Chukotka fund. In the end, no crime was found, but Savchenko did not make it to the governorship. But in 2003 he entered the State Duma, and last December he managed to retain his deputy seat.
47% such a share of the bearing market in Russia is controlled by Oleg Savchenko
Meanwhile, the company was developing successfully. Three years ago EPK occupied 38% of the Russian bearing market, now it is 47%. But today, the rapid growth of the company using exclusively its own resources has become impossible.
TECHNOLOGICAL DEADLOCK
To further develop the company and enter the world market, we need money and technology that Savchenko does not have. The entrepreneur, judging by his statements, has already done more for the industry than could be expected from a former computer salesman. “In principle, the bearing industry should have died,” says Savchenko. By 2008, a maximum of two plants could remain.” Out of 34, only a dozen factories survived, but in terms of technological level they were hopelessly behind foreign manufacturers. “We were not afraid as competitors and were allowed into all Western enterprises,” Savchenko recalls trips abroad to exchange experience. After them, we were left wondering how far behind we are in technology and whether it is worth engaging in this complex and unpromising business.”
The bearing market in Russia and the CIS is $0.9-1.2 billion per year. Over the past three years, it has grown by 40%, but domestic production has not become the main growth factor, notes Prospect Investment Company analyst Dmitry Parfenov. To reach the modern level, you need 20 years of scientific development with funding of hundreds of millions of dollars. “Previously, the country purchased 1,000 machines per year. Now there are only a few dozen,” says Hovhannes Durukhyan, head of the department of the industry association Non-Profit Organization “Bearing Concern,” upset.
The average service life of machine tools in Soviet times was 5-6 years, now it is all 20. Factories do not have money for modernization: with the national average profitability of the bearing business of 10%, you cannot find much for technological re-equipment. There are problems with raw materials. The bearing consists of 90% special steels, but metallurgists have difficulty providing bearing production with high-quality alloys, and in addition, they are constantly increasing their prices. The main enemies are competitors from Europe and especially China, where there are more than 200 bearing factories.
According to Durukhyan, Chinese products are 30-40% cheaper than their Russian counterparts. Therefore, even Russian manufacturers import: they import kits in disassembled form, assemble them and sell them as their own. The actual share of Chinese bearings in the domestic market has reached 15%. They began to fight with them. In November 2006, several Russian factories initiated an anti-dumping investigation, which lasted a year. Officials of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade found out that supplies of bearings from China for 2003-2005. increased more than 10 times. During the investigation, the interests of the Chinese were represented by the law firm Allbright Law Offices, which tried to prove that it was not China that was harming the industry, but the EPK itself as a monopolist. The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade did not believe the Chinese representatives. Now, instead of the previous 10%, a duty of 41.5% of the customs value has been introduced on Chinese bearings from mid-January for a period of five years. Savchenko's factories received a break, but the technology problem has not gone away.
PERESTROIKA
Why didn’t Savchenko try to sell obsolete production facilities earlier? Despite their technical backwardness, they had growth potential due to, strange as it may seem at first glance, the desire to modernize enterprises in other industries. “We foresaw that there would be a renewal of all sectors of the economy,” explains Savchenko. Most managers understand that they need to change equipment to more modern ones.” This means they will need bearings. As a result, Savchenko put together the EPK holding in eight years, which included the trading house of the same name and large bearing factories: Moscow, Volzhsky (Volgograd region), Samara, Saratov and Stepnogorsk (Kazakhstan). About $150 million was spent on the purchase, and about $75 million more on modernization. The dominant position in the market ensured the profitability of the plants was almost twice as high as the national average, 18-19%.
Some measures to increase efficiency were carried out quickly and without unnecessary costs; the organization of production at the factories that Savchenko inherited was so monstrous that it could be improved without huge costs. Take the same “Moscow Bearing”. “In 2000, we got it in an absolutely absurd form,” says Savchenko. Territory of almost 50 hectares. And so the part was transported from one corner on a truck to the exact opposite corner to make a blank. And then they returned it back.” Savchenko eliminated such bottlenecks. Then we optimized the staff. “There were three managers per worker,” says Savchenko. We tried to equalize: one worker for one manager.”
A plant in Kazakhstan that makes bearings for Russian Railways turned out to be very effective: the product range is small, the profitability is high (50-60%). The remaining factories, which produced 250-5000 standard sizes of bearings, had to specialize in producing only the most profitable products.
Now EPK controls 98% of the aircraft bearings market and 95% of the bearings market for Russian Railways. These are the most profitable areas that bring the company 65% of revenue and 40% of gross margin. With such luggage you can go to the counter.
EPK also has other achievements. “The most difficult thing we managed to do in eight years was to create a brand. This is the assessment of Western companies,” Savchenko is proud. Two years ago, EPK was able to agree on joint work between the Volzhsky plant and Daimler Chrysler in order to supply bearings to factories in Germany in the future. However, they say on the market that it’s not just about the brand: the negotiator with Daimler Chrysler from EPK was a specialist from the Volzhsky plant, who has been working with the Germans almost since the times of the USSR.
At the end of January, Savchenko managed to agree with one of the world leaders in the industry, the American Brenco, on the creation of a joint venture for the production of railway bearings of a new class. The deal, of course, increases the value of EPK; the company itself now estimates it at 7 EBITDA (in 2006 this figure was $59 million, and in 2007, according to preliminary estimates, it grew by 30%). Dmitry Parfenov from Prospekt Investment Company considers this assessment adequate.
Savchenko calls the partnership with Brenco a breakthrough. The businessman has been dreaming of an alliance with a specialized foreign investor for a long time. Back in 2002, EPK negotiated with the Swedish SKF and the German FAG, offering a 25% stake. It didn’t work out: the foreigners offered too low a price and insisted on obtaining a controlling stake in the future. They were also confused by the fact that EPK did not have IFRS reporting. It appeared in 2005, and Savchenko again began searching for investors.
FRIENDSHIP AND BUSINESS
But Savchenko also needs an alliance with Russian metallurgists in order to finally resolve the issue of the supply of special steels. Parfenov from Prospekt believes that the most profitable thing for EPK would be to merge with NLMK, Mechel or Alisher Usmanov’s Metalloinvest, which until recently provided 50% of special steel supplies to EPK. However, after Abramovich became a co-owner of Evraz, Savchenko hatched a plan to reach an agreement with the governor of Chukotka. The decision was influenced by the conflict with the former president of the YPC Artem Zuev.
The topic is sensitive, and both Zuev and Savchenko himself refused to comment on it. From the words of informed market participants, I came up with the following idea of what happened. The dispute arose over ownership of the EPC. Officially (see diagram) Savchenko has sole control of the company. However, he created it together with Zuev and another long-time friend, Alexander Moskalenko, and many in the market believed that both had a share. Now Moskalenko heads the Moscow representative office of Chukotka, and Zuev left the EPK in 2006. Sources say that before leaving, Zuev drew up a document according to which he owns 25% of the shares of EPK, and this package should be bought by Savchenko and Moskalenko. Savchenko’s position, according to the source, was that it was not about a share in the company, but about some kind of generous bonus for Zuev, about which there was a verbal agreement.
Savchenko and Zuev also disagreed on the future of the company. Zuev advocated expansion beyond Russia, where EPK had already captured the most attractive market segments. He wanted to create joint ventures in China and India. “We have not abandoned such plans. But for now there are still a lot of prospects in Russia,” Savchenko comments sparingly.
But the worst thing for him was that Zuev went to Usmanov’s Metalloinvest, that is, a potential threat loomed over the supply of special steel for bearings. Oleg Savchenko needed to protect his business. Inviting Roman Abramovich to the EPK in such conditions is an excellent option. In addition, Savchenko chose CMI Development, which has long been cooperating with Abramovich’s company Millhouse Capital, as a partner for the construction of the Galileo business park on the territory of the Moscow Bearing. Unless force majeure occurs, the deal between the longtime friends will take place within the coming weeks.
Anastasia Gerasimova
How to make $35 million in gubernatorial elections
Grigory Punanov
Izvestia has obtained documents that shed light on the fate of $35 million that disappeared from the Chukotka Economic Fund in 1999-2000. This money was intended for the needs of the autonomy, but was spent by the former director of the fund Oleg Savchenko and his deputy Alexander Moskalenko for completely different purposes. It was the disappearance of the “Chukchi millions,” which was revealed three months before the elections, that forced former governor Alexander Nazarov to withdraw his candidacy. As a result, Roman Abramovich took the chair of the head of Chukotka without a fight. After the victory, he did not offend with the attention of those who pulled the rug out from under their competitor’s feet, diverting government Chukchi money to the accounts of dubious commercial structures
Meet Oleg Savchenko, patriot and oligarch
Oleg Savchenko is the former director of the Chukotka Economic Fund. He was dismissed from this position on September 26, 2000 by the then governor Alexander Nazarov. Before managing the foundation, he was an assistant to the governor of Chukotka.
Born in Leningrad. Graduated from the Faculty of Aircraft Armament of the Moscow Aviation Institute. Professional handball player. He played for the team of the highest union league MAI and the Kuntsevo club. From 1991 to 1992 he played for one of the handball clubs in Spain. He invested the money he earned in the supply of computers from Singapore. In 1996, Savchenko was introduced to the governor of Chukotka, Alexander Nazarov.
Since his dismissal from the Chukotka Economic Fund, Oleg Savchenko’s career has taken a sharp rise. Today he is the president of the Nenets Pipeline Consortium. In addition, he controls two ball bearing plants: Moscow and Volgograd. In 2000 he created the Russian Bearing Company holding company. It included the scientific and technical enterprise "Meta", operating on the basis of the Penza Bearing Plant, the Moscow and Volzhsky Bearing Plants, and the trading house "Podshipnik" (Volzhsky).
In December 2000, he ran for the post of governor of the Volgograd region. Nobody knows how much he spent on the election campaign, but, according to political strategists who worked for him, the candidate spared no expense. Lost with 28% of the vote. Lagged behind the current governor Nikolai Maksyuta by only 8%.
He calls himself both an oligarch and a patriot. Claims to be a business partner of Roman Abramovich. He talks about himself like this (quote from Savchenko’s interview with Expert magazine):
I started out like all the other oligarchs. Remember, Fridman washed windows, Khodorkovsky brought computers from Singapore, Abramovich sewed children's toys. And I brought computer equipment and equipment from Asia. But then I realized that “buy and sell” is not my thing. I can be said to be a techie to death, or rather, by blood. My father is the chief technologist of the Kharkov Aviation Plant. I myself graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute, one of the most difficult faculties. That’s why I prefer machine tools, pieces of iron, and factories. And so I switched to bearings...
Chukotka wallet
The non-profit organization Chukotka Economic Fund (FEC) was created on the initiative of the governor of the autonomy, Alexander Nazarov, back in 1998. The FES charter states that the fund accumulates budgetary and extra-budgetary funds in its accounts, which, on behalf of the administration, are spent on the needs of the district and its residents. Thus, the fund was a kind of treasury of Chukotka. The main government and non-government loans, tax payments, and other budget revenues flowed here. And it was the fund that paid the main expenses for northern deliveries, capital construction and other economic needs of the autonomy.
Alexander Nazarov appointed his assistant Oleg Savchenko as the general director of the fund, bearing all financial responsibility for financial transactions. Now the former governor apparently regrets this, but then this young and active official seemed to him a reliable person who was not afraid to entrust huge amounts of money. Nazarov himself headed the fund’s board of trustees, and his competence included control over the expenditure of funds in the accounts of the Federal Charity Fund.
For the first year and a half everything went well. The money seemed to be spent on time, and there was complete mutual understanding between the governor and the general director of the FEC.
Around May 2000, Savchenko told Nazarov that he was going to run for governor of the Volgograd region. Nazarov asked: where did the money come from? Savchenko’s salary as the general director of the fund was $3,000 a month, but this money clearly could not be enough for the election campaign.
After this conversation, the director of the FEC disappeared somewhere and appeared in Chukotka only two months later, in July 2000. Nazarov’s entourage claims that the governor had already shown concern, but Savchenko swore: the money was in the fund’s accounts safe and sound.
It’s easy to guess that Alexander Nazarov was counting on this money more than ever: the elections scheduled for December 2000 were rapidly approaching. And in August the governor already sounded the alarm. LUKOIL, which gave the fund a loan and supplied petroleum products to Chukotka, demanded payment. But for some reason Savchenko delayed repaying the debt.
At the end of September, a frank conversation finally took place between Nazarov and Savchenko. Those around Nazarov describe this unpleasant scene this way. The governor first asked why Savchenko did not pay for gasoline. And Savchenko smiled, clapped his hands in front of Nazarov’s nose and cheerfully answered: “What money? There is no money!”
Alexander Nazarov himself, whom Izvestia asked to comment on the situation around the Chukotka Economic Fund, refused to answer our questions. He did not explain the reasons for the refusal.
Ends in the water
The day after the conversation with Savchenko, September 26, 2000, Governor Nazarov removed him from the leadership of the Fech. But Savchenko has already withdrawn all the money from the fund, distributing it in the form of loans and advances to various commercial organizations. Naturally, he transferred most of the Chukotka millions to companies that he personally controlled.
Nazarov immediately wrote a statement to the Prosecutor General's Office. Investigators arrived and seized documents from the fund, but that was all over. A criminal case has not yet been initiated.
The prosecutor's office transferred the seized materials to the Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Far Eastern Federal District, Vladimir Bazhutin, the current director of the Chukotka Economic Fund, told Izvestia. - And there they say that they do not yet see the elements of a crime in the actions of my predecessor Oleg Savchenko. Moreover, the investigator told me that the new administration of Chukotka does not contact law enforcement agencies with any statements.
Vladimir Bazhutin says that he is trying to return the money to the fund, but without the help of prosecutors and the Ministry of Internal Affairs he cannot cope with this task. Currently, various firms owe FES more than $35 million. It is known where this money disappeared. All payment orders in banks, of course, were preserved. But the problem is that along with the dismissal of Oleg Savchenko, all loan agreements disappeared from the fund.
As a result, we cannot demand the return of money from our debtors through the court,” says Vladimir Bazhutin. “To write a statement of claim, you need a loan or loan agreement. But we don't have them.
Bazhutin claims that the new administration, represented by Roman Abramovich, is doing everything to return the money to the Chukotka Economic Fund.
However, in practice everything looks a little different. Recently, the fund was evicted from the premises of the Chukotka representative office in Moscow. Neither Governor Abramovich nor any of his deputies wrote a single statement to the prosecutor's office demanding to find out where the money went. And in the prosecutor’s office of the Far Eastern District themselves they show strange and seemingly inexplicable lethargy when they mention that about 35 million government dollars are located in an unknown place and are not spent at all on the needs of the Chukchi.
And finally, the strangest thing. The former director of the fund, Oleg Savchenko, always calls himself Abramovich’s partner. And Savchenko’s former deputy Alexander Moskalenko today heads the Chukotka representative office in Moscow. Recently, Governor Abramovich gave him another position - he appointed him head of the fisheries department of Chukotka. At the same time, according to employees of the Chukotka administration, the current governor is well informed about where Moskalenko previously worked and what exactly he did at the Chukotka Economic Fund.
It is unknown when Moskalenko and Savchenko met Roman Abramovich. But they developed a particularly close relationship around the end of winter - beginning of spring 2000. Abramovich even took Moskalenko and Savchenko on work trips to Canada and Alaska...
Watch your hands
Alexander Nazarov, having fired Savchenko in September 2000, either pretended for a long time that he did not see anything, or really realized it too late. Because the first dubious transaction was carried out by Oleg Savchenko and his deputy Alexander Moskalenko back in December 1999. Then the FEC issued a loan in the amount of 238 million rubles to a certain OJSC "Maiskoye", where the general director was the same Savchenko, and his deputy was, again, Moskalenko. The editors have at their disposal a copy of the correspondence between the foundation and OJSC Mayskoye. To avoid writing letters to oneself, Savchenko and Moskalenko always appear in different guises. Then Savchenko, acting as director of the fund, writes to his deputy Moskalenko in Mayskoye. On the contrary, Moskalenko, representing the fund, writes to Savchenko, the head of Maysky.
Major sums, about $25 million, disappeared from the Chukotka Economic Fund in July, August and September 2000. According to the payment orders that the editorial office has at its disposal, it is clear that Savchenko gave out loans and transferred money to friendly companies almost daily, in small batches. In total, fourteen commercial structures were benefited in this way, according to Izvestia.
There is not enough space to list all the payments in the newspaper. Here are just a few of them:
Copy of payment order No. 216 dated August 7, 2000. 450 million was transferred to the account of OJSC Mayskoye under a loan agreement.
Copies of payment orders dated September 20, 25, 27. The fund transferred 100 million rubles to the account of a certain 2R Techno LLC.
There were also more accurate wiring.
Copies of payment orders dated June 26, August 16, September 25. The fund transferred 5.4 million rubles to the Roskomsnab company, the founder of which was, again, Oleg Savchenko himself.
Copies of payment orders dated August 3, 8, 9, 24, 30, 31 and September 4, 5, 6, 11, 13, 18 and 28. In total, the fund transfers 75 million rubles to Typhoon-West. The general director of Typhoon was Oleg Savchenko’s friend Artem Zuev. This person will still appear in our investigation.
And here is a copy of the payment order indicating the transfer of money from the Chukotka Economic Fund to the Skate Park company, the founder of which was Oleg Savchenko’s wife Alla. On August 7, 2000, 4.4 million rubles were transferred to the Skate Park account under a loan agreement.
These transfers are illegal even from a formal point of view. According to the fund's charter, it was possible to lend money to a company in which Savchenko himself was the founder or general director only with the permission of the board of trustees. However, Savchenko did not ask anyone for such permission.
The last transfer of money from the fund to the Typhoon-West company was dated September 28. The amount is 20 million rubles, or almost 700 thousand dollars. At this moment, Savchenko had already been removed from the management of the fund for two days.
It was no coincidence that the remaining money from the account of the Chukotka Economic Fund came to Typhoon. This company, which at that moment was headed by Artem Zuev, who was close to Savchenko, was to play an important role in the future in the life of the “patriot and oligarch.”
Moscow trace of Chukchi money
It is not easy to find out in detail how much money Oleg Savchenko used to buy shares of the Volzhsky Bearing Plant (JSC VPZ-15) in 1999: more than two years have passed since then. However, it clearly could not have happened without Chukchi money.
One of the commercial structures that purchased shares of VPP was JSC Roskomsnab. As mentioned above, the founder of Roskomsnab was Savchenko himself. At the same time, in 1999, Roskomsnab also received generous loans from the Chukotka Economic Fund. Now, of course, the shares of Volzhsky Bearing have been transferred to offshore companies controlled by Savchenko. From the register of shareholders of the plant it is clear that 60% of the shares of VPP are owned by Exmore Ltd, Mate Corporation Ltd and Vokom Trade.
But as for the purchase of shares of the Moscow Bearing (MP) plant in the fall of 2000, everything is very clear here. In the capital, the trace of the “Chukchi millions” is visible to the naked eye. 1.5% of MP shares were purchased by the same company, Roskomsnab. And 38% was acquired by the Typhoon-West company.
The editors have at their disposal an extract from the personal account of the Typhoon company at VDNKh Bank. From this document it follows that on July 27, 2000, the first 3 million rubles appeared here - a loan from the Chukotka Economic Fund. Since July 31, Typhoon has been gradually cashing out money for the purchase of securities. The purchase of Moscow Bearing shares from plant employees begins. As a result, by November 2000, Typhoon had spent about 60 million rubles on securities and already controlled up to 38% of MP shares. Later, he transferred them to the same offshore companies that nominally control Volzhsky Bearing today: Vocom Trade, Mate corporation Ltd and Exmore Ltd.
On November 9, a revolutionary meeting of shareholders was held at the Moscow Bearing Plant. The former leadership of MP, together with minority shareholders, achieved through the arbitration court that this meeting was declared illegal. However, Oleg Savchenko and his assistants still changed power, placing their man Nikolai Pleshakov in the chair of the plant director.
The former head of Moscow Bearing and the shareholders who support him have already won seven cases in the arbitration court. Every time they manage to prove that the appointment of a new director and the election of a new board of directors, which includes Oleg Savchenko, is illegal. But after each verdict, the new shareholders hold another meeting. And the old team has to go to court again.
The residents of Chukotka could be congratulated - with a slight allowance for madness, they should be considered the owners of a profitable Moscow enterprise. However, after a change in management, MP sharply became unprofitable. From the accounting report of Moscow Bearing it follows that the plant’s net profit in 1999 amounted to 73 million rubles. Net profit for nine months of 2000 was 46 million rubles. In November the management changes - there is no longer any profit in the final report for 2000. Only losses amounting to 4.5 million rubles.
Epilogue
Roman Abramovich recently declared Chukotka bankrupt. This is true. But if he can return $35 million to the Chukotka Economic Fund, the district will seriously improve its financial situation.
It is not so difficult for the new governor to do this. One has only to talk to Oleg Savchenko, who likes to boast to journalists of his friendship with Roman Arkadyevich. Or ask: “Where is the money?” from the former financial director of the fund, Alexander Moskalenko, whom Abramovich himself appointed head of the Chukotka representative office in Moscow and gave the post of director of the fisheries department of the autonomy. Moskalenko left the fund in the spring of 2000, but nevertheless, he was directly involved in the first transfers of money to OJSC Mayskoye.
However, for some reason Roman Abramovich is in no hurry. The following explanation can be found for this: Savchenko and Moskalenko did Roman Abramovich a favor. Before the elections, the current governor Nazarov was left without money. And the result of this “economic activity” is known: a few days before the elections, Nazarov withdrew his candidacy.
So, in Russia there is another way to get rich in elections. “You throw away the money” of the former governor, thereby forging a victory for the new authorities. And then it won’t ask you stupid questions. At least at first.
P.S.
Almost everyone with whom the Izvestia correspondent met while preparing this material complained about anonymous telephone calls. The current director of the Chukotka Economic Fund Vladimir Bazhutin, the former director of the Moscow Bearing Plant Vladimir Komarov and a small shareholder of MP Vladimir Bogatov claim that from time to time strangers with stern voices call them and offer to “not fuss”, “moderate their ardor” and generally “be quieter” .
Abramovich doesn't need that kind of help
Alexander Moskalenko, with whom the Izvestia correspondent managed to speak personally, said that he did not remember the details of the events discussed in the article, and advised him to contact the press service of the administration of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. The head of the information policy department, Sergei KAPKOV, agreed to answer Izvestia’s questions.
- According to our information, 35 million dollars withdrawn from the Chukotka Economic Fund in 1999-2000 have not yet been returned to the fund. Is the current administration, represented by Roman Abramovich and his deputies, taking any action to return these funds?
- Undoubtedly. We are trying to find them. But this is not so easy to do. Many documents have disappeared. As for the amount, I would not be surprised if it ultimately turns out that more than $35 million was taken from the fund. Representatives of the new administration did not directly contact law enforcement agencies with statements - this is not necessary, because Alexander Nazarov also wrote a statement to the prosecutor's office. Documents were seized, a criminal case has now been opened, and an investigation is underway.
- As far as we know, a criminal case regarding the disappearance of money from the fund has not yet been initiated.
I can’t say this for sure. But, according to my information, the investigation is still ongoing.
Judging by the documents that the editorial office has at its disposal, the withdrawal of money was directly carried out by the former director of the FEC, Oleg Savchenko. His former deputy Alexander Moskalenko also took some part in this. Now Moskalenko works as the head of the Chukotka representative office in Moscow. How can you explain this?
Indeed, the director of the fund was Oleg Savchenko. Yes, he signed payment documents. Yes, Moskalenko also did some of the work in the fund. But we believe that Savchenko was not the main initiator of the withdrawal of money. Someone must have been above him. As for Moskalenko, he was generally a simple performer.
- Who, in your opinion, was the initiator of the withdrawal of money?
- I can’t tell you, I don’t know. It’s better to let the investigation figure everything out.
According to our information, Alexander Nazarov refused to go to the polls precisely because all the money disappeared from the Chukotka Economic Fund. So the disappearance of these funds was certainly beneficial to Roman Abramovich. Does he have anything to do with the disappearance of the fund's money?
Of course not. I think it might have been something like this. Roman Abramovich announced that he would run for governor in August 2000. Oleg Savchenko probably decided that it was better to be on Abramovich’s team rather than Nazarov’s. Perhaps Savchenko thought that by withdrawing money from the fund, he was thereby helping Roman Arkadyevich. But Abramovich did not need such help.
Oleg SAVCHENKO: I closed all debts to the fund
You withdrew about $35 million from the Chukotka Economic Fund from December 1999 to September 2000 as loans. Why did you do this?
The fund's money was completely controlled by Governor Alexander Nazarov. Everyone in Chukotka remembers this. Even the cleaning lady’s salary was not given without his knowledge. All the transfers of money from the fund that you are talking about were either personally authorized by him or given his consent. I have not withdrawn a single ruble from the fund without agreeing with it.
You transferred 450 million rubles to Mayskoye OJSC, where you were a director. 10 million in Roskomsnab, where you were the founder, 75 million in Typhoon, 8 million in Skate Park, the founder of which was your wife. How legal are all these loans from your point of view? And why did Nazarov need this?
- "Mayskoye" is a mine. Nazarov wanted to attract Western investment there. To do this, the mine had to develop, so Nazarov transferred the loan there. As for Typhoon, Roskomsnab, Skate Park, here I guaranteed the repayment of the loan with interest. I have closed all debts to the fund. The loans were repaid, mainly with promissory notes. But where these bills are now, you need to ask the current management of the fund.
- Why were you fired from the fund?
The conflict with Alexander Nazarov arose because he wanted to spend the fund’s money on his election campaign. And I, as the general director of the FEC, refused to do this.
Can you provide documents confirming that Alexander Nazarov either authorized or knew about the transfers of money from the fund?
Unfortunately no. These documents disappeared from the fund when I was still the general director, but was on a business trip. Now I'm trying to restore them, but it's very difficult and takes a lot of time.
- According to our information, you bought the Volzhsky and Moscow bearing plants with FEC money. Is it so?
Shares in Volzhsky Bearing were bought up even before I became director of the fund. As for Moscow Bearing, its shares were purchased with commercial loans. Yes, including for FES loans, but they, as I already said, were repaid with interest.
The last transfer of money from the fund to Typhoon was dated September 28, 2000. At that moment you were no longer the director of the fund. How did you manage to transfer this money?
On September 26, they showed me a document stating that I was no longer working at the FEC, but I considered it legally untenable. Therefore, on September 28, I was still the director.
- It can be assumed that Roman Abramovich was behind the withdrawal of money from the fund, whom you thereby helped to be elected to the post of governor. Is it so?
- No. I repeat, it was not me, but Alexander Nazarov, who was behind the withdrawal of money. Neither I helped Abramovich in his elections, nor did he help me in mine.
- Who financed your elections in Volgograd?
There was my personal money and the money of Volgograd industrialists. I cannot mention their names without their permission.
General Director of JSC "NRK-R.O.S.T." (before renaming JSC “Registrar R.O.S.T.”)
Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC NRC-R.O.S.T.
JSC “NRK – R.O.S.T. Holding" .
- 1992-1994 - worked at the Property Fund of the Moscow Region.
- 1994-1996 - Moscow Regional Fund Center, established by the Moscow Region Property Fund and the Moscow Region Administration, General Director.
- 1996-2001 - Head of the specialized registrar CJSC Stock Registration Company.
- 1996-November 2015 - General Director of JSC Registrar R.O.S.T.
- December 2016-present - General Director of JSC NRC-R.O.S.T.
- March 2017-present - Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC NRC-R.O.S.T.
- July 2015-February 2019 - member of the Board of Directors of Independent Registrar Company JSC.
- July 2015-April 2017, February 2018-February 2019 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Independent Registrar Company JSC.
- August 2018-present - Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC St. Petersburg Central Registration Company.
Member of the Corporate Relations Committee of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. Since November 2006, he has been a Member of the Board of Directors of the Professional Association of Registrars, Transfer Agents and Depositories (PARTAD). Since April 2019, he has been a member of the Coordination Council of PARTAD - SRO NFA.
Higher education. In 1987 he graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute with a degree in aircraft control systems, and in 2000 he graduated from the Financial Academy with a degree in finance and credit.
Moskalenko Alexander Viktorovich
Share in the registrar's authorized capital is 9.3%. He is the owner of 50% of the authorized capital of JSC NRC – R.O.S.T. Holding" .
- 1996-2001 - worked in commercial structures, was engaged in foreign trade activities.
- 2001-2012 - served in the civil service in various positions in the Administration of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.
- 2009-February 2017 - Chairman of the non-profit organization “Association of Bearing Manufacturers”.
- 2012-present - Chairman of the Board of EPK JSC, which is the holding company of the EPK Industrial Group.
- July 2015-February 2019 - co-owner of Independent Registration Company JSC. Share in the authorized capital - 25%.
- December 2015 - February 2019 - Member of the Board of Directors of Independent Registrar Company JSC.
Higher education. In 1996 he graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute with a degree in economics, management of scientific research and design.
Savchenko Oleg Vladimirovich
Share in the registrar's authorized capital is 22.12%.
- 1995-2003 - successively led Volzhsky Bearing Plant OJSC, Nenets Pipeline Consortium CJSC, Moscow Bearing OJSC, European Bearing Corporation OJSC.
- 2000 - created the Russian Bearing Company holding.
- 2003-2016 - Deputy of the State Duma of the fourth convocation, fifth, sixth convocation, member of the Committees of the State Duma of the Russian Federation on industry, construction and high technology.
- March 2017-present - Member of the Board of Directors of JSC NRC-R.O.S.T.
- July 2015-February 2019 - Co-owner of Independent Registration Company JSC. Share in the authorized capital - 25%.
- April 2017-February 2019 - Member of the Board of Directors of Independent Registrar Company JSC.
Higher education. In 1989 he graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute with a degree in Automatic Systems and Drives. Candidate of Technical Sciences. Laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of science and technology.
Tyryshkin Ivan Alexandrovich
Share in the registrar's authorized capital is 24.9%.
- 1993-1996 - Department of Economic Analysis of the Department of Economic Analysis and Development of Banking Activities of Vneshtorgbank of Russia, where in three years he worked his way up from an economist to deputy head of the department.
- 1996-1997 - Advisor to the Department for regulating the activities of professional stock market participants, Federal Commission for the Securities Market.
- 1997-1998 - Head of the Department for regulating the activities of trade organizers on the securities market, brokerage, dealer and depository activities of the Federal Securities Commission of Russia.
- 1998-2001 - Head of the Department for regulating the activities of professional participants in the securities market of the Federal Securities Commission of Russia.
- 1998-2001 - Chairman of the Board of NAUFOR.
- 2001-2003 - President, Non-profit Partnership "RTS Stock Exchange".
- 2003-2004 - President of Russian Grain LLC.
- 2004-2006 - Senior Executive Director, United Financial Group.
- 2004-2015 - Head of JSC Rusgrain Holding.
- 2006-2008 - Executive Director, Internet broker "Aton-Line".
- March 2017-present - Member of the Board of Directors of JSC NRC-R.O.S.T.
- July 2015-February 2019 - Co-owner of Independent Registration Company JSC. Share in the authorized capital - 25%
Currently, Ivan Tyryshkin also holds the position of Development Director, SKRIN JSC.
Ivan Tyryshkin graduated from the Russian Economic Academy. Plekhanov with a degree in Finance and Credit in 1995.
Komarov Mikhail Viktorovich
- 1995-1997 - service in the investigative units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.
- 1997-2003 - worked as a lawyer and practice manager at Consulting-Service LLC and Sovetnik KA.
- 2009-present - Chairman of the Gazyurconsulting Bar Association (Moscow).
- March 2017-present - Member of the Board of Directors of JSC NRC-R.O.S.T.
- July-December 2015, April 2017-February 2019 - Member of the Board of Directors of Independent Registrar Company JSC.
In 2003, he was granted the status of lawyer.
Higher education. In 2000 he graduated from the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov.
Mikheeva Galina Vladimirovna
There is no share in the authorized capital of the registrar.
- 2001-2005 - Deputy General Director of JSC Tralflot for investment activities and financial reporting.
- 2005-2007 - Carried out the preparation and control over the execution of the consolidated budget of the holding and the transformation of reporting according to IFRS in the company “Millhouse capital”.
- 2007-present - Financial director of the holding company of the production and industrial group "EPK".
- March 2017-present - Member of the Board of Directors of JSC NRC-R.O.S.T.
- July 2015-February 2019 - Member of the Board of Directors of JSC Independent Registrar Company.
Higher education. In 2001, she graduated from the Academy of National Economy under the Government of the Russian Federation with a degree in Finance and Credit, and is a participant in the Presidential Management Training Program with a specialization in Financial Management of Companies and Risk Management.
Burlakova Tatyana Evgenevna
There is no share in the authorized capital of the registrar.
- 1996-2004 - Deputy General Director of JSC Registrar R.O.S.T.
- 2004-2013 - Deputy General Director for Development of JSC Registrar R.O.S.T.
- 2015-February 2019 - Director of Marketing and Business Development at Independent Registrar Company JSC.
- 2013-2015, 2016 to present - Deputy General Director for work with VIP clients of JSC NRC-R.O.S.T.
- November 2017-present - Member of the Commission on Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
Higher education. In 1978, she graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute with a degree in aviation instrument making and qualification as an electrical engineer. In 2003, she graduated from the Academy of National Economy under the Government of the Russian Federation under the Business Education program. In 2015, she graduated from the advanced training program at Moscow State University with a specialization in “Independent Director”. Included in the register of independent directors of RIA.
Krupnov Pavel Borisovich
There is no share in the authorized capital of the registrar.
- 2006-2007 - Analyst in the corporate finance department of Kylla Group, Amsterdam. Specialization: M&A transactions and raising financing for mid-cap companies in Central and Western Europe.
- 2007-2009 - Investment Manager, Neva-Rus Investment Fund, Moscow.
- 2009-2011 - Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA), London, business development manager in Russia and the CIS.
- 2011-2015 - Deputy General Director, Head of the Corporate Finance Department of Russian Grain LLC (Rusgrain Holding OJSC).
- 2015-present - General Director of CG Capital LLC.
- February 2018-February 2019 - Member of the Board of Directors of Independent Registrar Company JSC.
Higher education. In 2007 he graduated from Saxion University (Netherlands) and the State University of Management with a degree in commercial economics and marketing. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA Charterholder) qualification.
Alexander Moskalenko was born on November 4, 1969 in the village of Pereyaslovskaya, Bryukhovetsky district, Krasnodar region. Father - Moskalenko Nikolai Ivanovich. Mother - Moskalenko Tamara Petrovna. Alexander was noted to have an overly active temperament from a very early age. To direct their son’s energy in a useful direction, his parents sent him to the trampoline from the 1st grade. The harsh sports routine began: at six in the morning - getting up, before school - the first training session, after lunch - the second.
Moskalenko's first coach was Honored Coach of the RSFSR Anatoly Rusin. It was he who brought from Maykop, where he studied at the pedagogical institute, the idea of creating a trampoline and acrobatics school in the village of Pereyaslovskaya. The names of trampoline players Yanes and Yakovenko, acrobats Machuga and Pochivalov thundered throughout the Kuban. The two Vasilys - Machuga and Skakun - were all the more relatives, fellow countrymen, natives of Pereyaslovskaya, and Machuga was also a student of Nikolai Moskalenko. Vladimir Raspopov, who was the director of a sports school at that time, brought sports equipment from Moscow, and in 1976 a trampoline youth sports school was opened in Bryukhovetskaya, and its branch was opened in Pereyaslovsk school No. 15.
In addition to the trampoline, Alexander was interested in football and wrestling. While kicking the ball with his classmates, Moskalenko took off from the start like a jaguar and, instantly picking up speed, scored goals. The family spent the holidays with my father’s football team, which, when leaving for competitions, was loaded onto a bus with the wives and children of the football players. It was fun - first a game, then a picnic on the river bank.
It was convenient for Alexander’s parents to control their son, since his mentor Anatoly Rusin was Moskalenko’s closest neighbor. But soon Rusin was drafted into the army. A new young coach was sent from the Institute of Physical Education to Pereyaslovskaya - Sergei Epelbaum (later he became an honored coach of the RSFSR, now lives in Israel). By this time, Sasha was already making some progress and began to go to competitions. In 1983, he was included in the USSR national team.
In the 10th grade, Alexander Moskalenko took 1st place in synchronized jumping in pairs with Igor Durnev and as a team at the European Junior Championships, 2nd place in individual jumping. This was a serious application for the future. After school, Alexander entered the Academy of Physical Education (now Kuban State University of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism) and continued trampoline training in Krasnodar with Vitaly Fedorovich Dubko. This was the beginning of their great sporting journey, the pinnacle of which was Alexander’s Olympic gold medal in Sydney.
Different things happened at competitions. A month and a half before the World Cup in Germany, at a match meeting that took place in the city of Aberdeen, Alexander, as it later turned out, had a compression fracture of the thoracic spine. Before each approach to the trampoline, he was injected with painkillers, he jumped “in freedom”, then lay down. At the subsequent World Championships in Essen, he won the champion title in individual jumps and in the team, and became a silver medalist in synchronized jumps.
In 1992, at the World Championships in New Zealand, in order to stretch the team, Alexander jumped on “one leg,” since it was painful to lean on the second after a fracture. He brought back three gold medals from Auckland. The entire village of Pereyaslovskaya celebrated that victory, Alexander was awarded the title of honorary collective farmer.
Having won another world champion title in Portugal in 1994, Moskalenko left the sport in 1995 and went into the gasoline business. When in 1998 it became known that the International Olympic Committee had included trampoline competitions in the program of the Olympic Games in Sydney 2000, Alexander was faced with great temptation and decided to return to big-time sports. Many did not believe in him and even laughed: he had not jumped for 3 years, his muscles had lost their elasticity, and he was no longer old enough to start over.
Much credit for his return to the trampoline belongs to his coach, Vitaly Fedorovich Dubko. The lessons of the honored coach Viktor Alekseevich Kazantsev, which Moskalenko received from him 7 years ago during his first return, were also useful. Thanks to a special diet, training, cross-country exercise and regimen, Alexander lost 25 kilograms of weight. A few months later, Dubko took him to the World Championships in Sydney, where Alexander became the world champion in the team event. A year later, Moskalenko beat his young and talented rivals at the World Championships in South Africa, where tickets to the Sydney Olympics were awarded.
The year before the Olympics was difficult for Alexander. Defeat from the main competitor from Belarus Dmitry Polyarush in the pre-Olympic week and at one of the stages of the World Cup, injury, surgery... But all this did not unsettle the athlete, he knew that he would go to Sydney and it was there that the decisive battle would take place. In one of the interviews, entitled by the journalist with Alexander’s phrase “I went through hell, whoever doubts, let him repeat my path...”, the athlete said that he was sure that if he strictly followed the program, it was unlikely that anyone would be able to bypass him. In Sydney, Moskalenko overcame the nerves and tension of the fight and won Olympic gold, opening the list of champions of the Trampoline Games. His rivals Dmitry Polyarush and Frenchman David Martin were left without medals.
According to Alexander Moskalenko, he did not try to saturate his Olympic program with super-complex elements. The main thing for him was to find a delicate balance between performance technique and complexity. “The difficulty should be high, but not prohibitive,” he believes, “and the jumping technique must be refined to the smallest nuances. In total, this will bring victory.”
After the Olympics in Sydney, Moskalenko became extremely popular. In 2002, he and gymnast Alexei Nemov were invited to Las Vegas to participate in the Arnold Schwarzenegger show, which attracted the best athletes in the world. Fanclubs of fans of the athlete’s talent exist in many countries around the world, including France, Germany, England, and Brazil. On June 14, 2003, Alexander heroically won another competition in France - the World Cup stage. In 2004, to the Olympic gold in Sydney, Moskalenko, at the age of 35, added the silver Olympic award in Athens.
In addition to the honored coach of the USSR and Russia Vitaly Fedorovich Dubko, recognized by the International Trampoline Federation as the best coach in the world, honored coaches of Russia Lyudmila Semyonovna Nemezhan, Georgy Khadzhimusovich Akhidzhak, Galina Ivanovna Samsonkina worked with Alexander Moskalenko.
Alexander Moskalenko is the owner of all top sports titles. He is an Olympic champion, silver medalist at the Athens Olympics, and three-time absolute world champion. In total, Moskalenko won 14 gold and 2 silver medals at the world championships. No one in the history of the trampoline has succeeded in doing this. In 1999, Alexander Moskalenko was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the owner of the largest number of gold medals at the world championships. He became a seven-time European champion, a six-time World Cup winner, a winner of the World Games in non-Olympic sports, the Goodwill Games in Japan, and a winner of the Russian Cup in synchronized jumping.
In 1991, Moskalenko was awarded the title “Honored Master of Sports of the USSR.”
In July 2005, at the Krasnodar Sports Palace "Olympus", during the grand opening of the third stage of the Trampoline World Cup, Alexander Moskalenko said goodbye to big sport. And yet he remained there, albeit in a different capacity - since November 2004 he has been the head of the department of physical culture and sports of the Krasnodar Territory.
Alexander Moskalenko was awarded the Order of Honor (2001), medals “For Outstanding Contribution to the Development of Kuban”, 1st degree (2000), “Hero of Labor of Kuban”, “For Service in the Caucasus” (2001), two medals “For Distinction in Military Service”, badge "Excellence in Physical Culture and Sports".
In the village of Bryukhovetskaya, children's trampoline competitions were held for the prizes of Alexander Moskalenko, which the athlete dedicated to the memory of his father, Nikolai Ivanovich Moskalenko.
Sports and work occupy most of Alexander Moskalenko’s life. Alexander regrets that he cannot always devote enough time to his family. “I am a cosmopolitan by nature, I can easily get used to any city, any country. The most important thing is that I am in demand and that I have a family nearby.
Lives and works in Krasnodar.
We are talking with the General Director of JSC VNIPP (All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Bearing Industry), Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Leonid Viktorovich Chernevsky.
Chernevsky:
– I’ll give you a historical fact. During the war, the country's leadership well understood the importance of bearings, so in 1943 they created VNIPP. Our allies and enemy, Hitler’s Germany, understood this. Armaments Minister Speer, who spent 20 years in Spandau, recalls in his memoirs that the Allies began but did not complete the bombing of German bearing factories in 1944 and that “if they had acted as energetically in March and April as in December and February, We would soon be forced to capitulate, since even with an increase in total arms production by 16% from June 1943 to April 1944, the resulting shortage of ball bearings would lead to the cessation of production of tanks, aircraft and other military equipment.” The fact is that the Germans took advantage of the break in Allied raids and dispersed equipment in adits and other areas. And here in the Russian Federation the bearing industry is being destroyed without any bombing!
The number of bearings produced has decreased tenfold compared to the 80s! More than 70% of general-purpose bearings are manufactured using Chinese components (at the very beginning of the 90s, on the contrary, 70% were exported), the dimensions of modern domestic general-purpose bearings are approximately twice the dimensions of bearings of advanced foreign companies with the same 90% service life, and 90% resource is eight times lower with the same dimensions. Serial production of high-tech bearings of the highest 2nd accuracy class, low-noise bearings with the index “Ш8” and others has been lost. The acute shortage of bearings for helicopters amounts to 35–40% of the traditional range of items, and for aircraft of the Sukhoi and MiG family - up to 50%!
Shortages of bearing products from JSC EPK jeopardize the fulfillment of state defense orders and international contracts. And the presence of the EPK monopoly (up to 90% of manufactured products) limits the possibilities of developing competitive rotation bearings in the development of modern weapons and military equipment.
Offshore EPK leaders are conducting destructive activities in our “bearing” territory. They make independent changes to design and regulatory documentation that have been worked out for decades, not coordinated with all consumers, and they destroy and liquidate entire factories!
Thus, the firstborn of our bearing industry was liquidated - the First State Bearing Plant (Moscow), which became the property of the EPK. The plant included the best workshop for the production of bearings for weapons and military equipment - the TsTP-3 precision bearings workshop, equipped with high-precision equipment, and most importantly, experienced professionals worked in the workshop.
First, this workshop, located in a separate building, was transformed into the Moscow Aviation Bearings Plant, then in 2009 it was liquidated, and the premises were leased.
Now on the site of the plant there are “modern” rows of Chinese products, a market, a new “Cherkizon”. In the near future, EPK plans to close the last remaining production of large-sized bearings at the Moscow site. Now it’s clear where the shortage problem comes from? This is an artificial shortage created by the EPK monopolist and has one goal - a significant increase in prices for consumers, and therefore for final military products. There is no competition, production is being destroyed without hindrance, prices are increasing exponentially - great business for Russian gentlemen who have taken refuge in offshore zones. There is no such disgrace anywhere in the world. And all this is happening with the full connivance of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation under the leadership of Mr. Artemyev.
– So, how did a monopolist in the production of special bearings come about? Who overlooked or who should be “thanked” for this?
Chernevsky:
– This is the “effective” work of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation to “demonopolize the market and create a competitive environment,” but exactly the opposite. All these problems were raised in a letter from the President of the Interrepublican Concern Bearing Yury Bubnov, which was sent to the Defense Committee and the Security and Anti-Corruption Committee of the State Duma of the Russian Federation. All problematic issues were addressed, among other things, to the head of FAS Artemyev. The FAS responded “professionally”: who is the monopolist? Where is the monopolist? We don't see a monopolist.
I would like to draw Artemyev’s attention to the fact that he is being diligently misinformed (if he himself does not delve into these issues on duty), and recommend that he read the request of the deputy head of the FAS A.G. Tsyganov for No. TsA/13282 dated September 14, 2005. addressed to the Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for Industry I. B. Garivadsky. Where the FAS requests the opinion of the FAP on the advisability of selling a stake in the Aircraft Bearing Plant OJSC EPK. The FAS itself writes: “... after the above acquisition, JSC EPK will have a share of about 80% of the production of special bearings on the Russian market... Considering the need to ensure the independence of the aircraft industry from foreign manufacturers... I ask you to express your opinion and suggestions on this issue.”
That is, the FAS was well aware that we were talking about creating a monopoly and destroying the competitive environment, and now it pretends that it does not know this. There were also requests from the FAS to the Deputy Minister of Industry and Energy A.G. Reus No. AG/10807 dated July 27, 2005 (About factories for the production of bearings) and, finally, the FAS received a specific negative response from FAP No. SP-2755/04 dated October 10, 2005, namely: “...75- 80% of the total volume of bearings intended to complete almost all manufactured, designed and repaired products of aviation, special and rocket and space technology are produced at OJSC Aviation Bearing Plant and OJSC Moscow Aviation Bearing Plant... FAP expresses concern about this that these factories are largely under the control of foreign companies...
Monopolization of production and appropriation of previously developed documentation for special bearings by JSC EPK, which is under the control (according to the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia!) of English and Chinese (Hong Kong) companies, will lead to the destruction of the competitive environment... The lack of a controlling stake is also alarming at the leading bearing factories, providing production and packaging of aerospace and special equipment products, as well as the position of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia on the sale to private individuals of shares of these enterprises...” The main conclusion: “Taking into account the above, Rosprom considers it inappropriate... further sale block of shares of OJSC "ZAP". Everything is extremely clear and understandable.
Chernevsky:
- Exactly. One can only guess why the FAS fell in love with the EPK so much that it made a decision not in defense of the market and the creation of a competitive environment, but the exact opposite - it created a monopolist. Is it because the FAS expert council includes one of the main owners of EPK OJSC, State Duma deputy Oleg Savchenko?
There is a clearly biased and harmful decision, as a result of which we have the above problems today.
By the way, in response to Yu. Bubnov’s appeal to find out why such a decision was made, the FAS cynically asked him to prove that in the person
JSC EPK has created a monopoly in the production of special bearings. Don't read or don't want to read their own documents? Why then are they called the Antimonopoly Service? It should be renamed the Service for Creating Monopolies for Our Own.
Mr. Deputy Savchenko aims to gain a monopoly on the market
implementation, and for design documentation, the development and maintenance of which our institute is engaged in, and intellectual property, which we defended in the interests of the state. He is everywhere where his property is concerned: he is in the State Duma Committee on Industry that is relevant to his business, and he is also a member of the aviation subgroup there (his factories also produce aircraft bearings). Not far away - in the Expert Council under the same committee (the composition of the council was approved by the committee on May 17, 2012) - another owner of EPK, Alexander Moskalenko, is listed as the chairman of the Association of Bearing Manufacturers. This association was created by the EPK, and numerous requests are sent out on behalf of the association. The scheme is very simple: Mr. Moskalenko writes a complaint to People’s Deputy Savchenko, and in fact to his friend the shareholder, and the deputy instantly “reacts.” How else? Your property must be protected by all means.
The time has come to restore order, and for the Federal Security Service, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation and the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation to conduct an investigation and propose to the government to cancel the harmful decision of the FAS and punish those responsible for the destruction of an industry that is strategically important for the defense complex.
– It turns out that Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Savchenko, in violation of parliamentary ethics and decisions of the country’s political leadership aimed at cleansing the State Duma of deputies-businessmen, calmly lobbies for his business? And, by the way, we have in our hands a declaration of income, property and property-related liabilities of Deputy Savchenko, which does not say a word about his bearing business and does not indicate $250 million. It was this amount that Finance magazine estimated his fortune at (Top 500 list).
Chernevsky:
– Savchenko openly lobbies for his business, sends numerous requests to all authorities according to the above-mentioned scheme, and specifically on issues related to the business of EPK and its member factories. Here are just a few examples: on July 10, he sends a deputy request to Deputy Prime Minister D. Rogozin; On October 9, two requests were sent to the Ministry of Industry and Trade addressed to the Minister and the Deputy Minister - all questions related to his bearing business. When representatives of JSC EPK on critical issues of short supply of bearings are invited to meetings at the Military-Industrial Commission (08/10/12) or the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (10/05/12), Deputy Savchenko proactively comes and defends the interests of his business. He does not hesitate to use his status as a deputy to the fullest in the interests of his personal business. And the unreliability in the declaration, as well as his open entrepreneurial activity and lobbying of his private business interests, should finally become the subject of consideration by the Commission for monitoring the reliability of information on income, property and property-related obligations presented by deputies of the State Duma
RF, headed by A.V. Vasilyev.
Indeed, since 2000, numerous publications - Forbes, Vedomosti, Lenta.ru, Finance magazine, Nezavisimaya Gazeta and others - directly call Deputy Savchenko the owner of the EPK. The Commission needs to pay attention and request an extract from the shareholders of the offshore company Orionbay Trading Corp., which is registered as the main shareholder of EPK and where Savchenko’s name is written in black and white. This is precisely the job of the deputy commission and law enforcement agencies - to check the facts received, and not to brush them aside under various pretexts. After all, it looks like this: for some deputies there is law and order, while for others everything is possible. It is not right. Just think about the cynicism of the situation: the deputy is in the State Duma, and the entire business is offshore! The benefit is only for himself. He lobbies for his business and deceives fellow party members.
– Here is a copy of the deputy’s request, signed by O. Savchenko, which states the following: ... the situation with the parent organization for special bearings is of serious concern to the Association of Bearing Manufacturers (hereinafter APP)... JSC VNIPP, formed as a result of the privatization of the institute Soviet era..., is a private enterprise without joint-stock control by the state and does not bear any responsibility for the technical level of bearing products... The head research institute can only be selected on a competitive basis...” How do you comment on these statements?
Chernevsky:
– He writes beautifully, the paper can withstand anything. I would like to ask, did JSC EPK privatize factories that were not from the Soviet era? Soviet. And instead of modernizing and developing them, they took a different path - to destroy and create a shortage. Is there state shareholder control over the production of special bearings for the defense industries at EPK enterprises? No. And what’s more, all the shares miraculously ended up abroad. But Savchenko does not care about this and he, as a deputy, is not concerned about this problem, does not write to the authorities requests like: figure out why there is no state control, why the shares of such strategically important enterprises are transferred abroad. Why? Yes, because it is his property, and it is warmer for him when the shares are offshore. But, using the status of a deputy, one can, without a twinge of conscience, denigrate everyone who can somehow stand in his way. VNIPP is like a bone in his throat. We do not allow the design and regulatory documentation to be completely stolen; at our own expense we have registered the intellectual property in favor of the state, as it should be. Mr. Savchenko doesn't like it! Having taken over factories, engaged in outright blackmail of consumers, being a monopolist and destroying, with the connivance of Mr. Artemyev’s service, high-tech production created not by him, but precisely in Soviet times, he also wants to seize control over science.
The only possibility for the development of serial production of special bearings at present is the creation of a real competitive environment by attracting bearing factories from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine into this area on the basis of an equally accessible fund of regulatory and design documentation. Such an environment exists in the production of bearings for Russian Railways - 30% of axle bearings are produced by Ukraine, 70% by EPK at its plant in Kazakhstan. In a competitive environment, prices for axle bearings have increased 2.3 times since 2001, and in the monopoly environment of the EPK, prices for aircraft bearings have increased up to 10 times over the same period! EPK is trying to destroy the competitive environment in the production of axle bearings for Russian Railways, primarily by seizing documentation that was developed and maintained by VNIPP. So far, the EPK has not succeeded, although the EPK has already found some “weak” links in the person of some employees of Russian Railways.
In terms of documentation for bearings for weapons and military equipment, a well-founded decision was made in August, involving state management of intellectual property for aircraft bearings and, on this basis, the creation of a real competitive environment. This caused a peculiar reaction from Deputy Savchenko regarding the “leading research institute for the competition.” The appointment of the parent organization is a function of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which is specifically stipulated in the recent government decree of October 11 of this year.
– Maybe, after all, Deputy Savchenko really worries, as a people’s representative, about the state of affairs in the industry, because in his addresses he always refers to letters from the APP?
Chernevsky:
– I already talked about a cunning scheme to protect my property. OJSC "ZAP" or other plants that are the property of OJSC "EPK", i.e. Messrs. Savchenko and Moskalenko, write (or maybe they don’t even write) to the management company "UK EPK" (the same owners). “UK EPK” writes to the association, which was created by legal entities that are members of the “UK EPK” and which is represented by the Chairman of APP Moskalenko on the Expert Council of the State Duma Committee on Industry. And Moskalenko, accordingly, writes Savchenko. Well, the people’s representative, on behalf of the “bearing community”, or, more simply, on behalf of himself, the interested owner, expresses concerns in various instances. It is intended for those who will not understand this and will believe that the deputy is concerned about the problems of the bearing industry.
Let's open a search on the Internet and see: there is no information even about which legal entities are included in the APP. But in reality it includes all the factories owned by EPK, that’s the whole “system”. This is the same private association in the interests of offshore owners.
– Yes, in reality it turns out to be quite simple, but not everyone had such information. Another question is about the presence of counterfeit products on the market. What are the sources of its origin? After all, it is difficult to imagine that bearings, a complex product of mechanical engineering, are produced en masse in kitchens or garages.
Chernevsky:
- You are absolutely right. Most of the bearing samples that we receive from consumers for quality control have a clear source of origin - these are EPK plants, be it JSC SPZ or
JSC "ZAP", or no longer existing plants. There are appropriate markings, only passports with a “smell.” The reasons for this may be different - perhaps this is, as we call, “parallel” production at factories, which means that the owners cannot or do not want to organize the necessary control over product output. But the main reason is that there is an acute shortage of special bearings on the market. Consumers are rushing around in search of supplies, and the EPK has banned the re-preservation of all its previously produced products, citing the possibility of counterfeit products. It is not right. The plant is obliged to re-preserve its products if this suits the buyer. After all, what can happen is that today these owners do not want to re-preserve previously produced products (for example, the liquidated EPK 1st GPP), and tomorrow the new owners will refuse to re-preserve bearings produced today. There should be one approach here - quality. And where, if not at the manufacturer, should they be responsible for quality and understand where each bearing is? After all, refusal to re-preserve in conditions of shortage only leads to higher prices. And the FAS RF again does not notice anything.
– How to correct the situation and provide defense industry enterprises with high-quality and modern bearings in the required volume?
Chernevsky:
– The tactical task should be aimed at the speedy, immediate correction of the harmful and detrimental to the interests of the defense complex decision of the FAS on the transfer of a stake in ZAP OJSC to the ownership of EPK OJSC. This decision must be carefully checked by the competent authorities and reversed.
The artificially created monopoly should cease to exist, conditions for working in a competitive environment should be recreated, and the owner should be obliged to restore at his own expense the destroyed production capacity of the 1st GPP either in Moscow, where the plant existed, or at another site, which, by the way, can be allocated state (JSC Russian Technology) and receive a controlling stake. The production volume of bearings should be at least doubled (the liquidated Moscow Aviation Bearing Plant had production capabilities equal to the current output of ZAP OJSC). In general, I am convinced that if the country’s leadership plans to have a strong, well-armed and modern army, it has no other choice but to return the controlling stake in OJSC SPZ and OJSC ZAP.
Otherwise, the situation will worsen at an accelerated pace. Bearings will become more expensive, there will always be a shortage of them, and quality, service life and design features will lag behind Western competitors at a faster pace. But no one will ever sell us modern bearings for strategic and other types of weapons. That is, obtaining a controlling stake by the state and creating, or rather restoring, duplicate competitive production is an urgent task. And the further strategy should be aimed at science and new developments. Unfortunately, a private owner, especially one who has hidden shares in offshore zones, will never truly invest in promising developments. Especially for the military industry. The West will not allow them to do this; the money is kept there.
Sergei Lukyanenko
