An incident at the construction site of the AFK Sistema company: the body of the builder of the Omsk Cosmos hotel was found without signs of life
On Monday, February 20, a body was found at the construction site of the Cosmos Hotel on Tukhachevsky Embankment in Omsk. 50 year old men. It was not possible to save him, and the experts who arrived at the scene did not reveal signs of violence. The exact cause of the man’s death has not yet been revealed. At the moment, an audit is underway, but it is reported that the deceased worked in an organization that is building a hotel.
Cosmos Hotel in the center of Omsk is being built by Cosmos Hotel Omsk LLC. The founder of this company is Cosmos Hotel Group LLC, which is part of Vladimir Yevtushenkov’s AFK Sistema. Initially, this object was planned to be commissioned before the start of the Youth Ice Hockey World Championship, but Russia was deprived of the opportunity to host it. As a result, the deadlines for completing the construction of the hotel have been adjusted.
Fateful acquaintance
Vladimir Yevtushenkov does not like being called an oligarch. He declared that he could not be proud of this definition. For many years he really was a very simple person, whom the public did not pay attention to. Yevtushenkov studied at the Moscow Institute of Chemical Technology named after D. I. Mendeleev. Then he worked at the plant named after Ya. M. Sverdlov of the USSR Ministry of Mechanical Engineering in Dzerzhinsk. He also worked at the Karacharovsky Plastics Plant in Moscow. There were rumors that Vladimir Yevtushenkov was engaged in fartsovka and speculation. Allegedly, once he beat a man and was recruited by the KGB. But it is not necessary to believe in these rumors, because they have no evidence. Yevtushenkov’s life changed when he got a job at the Moscow City Executive Committee. He became the head of the Main Directorate of the Moscow City Executive Committee for Science and Technology. Here Vladimir Yevtushenkov met Yuri Luzhkov.
Rumor has it that Vladimir Yevtushenkov introduced Yuri Luzhkov to his wife’s sister. And then the mayor of the capital married Elena Baturina. This story was not confirmed by either the press service of the Moscow City Hall or Yevtushenkov. But after that, the businessman created AFK Sistema. He maintained friendly relations with Luzhkov, but over time he had to distance himself from officials in order to stop the spread of various rumors.
Vladimir Yevtushenkov stated that his friendship with officials did not affect his business in any way. Nevertheless, after the creation of AFK Sistema, he gained control over the Moscow telephone network. First, he took over 55% of MGTS, and then began to develop this business. Although the network was running on old hardware, it was an impressive success. At the same time, businessmen and bankers were interested in politics and supported Boris Yeltsin in the elections. But Yevtushenkov never interferes in politics. Moreover, he never fought for control over oil, gas, metal. AFK “Sistema” quietly created a construction division, which has become the largest developer in Moscow. She took over a network of city gas stations, the Detsky Mir store and the Intourist agency. So, in 2002, the businessman’s fortune was estimated at $1.5 billion.
foreign territory
Then Vladimir Yevtushenkov became interested in Bashneft. The asset acquisition transaction took place in 2009. In fact, the businessman bought it from the family of the former president of Bashkiria, Murtaza Rakhimov. According to rumors, then-president Dmitry Medvedev knew about the deal. However, much has changed in the country since then. So, Rosneft was headed by Igor Sechin, and Eduard Khudainatov took up the development of the private Independent Oil and Gas Company. At the same time, the authorities drew attention to the deal with Bashneft.
As a result, Vladimir Yevtushenkov was suspected of legalizing property obtained illegally. Searches were conducted at AFK Sistema, which made it possible to seize documents indicating that the Bashneft deal was carefully planned. Yevtushenkov was named the organizer of the dubious scheme. But information appeared in the media that Vladimir Yevtushenkov had entered foreign territory. Allegedly, Bashneft attracted both Eduard Khudainatov and Igor Sechin. But the businessman himself would hardly agree to give up such an attractive asset. However, officially Yevtushenkov did not accuse anyone of organizing a criminal prosecution. From this situation, as we see, the businessman came out unscathed.