Khodykin is back in business: who fed
Grain oligarch Pyotr Khodykin lit up in the withdrawal of money from the Ministry of Defense?
One of the most secretive businessmen, Pyotr Khodykin, who has a significant share in the grain market, perhaps thanks to connections with law enforcement agencies and Deputy Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut, has been exposed in the theft of funds from the Ministry of Defense?
Leonid Kharlamov, the former deputy head of the department of the Ministry of Defense for ensuring state defense orders (DOGOZ), has been prosecuted on suspicion of receiving bribes from JSC RIF, a company that manufactures electronics, for providing the company with government orders, Kommersant reports.
The total amount of government contracts of the affiliated company to the structure – Corporation NPO RIF JSC exceeds 177 million rubles. The RIF joint-stock company itself received 288 million rubles on government contracts. At the same time, according to investigators, the general director of both companies Alexander Ivanov handed over to Mr. 5 million rubles, according to The Moscow Post correspondent.
Mister X”
The very structure “RIF” (the parent company – the exporter of grain) belongs to Petr Khodykin. An extremely non-public businessman who almost does not shine either in photographs on the Web or at industry events. At the same time, his company in 2014 became the largest exporter of grain. It is assumed that behind the company’s success is a serious administrative resource.
Potentially, these could be the connections of Khodykin’s wife Oksana Vertiy, whose father in the mid-1990s was the head of the Central Internal Affairs Directorate of Rostov-on-Don, and later was a deputy of the City Council. About Vertius, at least, it is no longer possible to say for sure that he is an honest policeman because of an unpleasant story from the same 90s related to bribery, in which he could take part. This statement was made by blogger Alla Amelina.
Oksana Vertiy also owned more than 35% in Rostov Universal Bank. The name of the general director of Khodykin’s Promekspeditsiya, Igor Sichkarev, also shone there. In 2018, the bank’s license was revoked for unsatisfactory asset quality.
In Khodykin’s biography, it is interesting that he was a lieutenant of the Space Forces (isn’t there a connection with the Ministry of Defense from there?). At the beginning of the 2000s, he also served on the supervisory board of the subsequently accused Central Bank of laundering funds from the Comtech bank. After Khodykin bought his own bank – at a low price for the market of 26 million rubles due to his internal problems.
As for his “grain affairs”, as The Moscow Post reported, against the backdrop of problems with the harvest in 2018, grain exports increased by as much as three times. This could lead to an increase in prices for bread and other grain products. And offshore firms, on which Khodykin’s structures are registered, are the winners?
“RIF” in 2015 established relations with the “Novorossiysk Grain Terminal” and very successfully began to engage in exports in the port of Novorossiysk.
Not “RIF” alone
“RIF” got into several other unpleasant stories. Including the delivery of grain to Egypt in 2018, which was disrupted due to the unacceptable amount of ergot in the product. There were also rumors that Khodykin’s companies might be implementing a not entirely transparent scheme with grain production.
The sphere of interests of the businessman was not limited to the banking and grain sectors. In 2019, it became known that RIF Corporation plans to build a plant for the production of glass containers in Voronezh for 5.5 billion rubles. The project was discussed at the level of the Governor of the Voronezh Region Alexander Gusev.
By a very fortunate coincidence, the plant-competitor “Rasko” was stopped just a year earlier for debts to gas operators. A criminal case was initiated and the plant entered bankruptcy proceedings, Komsomolskaya Pravda reported.
Governor’s Pocket
By the way, Khodykin, who is not particularly fond of the camera, nevertheless willingly took pictures with the Governor of the Rostov Region Vasily Golubev at the Sochi-2016 International Investment Forum, where the future of the project for the construction of additional capacities for the Azov Grain Terminal Complex (AZTK) was discussed. Khodykin’s “Promexpedition” was supposed to be engaged, but, that’s bad luck – in 2018 the company was liquidated. Evil tongues gossip that the businessman, together with the officials who warmed him up, withdrew state money from it and covered up the project under the guise.
As you know, rumors don’t just happen. Perhaps they are caused by assumptions about a close partnership between the governor and the businessman. At least, if we start purely from the facts, it follows from the document “Analytical Report Financing Election Campaigns for the Elections of Heads of the Subjects of the Russian Federation” that “RIF Trading House” sponsored Golubev’s governor’s company. And this is saying something.
Relationship tree
Only three companies are registered to Khodykin himself – OOO TD RIF, OOO MAX and OOO Dzhudeks. The last two have been liquidated. ) with contracts from Tambov University and the bankrupt (not with the help of Khodykin?) Luga feed mill.
Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
222 contracts from health care institutions have registered for Natalya Karkhanova OOO “Kardiotsentr”. At the same time, from 2015 to 2018, the company lost 9 billion rubles. Where did the state millions go?
Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
Do not complain about the lack of state attention and “Optics-Alliance”, “Rostov Machine-Building Plant” and a host of other companies affiliated with Khodykin.
Rumor has it that in addition to the above-mentioned personalities, Oksana Lut, deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture, can provide patronage to a businessman. Apparently, this is why Khodykin hit the grain business so seriously. We have repeatedly written about the affairs of this madam. Including about how her management decisions can negatively affect the Russian economy and about the possible benefits that she can receive from businessmen close to her by lobbying their interests.
In total, it turns out that officials of the Ministry of Defense could also fit into Khodykin’s potentially gray schemes. That is, while our guys are defending their homeland, officials and merchants continue to steal?
