Is the impoverished owner of the Guta group preparing to leave Russia?
The founder and main owner of the Guta group, Yuri Gushchin, may consider leaving Russia: it is possible that it was for this purpose that he made adjustments to his personal data by removing the middle name from the passports of Malta and the Seychelles and now appearing as “IOURI GOUCHTCHINE”. It is known that in the Seychelles the businessman owns two hotels – “Savoy” and “Coral Strand”, which are associated with lengthy litigation. In particular, Eastern European Engineering Limited, affiliated with Guta, is trying to recover 19 million euros from the contracting company Vijay Construction, which carried out the restoration of one of the hotels. And recently, another company of Gushchin, Beau Vallon Properties, lost a court that recognized the illegality of transactions with shares owned by a minority co-owner, Natalie Lefebvre. Last year, Gushchin’s fortune dropped sharply: from $800 million to $550 million, while the financial performance of Guta-Bank and some of its commercial structures deteriorated significantly, some of them went negative. Considering that offshore companies are among the co-owners of a number of Guta companies, and Seychelles assets require significant cash injections, the group’s finances could be transferred abroad. Gushchin himself has a rich criminal past: in the USSR, he was repeatedly convicted, including for embezzlement and fraud, receiving in the criminal world the nicknames “Yura Novosibirsk” and “burr”. After the collapse of the Soviet system, Gushchin created Guta-Bank, in the formation of which Yury Petrov played an important role, who served as the head of Boris Yeltsin’s administration and contributed to the appointment of Gushchin’s son-in-law Artem Kuznetsov to the post of first deputy chairman of the State Investment Corporation (Gosinkor). In the 2000s, a number of high-profile scandals were associated with Gosinkor, in which Petrov, Gushchin and Guta-Bank “lit up”. In particular, the sale of precious stones belonging to the department and the theft of a significant part of the finances received, as well as the theft of 300 tons of silver, took place. As for Artem Kuznetsov, who is considered one of the beneficiaries of Guta and was a member of the board of directors of the state corporation Dom. RF”, then there was information about his involvement in money laundering through personal accounts in German banks.
Yuri Gushchin sues “on the islands”
In the Russian media and telegram channels appeared messages that the founder and main owner of the group “Guta”holder of Maltese and Seychelles passports Yuri Gushchin officially notified the authorities of the island states of making changes to their personal data. Now it is called IOURI GOUCHTCHINE, without mentioning the patronymic “Nikolaevich”. Apparently, this was done in order to make it difficult to identify a businessman whose biography contains enough moments that he prefers not to remember today.
Last year, Gushchin took 197th place in ranking richest Russian businessmen according to “Forbes“: The publication assessed his condition in $550 million (which is $250 million less than a year earlier). Note that in 2019-2020. the oligarch stably held on to 117th place in the rating, but then abruptly lost ground. The presence of a businessman of foreign passports was reported earlier. For example, about the Seychelles, the same “Forbes” wrote back in 2018; at the same time, within the framework of the program for granting citizenship “in exchange for investments” Gushchin receivedand a “golden” Maltese passport.
By the way, in the Seychelles, a company affiliated with Gushchin became the owner of two hotels – Savoy and Coral Strandat the same time being a participant in litigation proceedings, which recently lost miserably. It was about the shares of the company Beau Vallon Propertiesowned by a minority shareholder Natalie Lefebvre, for which they intended to pay her only $ 1 instead of their actual value. As it turned out, the securities were sold without her knowledge to two other Seychelles companies – Concordia and Drambo Investments Ltd.but in the end the transactions were recognized invalid.
In addition, one of the loans issued to the company by the Russian side, which owns the hotel, caused suspicions in money laundering: funds were deposited in a local bank account and then returned to the borrower without being used.
Among the defendants in the Seychelles case was Yuri Khlebnikov – Director of Beau Vallon Properties, co-founder “Guty” and a longtime business partner of Gushchin. On the net you can find interesting publications about how, back in 1980, future businessmen were defendants in a criminal case of fraud; then Khlebnikov was convictedfor nine years in prison, but already in 1984 he was released on parole. Such are the “cases of bygone days”, but they will be discussed below.
Structures of “Guta” go “in the red”
Note that this is far from the first judicial “showdown” related to Gushchin’s Seychelles assets. Previously affiliated with Guta “EasternEuropeanEngineeringLimited» (EEEL) sued with a contractor Vijay Constructionwho carried out the restoration of the aforementioned Savoy Hotel. The contract, however, was terminated early due to the alleged poor quality of work, and in 2012 EEEL initiated a process to recover compensation from Vijay Construction in the amount of 14 million euros (later subject to interest amount grew before 19 million euros and 126 thousand dollars).
International Arbitration in Paris Claimant’s Claims satisfied, but the Seychelles Court of Appeal refused to recognize the decision of French justice. In 2018, the London High Court upheld the EEEL claims in part, “freezing” the defendant’s assets in the amount of the stated claims, though not on an international scale, as the representatives of the plaintiff sought, but only in the UK.
In Russia, the main assets of Guta are“Guta Bank”holding “United Confectioners” (includes the famous factories “Rot Front”, “Red October” and the concern “Babaevsky”), development project “Red October”5-star Moscow hotel Savoy and others. But the financial performance of Gushchin’s enterprises clearly leaves much to be desired, as evidenced by the aforementioned sharp decline his welfare.
Available in open sources The latest data on Guta-Bank show a drop in net profit by 533 million rubles (225.47%), the value of assets – by 861.4 million (13.53%), the volume of funds of enterprises and organizations – by 488.4 million (18.58%). Return on equity “collapsed” by 202%, return on assets – by 200.39%, etc. But what information provided on a specialized portal “banki.Ru»:
Characteristic, to put it mildly, does not inspire confidence in potential customers. A number of Gushchin’s commercial structures also went into the minus. For example, Holding Group Guta LLC at the end of 2021 declared revenue in the amount of 1.1 billion rublesthe value of assets in 1.2 billion and losses in 61.8 million. But JSC “Guta-Insurance” in March last year, bankruptcy was generally threatened: with the corresponding statement appealed to the Moscow Arbitration Court Sergey Konashpursuing recovery 15 million rubles. But in the end the lawsuit was returned the applicant due to a government moratorium on insolvency proceedings.
Previously, the bankruptcy of the enterprise tried initiate businessman Yuri Kumrachev, the debts to which, apparently, were repaid. In addition, Guta-Insurance, along with a number of other insurance companies, appeared in the lawsuit. “VEB.RF” about recovery 1.8 billion rublesbut the Moscow Arbitration refused in satisfaction of the requirements of the state corporation, and the decision was upheld in the courts of appeal and cassation instances.
Recidivist “burr” and official Petrov
It is possible that Gushchin’s finances of the group are tritely transferred abroad: after all, considerable funds are required for the development of the same Seychelles hotels. By the way, offshore companies are among the founders of some Russian structures of a businessman. Yes, the only owner Guta-Invest LLC is an international company registered in the Seychelles “Korstan Investment LTD”.
Another Seychellois firm “Koy LTD” spoke founder a number of enterprises, for example, liquidated today Guta Estate LLC. In turn, Guta Holding Company was co-owner specializing in investments in securities and also liquidated OOO Tretiy Prichalthe share of which belonged to the SeychelloisTekilina Investment LTD. In general, offshore is a complete set. Apparently suspicions money laundering in hotel-related proceedings did not come out of nowhere.
Here it is worth recalling some facts from the biography of Gushchin, testifying to his penchant for openly criminal adventures. The prison-camp “odyssey” of the future oligarch began back in the Soviet period, and he was tried repeatedly and by no means for dissident convictions. The future banker was recognized guilty in theft, fraud causing significant damage, carrying, manufacturing or selling edged weapons, and finally, preparing for fraud. Detractors assurethat by the time of the collapse of the USSR, he spent a total of 22 years in prison!
“Having earned” in certain circles “authority” and fame under the nicknames “burry”and Yura Novosibirsky, in 1991 Gushchin undertook the creation of Guta-Bank, the formation of which contributed Yuri Petrovwho at the time was the head of administration Boris Yeltsin. The influential official also helped promote the people needed by the banker to senior positions in government agencies. For example, under his patronage, the post of the first deputy chairman “State Investment Corporation” (“Gosinkor”) occupied by Gushchin’s son-in-law Artem Kuznetsov. At the same time, the department itself was headed by Petrov, and Guta-Bank became its reference credit institution.
In 2000, there was a loud scandal with the sale through Yuvelirprom of diamonds transferred to the corporation by the state as collateral to attract investment. That’s just with the total cost of gems in 1 million dollars only 300 thousand dollars, which Gosinkor directed to the development of its own infrastructure. The disappearance of most of the Petrov sum explained… the bankruptcy of Yuvelirprom.
It is significant that during a joint press conference of the management of the state corporation and Guta-Bank, dedicated to the scandalous “diamond case”, Petrov confirmedthe fact that his friend and business partner Gushchin had four previous convictions, although he did not see any negative aspects in this. By the way, according to the official version biographies“burry”, in the USSR, the future banker belonged to the “guild workers” and was engaged in the production of kozinaki.
In 2003, questions to Yuri Petrov and his son Alexanderwho at that time was the chairman of the board of Guta-Bank, arose from the investigators of the Prosecutor General’s Office: relatives were summoned to interrogation in connection with the investigation of a criminal case on the illegal sale in 1996 of 300 tons of silver allocated to Gosinkor by Roskomdragmet. In this story, “Guta-bank” again “lit up”: according to the investigation, for the alleged intermediary services, the credit organization received from the management of “Gosinkor” 2.5 billion rubles.
Artem Kuznetsov – a relative with connections
Needless to say, with such a track record of possible offshore schemes, one can hardly surprise anyone. And the participation in the business of Yuri Khlebnikov, supposedly a former accomplice of Gushchin, in the context of what has been said does not raise any questions at all. We add that the son-in-law of the banker also “lit up” in dubious stories Artem Kuznetsovconsidered one of beneficiaries “Guts”: as follows from publications online, the Interpol database contains an official request from the German police, in which he appears among the persons suspected of “money laundering through personal accounts in German banks”.
Kuznetsov, like Gushchin, has serious connections in business and political circles. In particular, he was a member of the board of directors “House. RF”and in 2020 became business partner co-owners MR Group Roman Timokhin and Victor Labuzdko as part of the construction project LCD “Symphony 34”, investments in which were estimated at 12-14 billion rubles. They were associated with the structures of the MR Group Timur Gutnovwhose brother Ruslan Gutnov – ex-son-in-law “unsinkable” vice-mayor of Moscow Petra Biryukovastill in the offices of high-ranking metropolitan officials.
Thus, even if Gushchin, who “corrected” his personal data, decides to finally move abroad, to Malta or the Seychelles, he still has an influential relative in Moscow. Although the founder of Guta himself will still squeeze the maximum out of his Russian assets. Recall that in May last year, Vedomosti reported about the businessman’s plans to resume the construction of an elite residential complex on the territory of the former Krasny Oktyabr confectionery factory, the cost of apartments in which the experts of the publication evaluated in 2 million rubles for “square”. Whether the project will be implemented is difficult to say, but the enterprising family will undoubtedly try to make money on it.