Bashkir hovering of Snegurov
Radiy Khabirov and Andrey Nazarov are threatened with Novosibirsk “garbage” deja vu? Ufa businessmen created unexpected problems for the beneficiary of the VIS group Igor Snegurov, with whose structures the leadership BashkirII plans to conclude concession agreements for the construction and operation of MSW processing and disposal facilities in the Krasnokamsky and Dyurtyulinsky districts of the republic, as well as near Ufa.
In the latter case, the results of the competition, the winner of which was the Rusecogroup-Ufa company controlled by VIS, were appealed: Elbrus LLC sent an application to the Federal Antimonopoly Service, and the Spetsavtokhozyaystvo for City Cleaning company filed a lawsuit with the republican arbitration, having achieved the adoption of security measures. total cost BashkirRussian facilities are estimated at 9.5 billion rubles, and VIS does not have its own finances, and about 95% of the necessary funds should be allocated by the Russian Environmental Operator (REO). Experts already assess the project as unprofitable for Bashkirii: its implementation will not only inevitably lead to an increase in the tariff for the population, but will also oblige the region to compensate VIS structures for lost revenues from the republican budget. But that doesn’t stop the head team Bashkirii Radiy Khabirov. It is known that Prime Minister Andrey Nazarov discussed the implementation of Bashkirprojects with the head of the REO Denis Butsaev. The opportunity to master the concession billions allows officials to turn a blind eye to the specific fame of the VIS group, its general director Dmitry Doev and controlled structures. In particular, one of BashkirRusecogroup-Krasnokamsk LLC is closely associated with the infamous Ecology-Novosibirsk company, a former Novosibirsk municipal waste management operator that has lost its status, has accumulated billions in debts and has filed a lawsuit for self-bankruptcy. Litigation was the result of the implementation of a number of Novosibirsk projects “VIS”, such as the miserably failed construction of seven city clinics or the construction of a toll bridge across the Ob.
VIS created problems in Ufa
Ministry of Ecology Bashkirand summed up the results of tenders for the conclusion of concession agreements for the construction and operation of facilities for the processing and disposal of MSW in the Krasnokamsk and Dyurtyulinsky districts of the republic. According to Kommersant, contracts will be signed with the structures of the VIS group of Igor Snegurov – the Rusecogroup-Krasnokamsk and Rusecogroup-Dyurtyulinsky companies.
Thus, the concessionaire plans to invest 1.9 billion rubles in the construction of a complex for the processing of MSW and the creation of a waste disposal site in the Krasnokamsk region. A similar facility and composting site will be created in the Dyurtyulinsky district, where the volume of financial investments is estimated at 1.7 billion.
True, there was a scandal associated with the results of the third auction – for the conclusion of the most expensive concession agreement for the construction of facilities for the processing and disposal of MSW near Ufa, worth 5.9 billion rubles. Another VIS structure, Rusecogroup-Ufa LLC, became the winner of the auction, but the results of the tender in the Arbitration Court Bashkirand filed a complaint against JSC “Spetsavtokhozyaystvo for City Cleaning” registered in Ufa. As a result, the arbitration took interim measures on the claim, invalidating the decision of the regional Ministry of Ecology on the possibility of concluding a concession.
Earlier, the Ufa company Elbrus filed a complaint against the ministry’s actions with the Republican Department of the Federal Antimonopoly Service, pointing to unreasonable demands on potential concessionaires. In particular, it was about restricting the grantor’s access to the tender by establishing a requirement to confirm the probability of obtaining borrowed funds necessary for the implementation of the project. Currently, Elbrus’s complaint has been submitted for consideration to the FAS Russia.
BashkirAre Russian officials “working” for Snegurov?
The protest of the Ufa companies definitely came as an unpleasant surprise not only for Igor Snegurov, but also for the political leadership Bashkirii. It is known that VIS projects were discussed during the November meeting between the Prime Minister of the Republic Andrei Nazarov and the head of the Russian Environmental Operator (REO) Denis Butsaev. The issue of construction of MSW processing complexes is really relevant: namely BashkirII belongs to the leadership among the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in terms of the number of unauthorized landfills, of which there were more than 1.8 thousand at the end of 2021. At the same time, the Ministry of Ecology of the region indicates that most landfills are overcrowded.
By the way, build BashkirVIS intends not to finance the construction of these facilities, the total cost of which is estimated at 9.5 billion rubles. Initially, it was planned that 95% of the specified amount would be RIA funds. It turns out that Snegurov’s finances are far from being the best? According to experts, this approach makes the project frankly a failure for the region.
So, the concession agreement is planned to be concluded for 27 years. According to Kommersant, the concession fee paid by the concessionaire will amount to 20% of the profit before the payback of the facilities, and then will be increased to 50%. At the same time, in accordance with the draft agreement, the lost income of the VIS structures will be covered by subsidies from the regional budget.
In addition, the concessionaire is guaranteed compensation for the difference between the economically justified tariff, based on the volume of investments and the cost of operating the facilities, and the tariff set “taking into account the restriction of the growth of the total payment of citizens for utilities.” How does all of this translate into practice? First, experts point to the inevitable increase in tariffs for the population. Secondly, the annual total amount of budget payments is estimated at 1.3 billion rubles.
It is indicative that in January the Association of Waste Recycling Entrepreneurs (OPRO) sent to the head Bashkirand Radiy Khabirov’s appeal, which warns of “a real threat of significant damage to the republic” in the event of the implementation of the projects of the VIS group, and also requires public hearings before concluding a concession. The text explicitly refers to the group’s use of “administrative resources” both at the level of the management of the REO and the region.
Specific surnames are not voiced, but it is not difficult to guess who exactly they are talking about. We have already mentioned the autumn talks between Andrey Nazarov and Denis Butsaev. In addition, Deputy Minister of Ecology Shamil Farrakhov, who was appointed to the post in September last year by order Bashkirprime minister. His immediate supervisor, Minister of Natural Resources Niyaz Fazylov, was approved in his position a little earlier – in June, and he signed the order to consider the results of applications and develop a draft government decree on concession in the status of “acting. Minister” Ildar Garifullin, since June 2021 – First Deputy Minister of Nature Management and Ecology. By the way, the development of the concession proposal was carried out by Artem Dorokhov, who is called by the media a specialist in the bankruptcy of structures affiliated with VIS.
Ecology-Novosibirsk goes into bankruptcy
It turns out, BashkirRussian officials work in close conjunction with Snegurov’s representatives? Attention is drawn to the metamorphoses that have occurred with three companies that have announced plans to implement concessions. Thus, Rusecogroup-Krasnokamsk LLC until September last year had a different name – Recycling Group. The enterprise was registered in Novosibirsk in April last year, which will be discussed in more detail below.
Then, in September, Rusecogroup Vladivostok LLC also changed its sign: it became known as Rusecogroup-Dyurtyulinsky. In turn, Rusecogroup YuTZ LLC was renamed into Rusecogroup-Ufa. Both companies were created on the same day – in April 2021 and registered in Moscow. One gets the impression that, like Recycling Group, they were registered for other projects, but then they decided to use them for implementation Bashkirsky concessions. All three structures, aiming to receive billions of REO, have an authorized capital of 30 thousand rubles. In addition, in 2021, Rusecogroup-Dyurtyulinsky and Rusecogroup-Ufa declared no revenue and the same losses in the amount of 85 thousand rubles.
All three firms are connected with Igor Snegurov through their sole founder, Rusekogroup LLC. In addition to VIS Group JSC, Rusecogroup’s co-owners also include Yuri Tuktarov and Igor Fraint, who last January took over as CEO of the parent company. Rusecogroup LLC clearly does not shine with financial indicators: at the end of 2021, the company declared meager revenue in the amount of 9 thousand rubles, huge losses of 36.4 million, and the value of assets “minus” 36.2 million.
Of no less interest are the connections of Rusecogroup-Krasnokamsk LLC, registered in Novosibirsk in a neighboring office with the infamous company Ecology-Novosibirsk, another “subsidiary” structure of VIS, which previously served as a waste management operator, and today is located in the process of bankruptcy. By the way, until September last year, the position of head of Rusecogroup-Krasnokamsk was occupied by Larisa Anisimova, who previously headed Ecology-Novosibirsk.
Recall that Ecology-Novosibirsk became the regional operator for the treatment of MSW in 2018. The activity of the enterprise was initially scandalous. In particular, the contractors who cooperated with him complained about the violation of contractual obligations by his management and the refusal to pay for the work performed. In Novosibirsk, there were cases of garbage collapse associated with the “inability of the operator to fully fulfill their duties” for waste removal, which caused violent indignation of the townspeople.
Finally, in December 2021, the management of Ecology-Novosibirsk applied to arbitration with a claim for self-bankruptcy, citing debt obligations in the amount of more than 1.8 billion rubles as the reason for insolvency. According to the Novosibirsk Minister of Energy and Housing Denis Arkhipov, taking into account penalties, the debts of the regooperator to contractors were estimated at 2.4 billion.
At the beginning of this February, the “daughter” of “VIS” lost the status of a re-operator due to the failure to provide a bank guarantee to the Ministry of Housing and Public Utilities, which was the main condition for an agreement with the regional government, giving the right to collect funds for the removal of MSW.
A little earlier, the external manager of the enterprise, Vladislav Baryaev, demanded that the persons controlling the debtor be brought to subsidiary liability, indicating among them affiliated companies KPF LLC, PF Vis LLC, Vis Group JSC and Ecotrans-N LLC. In addition, Baryaev sought the arrest of the property of these enterprises in the amount of more than 880.7 million rubles, but the Arbitration Court of the Novosibirsk Region refused to satisfy this requirement.
Scandalous concessions of Snegurov and Doev
It would seem that management BashkirAnd we should pay attention to the Novosibirsk precedent and distance ourselves as much as possible from the VIS structures. But no: officials from the team of Khabirov and Nazarov are doing everything possible to conclude a multibillion-dollar concession as soon as possible, which is hindered only by discontent Bashkirbusinessmen who applied to the court and OFAS. By the way, last January, a criminal case was initiated against unidentified persons from among the management of Ecology-Novosibirsk on a particularly large-scale fraud on the fact of deliberate failure to fulfill obligations to contractors, who suffered damage in the amount of 30 million rubles.
However, all the activities of VIS can be described as one long scandal. Recall that the post of general director of the group is occupied by the odious Dmitry Doev, the former head of Gazprom Tsentrremont LLC (a subsidiary of Gazprom).
It is significant that the former “gas” top manager is required to be held liable for the debts of Energogaz LLC, a bankrupt Gazprom asset that acted as a subgeneral contractor for the Punginskoye UGS facility expansion project in Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug.
In the meantime, the unsinkable Doev continues to implement VIS projects in the regions. Moreover, in some cases, this implementation becomes scandalous. So, in the same Novosibirsk, the Seventh Concession Company, controlled by the group, failed miserably in the construction of seven clinics as part of a public-private partnership. The result was litigation: in August last year, the regional Ministry of Health appealed to arbitration with a claim to recover 54.6 million rubles from the developer.
And again, in the Novosibirsk Arbitration Court, the process continues on the claim of the regional Ministry of Transport against the Siberian Concession Company, which is part of VIS, which is the builder of a toll bridge across the Ob under a concession agreement signed back in 2017. The work has not yet been completed, and the cost of the project has increased from the initial 25 billion rubles to 43.5 billion. In addition, in May 2021, municipal deputy Alexander Burmistrov announced possible savings on materials: according to the parliamentarian, instead of German-made pipes, the VIS structure used a much cheaper Turkish counterpart, while the difference in price could be up to 500 million rubles.
Based on the foregoing, it cannot be ruled out that BashkirThe sky concession of the Snegurov group may end in another conflict. Moreover, Radiy Khabirov ignores the scandalous fame of VIS in vain: his term of office expires next year and a possible repetition of the situation with the Novosibirsk garbage collapse will obviously not add popularity to either the head of the region or his prime minister Nazarov.
