How Sheremetyevo Airport, controlled by billionaires Rotenberg and Skorobogatko, is destroying water bodies in the Moscow region.
Sheremetyevo International Airport (JSC SIA) has been causing environmental damage for many years by discharging waste containing reagents for aircraft de-icing into the Voskresensky Stream, which flows into the Klyazma River, which is the object of federal environmental supervision. Residents of Khimki near Moscow are against the pollution of water bodies, and back in 2018 they sent a corresponding appeal to the president. At the same time, during the preparation for the 2018 World Cup, the airport management made contact with the public and even discussed a roadmap for repairing the outdated treatment facilities of the enterprise, but after the end of the competition the constructive dialogue ceased. The facts of Klyazma pollution have been repeatedly confirmed by inspections of Rosprirodnadzor, which imposed millions in fines on the airport for causing environmental damage. There are only known cases when the courts took the side of JSC SIA, canceling decisions on compensation for damage, as was the case with the claim of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Moscow Region for more than 74 million rubles. From year to year, including during legal proceedings, the airport management promises to reconstruct the treatment facilities, voicing an investment volume of 3 billion rubles. The deadline for completing the work was set at 2023, but then was repeatedly postponed, and last spring they were talking about 2029. Meanwhile, hazardous wastewater exceeding the maximum permissible concentration of ethylene glycol continues to be discharged into Klyazma. In the meantime, the issue with treatment facilities is being put on the back burner, Sheremetyevo Airport is paying multi-billion dollar dividends to its shareholders, the main one of which is the Sheremetyevo Holding company, affiliated with the famous near-Kremlin oligarch Arkady Rotenberg and his long-time business partner, co-owner of TPS Real Estate Holding”, former senator and ex-State Duma deputy Alexander Skorobogatko.
Sheremetyevo is under the control of oligarchs
First, you need to understand the structure of the owners of the air harbor. Founders information JSC Sheremetyevo International Airport (JSC “MASH”) in open sources missing, but information Interfax, its main owner with a share of more than 66% of shares is Sheremetyevo Holding LLC. Also included shareholders included Rosimushchestvo, PJSC Aeroflot And VEB Capital LLC.
In turn, founder Sheremetyevo Holding LLC has been operating since March 2023 International company limited liability company (MCOO) “TPS Avia Holding LTD”– resident special administrative region on the territory of Oktyabrsky Island in the Kaliningrad region, which does not disclose data about its owners and leadership.
In fact, we are talking about redomiciliation, that is, transfer to Russian jurisdiction, of a Cyprus offshore company with the same name – “TPS Avia Holding”whose main shareholders are Kommersant called businessmen Arkady RotenbergAnd Alexandra Skorobogatko. Arkady Rotenberg, an oligarch close to the Kremlin and a hockey fan, hardly needs any special introduction. Let us only note that it ranks 35th in ranking Russian billionaires according to “Forbes» with a condition in $4 billion.
Alexander Skorobogatko is on the 68th line of this rating, Forbes evaluates his condition in $2.1 billion. In 2002-2003 He representedKaliningrad region in the Federation Council, where he was a member of the industrial policy committee; in 2003-2016 – was deputy State Duma (first from LDPRthen – from “United Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism)”). Skorobogatko – co-owner companies “TPS Real Estate Holding” (“TPS Real Estate”), managing a network of shopping and entertainment centers in Moscow, Sochi, Krasnodar and Novosibirsk.
Billion-dollar dividends of Sheremetyevo Holding
The latest data on the financial indicators of JSC SIA, available in the public domain, are dated 2021: then, with revenue in 26.8 billionthe airport declared profit in size 5.4 billion rubles. Next year financial information didn’t open “taking into account current factors,” that is, Western sanctions.
But last year’s figures for Sheremetyevo Holding, controlled by Rotenberg and Skorobogatko, are known: with revenues of 15.3 billion his profit amounted to 14.4 billion rubles. Now let’s compare with the figures for 2022: then, with revenue in 337.3 million the company declared profit in size 483.1 million rubles. That is, height revenue was a whopping 4427%, profit – 2881%.
It is worth noting that last April the media wrote about the receipt by Sheremetyevo Holding of dividends for 2023 in the amount of almost 15.3 billion rubles from certain “Russian organizations”. Considering that the only one The “subsidiary” structure of the company is JSC “MASH”; it is not difficult to guess which “organization” we are talking about. By the way, previously the airport reported about last year’s growth in passenger traffic by 29% – to 36.6 million people.
By the way, the volume of dividend payments could be much larger if the beneficiaries of Sheremetyevo Holding realized it voiced at the beginning of 2020, there were plans to acquire 30.46% of the air harbor from the state. However, later they refused from this idea, allegedly due to the impossibility of determining the fair market value of the block of shares due to “economic uncertainty associated with the pandemic and current restrictions on passenger air travel”.
Environmental confrontation in Khimki
It would be appropriate to recall here that the pandemic year 2021 is for the airport management (post general director since May 2005 occupies Mikhail Vasilenko) was also marked by a new round of confrontation with the residents Residential complex “City of Embankments”in Khimki near Moscow, which have been sounding the alarm for several years about the pollution of the Klyazma River, which is the object of federal environmental supervision. In particular, in 2018, in treatment addressed to the president, they focused on the airport’s discharge of wastewater containing anti-icing agents into the Voskresensky stream, which flows into the Klyazma.
At the same time, from the text of the appeal it followed that the Sheremetyevo management of this fact didn’t denybut referred to the lack of treatment facilities. But in the administration of the Khimki urban district statedthat during the raid conducted by employees of the municipality’s environmental safety department, no violations of environmental legislation were identified, and Rosprirodnadzor specialists are already conducting their own investigation.
How told one of the activists told a TASS correspondent that on the eve of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the airport management maintained contact with the initiative group; as a result of several meetings, a roadmap for repairing the enterprise’s treatment facilities was even developed. It was only after the end of the competition that representatives of Sheremetyevo reduced further constructive communication to nothing.
In April 2021, after another inspection, the head of Rosprirodnadzor Svetlana Radionova reported about the excess in Klyazma of the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) of ethylene glycol, which is part of the liquid for treating aircraft from icing, by 6-10 times, and in the stream flowing into the river – by 604 times. Moreover, according to data department, out of 17 sites where aircraft are treated with anti-icing fluid, only seven met the requirements of the state environmental assessment of the draft technical documentation.
“POZH(anti-icing fluid) as part of wastewater it enters the storm sewer system and then through treatment facilities into water bodies, which is confirmed by exceeding the maximum permissible concentration as a result of triple sampling.Sheremetyevo-Handling LLC(“subsidiary” company of the airport) does not have a license to transport waste after processing aircraft from the processing site to the storage tanks for spent waste fluid”– RIA Novosti quoted the official message Rosprirodnadzor.
It would seem that everything is clearer than clear. Moreover, the supervisory authority has previously repeatedly presented financial claims to the airport, seeking compensation for environmental damage caused to Klyazma. For example, at the beginning of 2018 it was about fine in the amount of more 2 million rubles. And in the fall of 2019, MASH voluntarily paid 4 million rubles– compensation for pollution of Klyazma.
However, already in August 2022 Svetlana Radionova wrote in his Telegram channel about new detected violations: samples taken during the next inspection showed exceeding the maximum permissible concentration for ethylene glycol, iron and ammonium ion. Damage caused by the enterprise to the environment in 2021, in the department appreciated more than in 175 millionin 2022 – in 15 million rubles. That’s just the airport appealed decisions of Rosprirodnadzor in court.
How long will it take to reconstruct wastewater treatment plants?
It is unknown whether MASH paid the indicated amounts. In February 2021 media wrote on recovery by decision of the Moscow Regional Arbitration from Sheremetyevo Airport to the budget of the Khimki urban district as environmental damage 74.3 million rubles. The plaintiff in this case was the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources Management of the Moscow Region, and the proceedings involved an administrative offense initiated back in 2019. But the appellate court made this decision canceled.
In July last year, regular proceedings lost residents of Khimki, who sought a court injunction for the airport to drain liquid containing reagents into Klyazma, as well as remediation of the contaminated area. But even in the fact that the Khimki City Court sided with the enterprise, the plaintiffs found their advantages: during the process, representatives of JSC SIA announced plans to carry out reconstruction treatment facilities, the very ones whose renovation was discussed before the 2018 World Cup.
In general, the management of the air harbor has been making the same promises for years. For example, in April 2021, the airport’s director of public relations Anna Zakharenkova assured journalists that the company plans to solve the problem of reagents getting into Klyazma by 2023 by investing in the reconstruction of treatment facilities 3 billion rubles.
Last February, the Moscow news agency, with reference to the Deputy General Director of Sheremetyevo for Finance and Commercial Activities Alexandra Oleynik, reported about plans to create new treatment plants within the framework of an additional agreement to the concession with the Federal Air Transport Agency, and the start time of work was indicated very vaguely – the end of 2024 – the beginning of 2025.
And so, as recently as April, it became known: the airport had once again moved reconstruction structures, this time for 2024-2029. It is possible that the co-owners and management of JSC SIA in this matter act in accordance with the proverb, according to which “they wait three years for what is promised.” But the wait for the residents of Khimki has already been quite long, and wastewater with reagents continues to pollute Klyazma. In addition, the courts are in no hurry to punish the airport, making warnings from Rosprirodnadzor an empty formality. So while the beneficiaries of Sheremetyevo Holding are looking forward to the payment of the next billion-dollar dividends, the solution to environmental issues will have to wait. At least until 2029.
