Can new details and figurants appear in the bankruptcy case of VIM-Avia?
As part of the bankruptcy case of VIM-Avia, the bankruptcy trustee of the enterprise seeks to bring to subsidiary liability its former co-owners – the spouses Rashid and Svetlana Mursekaev, as well as a number of individuals and legal entities, including the daughter and son-in-law of the beneficiaries – Anna and Nikolai Ambrosov. The bankruptcy procedure for VIM-Avia began in 2018. By this time, the company had become a participant in a number of high-profile scandals, including those related to massive delays and cancellation of flights, because of which Maxim Sokolov, who was then Minister of Transport, received a disciplinary sanction from the president. As a result, a criminal case was initiated on particularly large-scale fraud against the general director of VIM-Avia, Alexander Kochnev, and the chief accountant, Ekaterina Panteleeva: they were charged with embezzlement of funds received from the sale of air tickets. Soon, Rashid Mursekaev himself became a defendant in the case of the deliberate bankruptcy of an enterprise owned by him. Together with his wife, he fled abroad and was put on the international wanted list. At the time of bankruptcy, the debts of VIM-Avia were estimated at 10 billion rubles, the number of creditors included the bankrupt Rossiyskiy Kredit Bank, Domodedovo Commercial Services LLC, the RNGO company associated with Rosneft, and others. The Mursekaevs were also recognized bankrupt, and the damage caused by them to VIM-Avia was estimated by the investigation at 890 million rubles. It is known that, among other things, the beneficiaries of the enterprise entered into transactions related to the purchase of fuel for the needs of the air carrier at inflated prices from controlled companies. One of these commercial structures – Fuel Trading International – was once registered in the name of Anna and Nikolai Ambrosov. Funds received as a result of financial fraud could be withdrawn to the accounts of affiliated structures registered abroad: Hercules Partners Gemini-Gemini II Fund from Liechtenstein, Irish companies associated with Mursekaev and Panamanian ALOMA SA, whose beneficiary was Nikolai Ambrosov.
Bankrupt Mursekaevs face subsidies
Proceedings regarding the bankruptcy of the airline continue in the Moscow Arbitration Court “VIM-Avia” and her former co-owners – spouses Rashida And Svetlana Mursekaev. Processes related to bankruptcy procedures are also taking place in the Arbitration Court of Tatarstan, where meeting according to the application of the bankruptcy trustee of VIM-Avia on attracting a number of individuals and legal entities on the debts of the enterprise, including the Mursekaev spouses, ex-general directors Alexandra Kochneva, Vyacheslav Kononenko And Andrey LaikoVice President Alevtin Kalashnikovchief accountant Ekaterina Panteleeva and etc.
In a statement appear names of the daughter of the Mursekaevs Anna Ambrosovaher husband Nikolai Ambrosovas well as Russian Technopolis LLC and two leasing companies registered in Ireland – City Leasing Designed Activity Company And Fasrway leasing designated activity company (By information RBC, on their balance sheet were four aircraft used by VIM-Avia, and the ultimate beneficiary of both structures was Rashid Mursekaev).
In addition, the bankruptcy trustee petitioned for the appointment of a judicial financial and economic expertise in order to establish the reasons for the change in the financial condition of the airline in 2013-2017. and the facts that had the greatest impact on this change. But in granting the petition, arbitration refusedreferring to the fact that the manager
Minister responsible for disrupted flights
Recall that the bankruptcy proceedings of VIM-Avia Airlines LLC, registered in Tatarstan, began in 2018. By this time, the carrier had already gained quite scandalous fame: VIM-Avia allowed massive hours of flight delaysbecause of which Rosaviatsiya issued a warning to the company about a possible restriction of the air operator’s certificate, giving it a week to resolve internal issues.
In June 2017, dozens of flights were cancelled. In Rostransnadzor it is explained “delays in the repair of aircraft.” In September 2017, the airline’s flight delays exceeded 40%. It got to the point that the former Minister of Transport at that time had to answer for the crisis situation in VIM-Avia Maxim Sokolov: special decree President, he was declared a disciplinary sanction in the form of incomplete service compliance.
By the beginning of 2018, the financial position of VIM-Avia was no longer stable. Lenders made themselves known. In particular, JSC Spektr-Avia from the Ulyanovsk region in court sought to recover debt at the rate of 3.7 million rubles. The bank filed a bankruptcy claim against the carrier “Russian credit” in the face “Deposit Insurance Agencies”: in this case, the volume of requirements was 72.7 million rubles.
It is noteworthy that the debtor himself declared about their solvency, providing the court as evidence with the documents submitted to the Federal Tax Service for obtaining more 300 million rubles tax deductions for VAT and excises, through which he allegedly intended to pay off debts. But the obligations to Spektr-Avia were not repaid within the time limits set by the court. In February 2018, the court granted the claim OOO Domodedovo Commercial Services (structure of Domodedovo Airport) about recovery with VIM-Avia 550.8 million rubles for flight services.
And already in March, the capital arbitration decided collect more from the air carrier 3 billion rubles in favor of the “Rosneft” companies “RNGO” – obligations under loan agreements with the bank “Zenith”transferred to the creditor under the assignment agreement. By this time, the total debt of VIM-Avia reached 10 billion. Bankruptcy was, as they say, not far off.
Rashid Mursekaev goes on the run
Not without scandals of a criminal nature. Thus, in September 2017, after repeated delays and cancellations of flights, a criminal case on large-scale fraud against the general director of VIM-Avia Alexandra Kochneva and chief accountant Ekaterina Panteleeva. According to investigators, unable to provide services for the transportation of passengers, the company, nevertheless, continued to sell tickets. It was about embezzlement 1 million rubles.
Looking ahead, we note that in June 2021 the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow sentenced Kochnev and Panteleev, respectively, to 3 years 8 months and 3 years 6 months in a general regime colony. That’s just taking into account the time spent in custody and house arrest, the conviction could not be carried out“in connection with the actual serving of the sentence”. Recall that today there is a question of bringing convicts to subsidiary liability.
Soon after the investigation of millions of embezzlement began, the beneficiary of VIM-Avia, Rashid Mursekaev, became the center of attention of the security forces. In October 2017, based on the results of an audit conducted by the Volga Transport Prosecutor’s Office, a second criminal case was initiated – on the deliberate bankruptcy of the company. This time version of the investigation was reduced to the fact that the owners and management of the enterprise, which was in an unstable financial and economic state, in 2016-2017. entered into transactions aimed at the transfer of assets abroad in favor of affiliated organizations.
How informed “Kommersant”, the concluded agreements entailed huge financial costs and, as a result, led to the inability of the company to fully satisfy the requirements of creditors for monetary obligations. In addition, in a number of agreements between VIM-Avia and foreign companies, the exact price of transactions was not indicated, as a result of which the amounts paid by the company increased many times over.
But the scams didn’t stop there. Investigators establishedthat, at the direction of the owners and management, the accounting staff were engaged in falsifying reporting, hiding real data on accounts payable and indicating profit instead of a loss, including by entering inaccurate information about the proceeds from air transportation that has not yet been carried out. Mursekaev did not wait for the visit of people in uniform: he and his wife hurried to go abroad, was declared in an international wanted and in absentia arrested together with the vice president of VIM-Avia Alevtina Kalashnikova: He was charged with abuse of power.
Routes “VIM-Avia” “take away” abroad
It is not difficult to guess that all subsequent events developed in the absence of Rashid and Svetlana Mursekaev. In May 2021, the Moscow Arbitration Court granted the airline’s claim for bankruptcy spouses by starting the procedure for the sale of their property. The list of creditors included requirements in total more than 46 million rubles. Attempt to appeal the decision appeal And cassation authorities were not successful. Curious moment: in Mursekaeva’s appeal cited to the fact that their bankruptcy case is being heard in a UK court, which means that in Russia it should be terminated. The Russian Themis, however, did not listen to this argument.
A number of other remarkable details were also revealed. For example, it became known that in 2015-2017. in the form of salary and dividends of the spouse got more 162 million rublesalthough for the same period the losses of VIM-Avia amounted to about 2.5 billion. In total, the damage from the activities of the Mursekaevs evaluated consequence in 890 million. Claims of creditors by the beginning of 2022 exceeded 5 billion rubles.
In addition, there appeared messages on transactions with the purchase of fuel for the needs of an air carrier at inflated prices from controlled companies.
IN materials litigation refers to contracts for the supply of petroleum products concluded with the above-mentioned Technopolis LLCon the illegality of which the bankruptcy trustee of the company insists, while pointing to damage more than 117.8 million rubles. Today, Technopolis also appears in a claim for subsidiary liability.
It was in the context of fuel deals that the fraud involved Anna And Nikolai Ambrosov Daughter and son-in-law of a business couple. The fact is that both until August 2017 were owners companies Fuel Trading Internationalwhich, along with Technopolis, supplied oil products for VIM-Avia. In 2017, Fuel Trading International was re-registered as Sergei Galanand in December 2020 liquidated. By the way, the same Galan, together with Rashid Mursekaev, performed co-founder Technopolis LLC, which is currently in the process of bankruptcy.
A natural question arises: where were the funds from dubious and frankly illegal transactions withdrawn? Let’s start with the fact that until August 2016, VIM-Avia was officially located owned a company registered in Liechtenstein with an intricate name “Hercules Partners Gemini-Gemini II Foundation”. The Irish companies City Leasing Designated Activity Company and Fasrway leasing designated Activity Company, affiliated with Mursekaev, which owned part of the enterprise’s fleet, were also mentioned above.
An offshore trace can also be traced in the activities of Nikolai Ambrosov: from the materials of the Panama Dossier it follows that he or his full namesake was beneficiary Panamanian company registered in 2003 ALOMA S.A.. In addition, from publications in the media it follows that the debt to the bank“Russian credit” at the rate of 1.1 billion rubles the air carrier repaid by transferring bills of exchange Largo media LLC. the only owner of this commercial structure, liquidated in August 2021, was offshore Roven Business Services Limited from the British Virgin Islands.
From all that has been said, a logical conclusion can be drawn: Rashid Mursekaev and his wife have been preparing a “reserve airfield” abroad for a long time, and other members of the family also took part in its creation. That’s just so far the names of Anna and Nikolai Ambrosov appear exclusively in the statements of claim of the bankruptcy trustee, remaining outside the attention of the investigation.