Vladimir Potanin once again called for a disaster that would lead to huge losses, but most importantly, it could harm the environment and human health.
Yesterday, the industrial site of the Kola Mining and Metallurgical Company (“Kola MMC”) in Monchegorsk, which is part of the holding “nornickel“Vladimir Potanin. The fire was extinguished for 12 hours, and only by a lucky chance, the workers quickly managed to evacuate, and no one died.
Due to the likelihood of harmful emissions, experts took air measurements every half an hour – the production is very harmful. But recently Norilsk Nickel paid a record fine of $2 billion (more than 140 billion rubles) for spilling oil products near Norilsk, which led to the largest environmental disaster in recent decades.
The Kola Mining and Metallurgical Company is a huge enterprise specializing in the extraction of sulfide copper-nickel ores and the production of non-ferrous metals, which employs about 13 thousand people. The catastrophe here is a disaster for the entire region.
The fire occurred in the cobalt department of the nickel electrolysis shop-2 (TsEN-2), that is, directly on the working site. The roof of the building has partially collapsed, the enterprise can be completely stopped.
It turns out that if in 2020, after the bottling of oil products from the Potanin CHPP-3 near Norilsk, the oligarch suffered financial and reputational losses, then here he can lose even more money, because we are talking about stopping production. According to some estimates, Potanin’s losses may exceed $2.8 billion. What led to this?
Violations are usually
The reasons for the incident are being established. But it is known that Rostekhnadzor repeatedly complained about the enterprise and related structures. It is highly likely that in the pursuit of profit, the oligarch simply forgot about the safety of people and the protection of the environment.
During inspection activities in October 2021, seemingly quite recently, specialists identified 92 violations in industrial safety violations. And it’s not even scary, but the fact that they were of a repetitive, systemic nature.
The fire at the Kola MMC could certainly be seen from space. Photo: Ilya Grachev/Komsomolskaya Pravda
As stated on the website of Rostekhnadzor, this may indicate poor production control on the part of specialists and managers of the enterprise.
It is hard to believe that Potanin and his top management were not aware of nearly a hundred violations at a facility that produces up to 30% of all nickel ore for his empire. Those. we can talk about criminal negligence – but only a court can establish this.
According to the authors of the telegram channel “Kremlin Mamkoved”, allegedly over the past seven years, the Kola MMC was checked more than a hundred times, and allegedly found critical violations that could lead to a fire. For example, the electric cable was laid directly through the tank farm, the electrical equipment is not grounded.
There were also prosecutorial checks during which violations were revealed. Really not “dropped” on a criminal case?
One of the checks took place in April 2021, information about it is available on the website of the Prosecutor General’s Office. As a result, a number of violations were identified. By the way, one of them, a quote: “Industrial site Monchegorsk” with the code 47-0151-001009-P conducts industrial environmental control in an incomplete volume.
Photo: proverki.gov.ru
That is, not only is industrial safety violated, but the possible consequences are not fixed. But back in 2020, after the accident at CHPP-3 near Norilsk, following the results of the same prosecutorial checks, three criminal cases were initiated: under article 250 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (water pollution), under article 246 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (violation of environmental protection rules in the course of work ), under part 1 of article 254 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (land damage).
Former Norilsk Mayor Rinat Akhmetchin convicted of negligence. The court found him guilty of not taking any measures to stop the catastrophe for two days. Apparently, they tried to hide the scale of what happened – in whose interests, and who could give Akhmetshin, the former general director of Norilsk Nickel, such a command?
And only later, when all the examinations were carried out, did Rostekhnadzor shed light on the accident at CHPP-3, which cost Potanin about 150 billion rubles in a fine.
It turned out that the tank was taken out for repairs in 2015, in connection with which the state supervision over it was suspended. In 2019, the operation of the reservoir resumed without notification of the regulatory authorities and was carried out without proper compliance with industrial safety requirements. And again, don’t give a damn about people and nature – let’s make money!
Rostekhnadzor regularly checked CHPP-3. And the problems with fuel storage at the enterprise were known even during the inspections that took place several years ago.
The catastrophe near Norilsk caused shock even among seasoned ecologists. But Vladimir Potanin and his business did not draw any conclusions? Photo: ecologyofrussia.ru
In total, in 2017-2018, the supervisory agency identified 33 violations committed during the operation of the site with diesel fuel tanks. And orders for the repair of the tanks themselves were issued to the enterprise even earlier – starting in 2014.
Throw dust in your eyes
As you know, a miser pays twice. Potanin will also pay in the case of the Kola MMC. But this style of doing business cannot but raise questions – what does the oligarch Potanin, the author of the infamous loans-for-share auctions, allow himself to do?
But he behaves more than defiantly, throwing dust in his eyes. Just yesterday, when the fire was blazing, the owner of Interros and the president of Norilsk Nickel, Vladimir Potanin, announced that he was donating a significant part of his capital to socially useful projects. And the first major asset, whose shares the entrepreneur will transfer for these purposes, will be the recently acquired Rosbank.
This statement is simply striking in its cynicism. Against the backdrop of super profits and man-made disasters at his enterprises, Vladimir Potanin is trying to buy the loyalty of society.
And moreover, for what – after all, he bought Rosbank from the French Societe Generale for 0.2-0.3 of its capital (40-60 billion rubles), as Forbes wrote. That is, with a huge discount, when the seller did not even think to recoup his investment.
And now Potanin is making a “gesture of good will” – he will be engaged in socially useful deeds. At this time, the same “Tinkoff”, which also ended up in its orbit, introduces horse interest on currency transfers, causing indignation among thousands of people. Profit must be made on everything. Dissatisfied – do not care.
However, for Potanin, it seems, there are no restrictions for a long time. In 2019, the market was agitated by rumors that he could get a stake in Oleg Deripaska’s En +, which he allegedly wanted to buy from the former wife of the oligarch Polina Yumasheva and her father Valentin Yumashev (former head of the Presidential Administration Yeltsin).
In this case, Potanin’s Interros would have received a serious advantage over Oleg Deripaska’s Rusal in the fight for Norilsk Nickel, and this is a new round of a long-term conflict. However, then the deal did not take place, that story was analyzed in detail by The Moscow Post.
How Potanin’s empire was forged
It was not in vain that we mentioned that Potanin is the author of the infamous loans-for-shares auctions. After all, most of his assets, which bring him billions, but on which accidents occur, people die, the environment deteriorates – he also received for mere pennies. What was erected by generations of our fellow citizens!
In 1995, it was Vladimir Olegovich, together with a group of other bankers, who offered loans to the state secured by shares in state-owned enterprises. The auctions were held, and on September 1, 1996, the term for the pledge of shares received by the banks expired. Huge state assets ended up in the hands of Potanin and people as far-sighted as himself.
One of the most active creditors of his native state was ONEXIM Bank, which Potanin founded together with another future oligarch, Mikhail Prokhorov.
Subsequently, his main reward was 51% of the shares of Norilsk Nickel from the very first shares-for-share auction (initially, Potanin received only 38%). Such a pleasure cost only $ 170 million – an absolutely ridiculous amount for such a giant.
“For mere pennies, he also managed to buy out 51% of the oil company OAO SIDANKO, 20% of OAO Novorossiysk Shipping Company, 14.8% of the Novolipetsk Iron and Steel Works, as well as OAO North-Western Shipping Company.
In the summer of 1996, structures controlled by the oligarch acquired a stake in Svyazinvest. This is how the huge empire of Vladimir Potanin was forged, which has now become the cause of so many environmental disasters.
Vladimir Potanin from the times of loans-for-shares auctions. Photo: Pavel Kassin / Kommersant
But it seems that history, violations, fines, spoiled ecology and human health mean nothing for the oligarch when it comes to maximizing profits.
Source: UtroNews
nornickel
Kola MMC
Vladimir Potanin
Oleg Deripaska
Murmansk region