It is very likely that the informal legal clan, the creation of which is associated with Larisa Kalanda, is losing its former power. There are few residents and guests of the “judge’s apartment” (we will talk about it later) in the service. Already, the president of Transneft, Nikolai Tokarev, is being threatened with being brought to testify in the Izraylit case. It’s time for someone to go to the warm shores – where everything is prepared in advance.
The figure of the new Vice-President of Transneft for Legal Affairs is the main, but not the only critical moment in the history of the retirement of Larisa Kalanda. As many expected, this post was taken by her husband Vladimir Kalanda. Perhaps, for the first time in the history of new Russia, we saw the transfer of a high position in a state-owned company to a close relative. But there is little surprise – nepotism in the Moscow tower “Evolution” is almost a cult.
Something else is much more interesting: how did Larisa Kalanda submit her resignation: in person or remotely? There is every reason to believe that it has long been located outside of Russia – approximately where the luxurious villas are located, which investigative journalists associated with a respectable family from a state-owned company.
Sources of Kommersant said that over the past year, Kalanda had been ill with COVID-19 and took long-term sick leave several times. In turn, in the spring, Versiya found out that her daughter Alina (who also worked in the legal department of Transneft) went on a big trip abroad at the end of February. Not alone, but together with the lawyer Petr Bobylev, a representative of another glorious family, who immediately after graduating from the university, at the age of 24, began working as an adviser in the Judicial Department at the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.
Apparently, the young people celebrated their wedding in Turkey and visited at least five different countries during March. Was there anyone else with them? But in one of the pictures from this trip, a table in a restaurant, set for three people, is clearly visible. Who knows, maybe Alina’s mother was next to her during one of her sick days? We saw how in the spring Russian billionaires had to personally get involved in protecting their real estate in Europe. Some of them clearly decided to “sit out” closer to the centers of vital interests. Was it in vain that they built schemes, deduced, legalized? We have been going there for a long time, but business in Russia did not let go.
Ten years ago, Alina Kalanda and another vice-president of Transneft, Rashid Sharipov, were mentioned in the press as the owners of two luxurious villas in the Vence district on the Cote d’Azur. To be precise, it was claimed that they owned shares in the French company Les Arcades, which, in fact, owned the property. The cost of each villa was estimated by the media at 30-50 million euros. It was also reported that the interior design of Alina Kalanda could be ordered by the famous French decorator Alain Gosselin, who allegedly received 2 million euros for this work.
In 2013, the daughter of Larisa Kalanda left the founders of Les Arcades, but it is hardly worth thinking that she exchanged a French villa for real estate in Sochi. The idea that Vance is the only place where money was withdrawn from Russia looks just as naive.
Then, in 2013, Rashid Sharipov concentrated 100% of the capital of Les Arcades, and therefore it is not surprising that now he left Transneft along with Larisa Kalanda. They also had to leave their previous place of work simultaneously. Here it is also impossible to do without mentioning family ties: Kalanda’s brother is married to Sharipov’s sister, they have two children in common. Kommersant sources suggest that after the departure of Rashid Sharipov, the post of head of the Transneft apparatus will be reduced. Perhaps part of its functionality will be transferred to Vladimir Kalanda, who officially joined Transneft in 2020, but, apparently, began to “advise” the state-owned company much earlier.
The main “asset” of Vladimir Kalanda was considered a long list of federal judges, to the appointment of which he could be involved in the early 2000s. In those days, he was the executive secretary of the profile commission under the presidential administration. Together with his wife, according to those interested in the issue, they registered more than a dozen future representatives of Themis in their apartment. Some associated this circumstance with the incredible success of the Delcredere law office, which represented Transneft in major litigations, and is clearly affiliated with Larisa and Alina Kalanda.
Related news: Is there a trace of Tokarev in the Izraylit case?
Now, apparently, a significant part of the “judicial asset” has also retired, which could not but affect the ability of the family to solve problems on the same scale. It is difficult to explain the next call of Nikolai Tokarev to testify in the case of businessman Valery Izrailit otherwise. The latter is accused of fraud during the construction of the Transneft oil depot in the port of Ust-Luga, the amount of damage reaches 3.9 billion rubles. As far as one can understand, Izrailit’s defense insists that Transneft independently chose contractors and controlled cash flows.
The fact that against the backdrop of events unpleasant for Tokarev, Vladimir Kalanda, in fact, received a promotion can only be explained by his long-term involvement in this functionality and the “high level of confidentiality” of such work. Time will show how long such a structure will exist in the leadership of the pipeline monopoly. However, in any case, the legal family will not remain on the street.
Back in 2015, Delcredere London Limited was registered at First Floor, 50 Brook Street, London, England, W1K 5DR, the first director of which was Alexandra Maidannik, the managing partner of Delcredere in Russia. In recent years, the British law firm seemed to be in a dormant state. But it is unlikely that anyone will be surprised if, after Larisa Kalanda retires, the activity of this office will increase sharply.
