Did the family of Governor Tsivilev set their sights on the assets of the SDS holding?
Rosnedra may revoke the license for subsoil use of the infamous Listvyazhnaya mine in Kemerovo, where more than 50 people died in an accident last November. The reason is a serious excess of coal production. Experts talk about a possible subsequent sale of the mine to a new owner, which will help avoid unemployment of employees and continue coal mining. Currently, by a court decision, work at Listvyazhnaya has been suspended, which, however, should not prevent the elimination of previously identified violations. An investigation into the causes of the accident is also ongoing, among those arrested was Mikhail Fedyaev, the owner of the mine, co-founder of the Siberian Business Union (SDS) holding, which was considered the “purse” of the former Kemerovo governor Aman Tuleev. In the event that Listvyazhnaya’s license is withdrawn and subsequently sold, Kuzbass is expecting another “coal redistribution”, the main beneficiary of which will be the current head of the region Sergey Tsivilev: his family owns the Kolmar coal mining company, which is undergoing a stage of rapid development, receiving billions in preferences from the state in the form of benefits and subsidies. After being appointed to the governor’s post, Tsivilev officially “gave” his 70% stake in the enterprise to his wife Anna Tsivileva, who is called Vladimir Putin’s cousin-niece. This circumstance explains not only the state’s support for Kolmar, but also the entire complexity of Fedyaev’s position, over which the threat of losing assets hangs.
Listvyazhnoy is threatened with license revocation
At the Kemerovo mine, which received notoriety last November, Listvyaznaya may revoke the license for the right to use subsoil ahead of time. According to TASS, during an unscheduled inspection Rosprirodnadzor violations were revealed in terms of non-compliance with the level of mineral extraction established by the technical project. At present, the audit materials have been transferred to Rosnedrawhere they will be considered at a meeting of the relevant Commission, which will make an appropriate decision.
A number of news agencies, with reference to the official representative of Rostekhnadzor Andrey Vilgave details: Listvyaznaya Mine LLC had the right to mine 4,650 thousand tons of coal, while the actual volume received was at least 4,734 thousand. True, Vil himself soon announced in his telegram channel that he did not report such information to the media.
In turn, RBC clarifies that the license issued by Listvyazhnaya is valid until the end of 2040. If it is withdrawn, Rosnedra will have the right to put the asset up for auction and sell it from the unallocated fund to another owner. According to the newspaper’s sources, if the mine is closed, about 30% of its employees (out of more than 1.7 thousand people) will lose their jobs, although most of them will be able to find jobs at other Kemerovo coal mining enterprises.
At the same time, it is emphasized that the threat of license revocation may be another message to the owners of the company. “SDS-Coal” in order to immediately eliminate safety violations and bring coal mining in line with the established norm.
“The revocation of the license, if it does take place, probably will not mean a shutdown of the mine, given the rather large volumes of coal mined (about 5 million tons per year) and the social significance of the mine as an employer in the region. The license may be further sold to a more responsible subsoil user if SDS-Ugol does not promptly eliminate all violations prescribed by the regulator.– RBC quotes a commentary by the director of the corporate ratings group of the ACRA agency
Ilya Makarov.
Incident investigation gains momentum
Recall that on November 25, an accident occurred at the Listvyazhnaya mine, the victims of which were 51 people, including five rescuers. A methane explosion and smoke has been reported; employees of the enterprise told journalists about the numerous violations of working conditions that had taken place. In December, the Attorney General Igor Krasnov reported that the management of the enterprise deliberately concealed a dangerous level of gas concentration, including by deliberately damaging the sensors.
Last week, a representative of Rostekhnadzor Andrey Vil urged not to rush to conclusions. According to him, all information about the causes of the accident will be made public after the technical investigation of the commission formed by the department, and the degree of guilt of officials from among the mine workers and representatives of government agencies will be established by the court.
Meanwhile, the defendants in the criminal case on violation of industrial safety requirements, which negligently caused the death of two or more persons, were the ex-head of the SDS-Coal holding Gennady Alekseevformer CTO Anton Yakutov and chief engineer of Listvyazhnoy Anatoly Lobanov. Previously, the director of the mine was taken into custody Sergei Makhrakovhis deputy Andrey Molostovsection chief Sergei Gerasimenko. Rostekhnadzor inspectors accused of criminal negligence Vyacheslav Semykin and Sergey Vinokurov.
In mid-December, the Central District Court of Kemerovo ruled to arrest the chairman of the board of directors, co-founder of SDS-Ugol, the owner of the mine Mikhail Fedyaev: he was charged with abuse of power in a commercial organization, which entailed grave consequences.
The activity at the mine was suspended for 90 days, which, however, should not interfere with the work to eliminate previously identified violations. Rostekhnadzor clarified that coal mining can be resumed only if project documentation is developed that has passed all the necessary approvals and examinations.
Oligarch Fedyaev is being prepared for “landing”?
Shortly before his arrest, Mikhail Fedyaev, during a meeting devoted to the accident with the head of state, announced his readiness to be punished, while assuring the president that the company did not skimp on safety and security equipment. According to the businessman “everything crossed out the human factor”.
How sincere the founder of the holding was is a big question. It is known that until recently he was a member of the Public Council under the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for the Kemerovo Region, but today his name is not available on the website of the department. It is possible that he intended to use his connections with the head of the Directorate, Lieutenant General Igor Ivanovbut it was at least stupid to hope for this after such a wide resonance and close attention from the leaders of the Sledkom and the Prosecutor General’s Office.
It is also important that the son of the Kemerovo oligarch Pavel Fedyaev – the current State Duma deputy, representing Kuzbass in the lower house of parliament. In addition, since 2012, Fedyaev Jr. has been in charge of the Kemerovo Regional Judo Federationincluded in the structure “Federation of Judo of Russia”where the post of first vice president is occupied by a near-Kremlin oligarch Arkady Rotenberg.
It is known about the role that sports ties play in politics and business. In modern Russian realities, those who want to be “closer to the court” simply need to practice judo or finance the holding of relevant competitions. Perhaps Fedyaev Sr. seriously hoped that the influential Rotenbergs would put in a good word for him before the president?
But times have changed, and if previously created by the “coal king” and his companion, the ex-deputy of the State Duma Vladimir Gridin holding “Siberian Business Union” (SDS) in the media was called nothing more than the “purse” of the former governor Amana Tuleeva, then today the alignment of forces in Kuzbass has changed dramatically. Moreover, Fedyaev seemed to have to orient himself in the new conditions and quickly start restoring order in the mines under his control. But he preferred to conduct business in the old slovenly way, which ultimately led to mass deaths of people, and for the oligarch himself, it could turn into a guilty verdict.
Coal business of Mrs. Tsivileva
If Rosnedra’s threat to deprive Listvyazhnaya of a coal mining license does not turn out to be a mere sound and the mine, as experts say, goes under the hammer, then this may mean the beginning of another “coal redistribution” for Kuzbass – the struggle for the “legacy” of SDS. Considering that its co-founder Vladimir Gridin has recently withdrawn from management issues, preferring to spend time in Europe and “dream about retirement”, a significant part of the holding’s assets may well change hands.
Who will win is not difficult to guess. Suffice it to recall that the family of the current governor of the Kemerovo region Sergei Tsivilev closely associated with the coal business and controls a coal mining company “Colmar”. Moreover, the Tsivilev family business is clearly on the rise: at the end of 2020, profit UK “Kolmar” amounted to 234.7 million rubles on revenue 1.5 billion. For comparison: a year earlier, with similar revenue, the company declared losses in the amount of 24.2 million. In 2018, Kolmar generally went “in the red” by more than 89 million rubles. And all of a sudden, things are looking up so fast!
The volume of coal production is also growing: according to the Yakutia 24 TV channel, in 2021 the company produced a total of 12 million tons of coking coal, which is 79% more than in 2020. It is reported that the plans of the management of Kolmar are to increase annual production to 22 million tons, which will allow it to enter the top five largest coal mining enterprises in the country.
Sergei Tsivilev himself officially distances himself from the management of the commercial structure: in March 2018, that is, shortly after his appointment to the governor’s post, he presented his 70% stake in the company to his wife Anna Tsivileva. In turn, the business woman, answering the question of a Vedomosti journalist about whether her husband is involved in the management of the enterprise, answered in the negative: “No, not involved at all. I don’t know, unfortunately or fortunately. He’s got a lot of other things to do now.”.
Family ties lead to the Kremlin?
The history of the acquisition by the official’s family of a promising coal-mining asset, at first glance, looks rather confusing. It is known that the owner of 30% of Colmar through Volga Group oligarch close to the Kremlin speaks Gennady Timchenko. Prior to that, the number of co-owners of the company also included structures Iskandar Mahmudov and Andrey Bokarev: Tsivilev bought this share in January 2018, becoming the controlling shareholder of the enterprise.
Where is the former head of the security service of the St. Petersburg branch Bank “Aeroflot” and ex-head of a law firm Nortektook the funds to enter the business of the all-powerful Timchenko? And why did Russian officials like the previously unremarkable Kolmar so much that they began to receive multibillion-dollar state support?
For example, in 2016, companies provided public investment in in the amount of 560 million rubles for the construction of a power line to GOK “Inaglinsky”. In 2018, the Far East Development Fund allocated 4 billion. The budget provided for the construction of railway infrastructure facilities for the export of coal from mines owned by Kolmar 4.58 billion. Other examples can be given if desired. Why such generosity?
Everything falls into place if you trace the family ties of the governor-businessman Tsivilev. Or rather, his wife Anna Tsivileva, who had the surname before marriage Loginovaand even earlier, as the Agency found out (recognized as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation) – Putin. It turns out that the business woman is the daughter of the cousin of the head of state Evgeny Putin, that is, the great-niece of the incumbent president. As for her supposedly maiden name, she inherited it from her first husband, a psychiatrist Lev Loginov.
This important circumstance puts everything in its place. And it’s not only about the seemingly inexplicable “love” of the state for the Kolmar company, but also about why Mikhail Fedyaev, who is in jail, should not initially count on anyone’s support, including Arkady Rotenberg. It is only surprising how the Kemerovo oligarch “clicked through” the appearance of a potential competitor in the region. It is possible, however, that after the signing of an agreement on cooperation between the governor and the SDS holding, Fedyaev felt himself “one of his own” for the new head of Kuzbass. Now he will have something to think about additionally in the SIZO cell.