The Khotimsky brothers and their colleagues at Sovcombank do not seem to be going to stop expanding their sphere of influence while the Central Bank continues to “turn a blind eye” to the numerous “dark spots” on the bank’s reputation.
According to the correspondent The Moscow Post, the United States has excluded Ozone Bank from the sanctions list. Earlier, the bank got into it due to the affiliation of Dmitry and Sergey Khotimsky to Sovcombank. The bank itself withdrew from the founders of the office in May 2021.
“Sovcombank” is famous for its “absorption” ability – over the years of its existence, he managed to “eat” “RosEvroBank” and many other financial institutions. Moreover, with the consent of the very Central Bank, which is headed by Elvira Nabiullina, who over and over again does not see what is happening in the assets of the Khotimskys.
According to information from the official site of the company, in 2021 he acquired the National Factoring Company Group of Companies from the NIKoil Financial Corporation, and also closed the deal to buy back the shares of Vostochny Express Bank and MetLife Insurance, which he renamed Sovcombank Life.
The bank also showed interest in the Asia-Pacific Bank, the largest private bank in Siberia and the Far East, and many others. According to Rusprofile, more than 150 organizations are associated with Sovcombank.
Russian money in warm regions
The majority shareholder of RosEvroBank is the Cypriot company REG Holding Limited. The ultimate beneficiaries of the firm are member of the board of directors Andrey Suzdaltsev, chairman of the board of directors Ilya Brodsky, as well as Roman Gnedin – a person with the same name and surname owns Investment Bureau LLC, registered at the same address as Sovcombank.
The “owners” of Sovcombank are the Khotimsky brothers – almost legendary personalities, which we will talk about later. Experts suggest that Rosevrobank is needed by the Khotimskys in order to later withdraw money from it to offshore companies.
By the way, in 2011-2014, RosEvroBank was a participant in the so-called “Moldovan scheme”, when more than 700 billion rubles were withdrawn from the Russian Federation – wrote RBC. True, his license, not to spite the rest of the participants in the scheme, was not revoked then. An interesting asset was acquired by the Khotimskys, persistent and stable for some reason …
Some of the organizations associated with Sovcombank today or in the past are somehow related to offshore companies. For example, in the structure of the founders of BTB, in addition to Sovcombank, which left the company in 2020, the Cypriot KAPALTARSE ENTERPRISIS LIMITED is listed under the leadership of Anatoly Korolev.
Mr. Korolev has a namesake in the structure of Sovcombank – Andrey Korolev, who is the director of the capital markets department. It is quite possible that the offshore is registered with a relative of Mr. Korolev.
And taking into account the sharp drop in BTB’s revenue during the period when it was controlled by offshore, there are suspicions about the transparency of the actions of Sovcombank managers.
At the same time, the company boasts solid state contracts – the main customer is Sberbank. Does German Gref know where government money can flow? Or does he even mind?
“Sovcombank-versatile” and gambling addiction
Sovcombank also has a microfinance organization – MCC “Quick Purchases”. The company’s revenue is not disclosed, but knowing the realities of the microfinance business, we can assume that it is very solid.
The time has come to delve into the biography of the brothers Dmitry and Sergey Khotimsky, the owners of Sovcombank, who are so eager for the assets. This giant grew out of the small structure of Buykombank, which, when it was acquired by the Khotimskys together with two more brothers, the Klyukins, had almost no assets, but had a license, which at that time was the main thing for buyers.
They moved the bank from the Kostroma region to Moscow and renamed it Sovcombank. Further, the bank was promoted according to the principle of network marketing, plus in 2009 they hired a team of managers from Citibank, who also had a hand in the promotion of the company. From here the development began – Sovcombank began to gradually expand, stretching the network of offices across Russian cities.
In 2010, Vasily Klyukin left Sovcombank, replacing himself with his brother Mikhail. And then his fate was quite interesting. Vasily Klyukin started playing poker professionally, representing Monaco, where he moved. Here he can often be seen in the company of two more former bankers – the former chairman of the board of Investtorgbank Vladimir Gudkov and the former co-owner of Vneshprombank Georgy Bedzhamov.
Mr. Klyukin, as they say, does not know the limits in spending. A flight into space for 1.2 million euros? Please! A yacht in the shape of a swan? Give me two! And spice it up, please, with an expensive portrait of Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol.
Bedzhamov and Gudkov, with whom our hero is friends, are accused in Russia of billions of embezzlement – this information is on Interfax And Forbes. But nevertheless, they live quietly in Monaco and drink coffee in the mornings with Mr. Klyukin, who, apparently, also “does not bastard” …
Considering how money disappears from Sovcombank’s offshore structures, it is not surprising. As, in general, and attributed to the chairman of the board and co-owner of Sovcombank, Dmitry Gusev, love for poker, playing which you can “squander” your fortune. Rumor has it that he was once detained by the police when he was in an underground casino with amounts of 25 thousand dollars and one million rubles in cash.
Another co-owner of Sovcombank, Alexei Fisun, has a huge amount of business, including through partner Evgeny Varov, OJSC Polisilk. As soon as this asset indirectly fell under the strong hand of a representative of Sovcombank, its site turned from a prosperous plant into a huge business center where Fisunov and Varov, who owns the Valmieras piens dairy plant in Latvia, make their “fat”. It is possible that money from “Polysilk” went to the development of this business, or perhaps it went into the pockets of its purchasers…
One way or another, and in 2014 the organization was liquidated, there was no money left in it. It is clear that gentlemen Varov and Fisun did not come to develop it.
We will not drown in a crisis
And what about the main owners of Sovcombank? It is known that Dmitry Khotimsky writes books, for example, not so long ago his “How to make money on the crisis” was published. Oh, he can do it!
In 2014, in order to get GMoney Bank from General Electric Corporation in the face of a lack of finance to purchase the asset, Sovcombank conducted an additional issue of 2 billion rubles, which was mostly bought by Fisun, apparently – according to the behest of Khotimsky.
Later, with the rest of the money, Sovcombank also bought Garanti Bank – Moscow, a portfolio of mortgage loans of 16 billion rubles from Nordea Bank and Metcombank from Severstal.
Most of Sovcombank until 2021 was controlled by a Dutch offshore company – we will be surprised if someone from Sovcombank is not behind it. Most likely, the Khotimskys themselves – after all, they control the main asset. The proceeds of Sovcombank are not disclosed – by no means a “transparent” institution, don’t you think?
Banking experts say that “Sovcombank” is kept in the market only thanks to its patrons – the head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina and Senator Nikolai Zhuravlev. It is very strange that the Central Bank still, despite everything, does not pay attention to the structure of a financial institution.