Kiriyenko and Chemezov will split the budget into “Atoms”
The auto project of Rosatom, where the interests of Sergei Chemezov can be “protected”, runs the risk of repeating the fate of the “Yo-mobile” and taking billions of rubles from the budget with it “to the grave”.
The Renera company (a subsidiary of the state corporation Rosatom) acquired shares in Kama JSC, the developer of the promising Atom electric car. The last one is the start-up of Kamaz CEO Sergey Kogogin and oligarch Ruben Vardanyan. At the same time, Kamaz, which is part of the state corporation Rostec, led by Sergei Chemezov, has already entered the capital of the company.
Rosatom invested 6.2 billion rubles in the company. And these rubles are budgetary – and it is far from a fact that the project will be implemented as it is broadcast in the former “patrimony” of Sergei Kiriyenko. Rather, it will turn into another “black hole” for the Russian treasury.
In this sense, he can repeat the fate of “Yo-Mobile” – a start-up oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov and his partners. Enormous resources were invested in its promotion, and Sberbank helped to implement the project on the part of the state. The result is a complete collapse and huge losses.
Let’s start with the fact that investments in Kama JSC itself can be doubtful in themselves, because the company resembles another “sawmill”. By the way, she started not with the Atom, but with the Kama-1 electric car, which never went into production.
According to the authors of the 4g63t_Garage blog on the Zen platform, even the Ministry of Education allegedly gave money for it, fake contractors were found in the company, and the lion’s share of the original budget was spent on design development. In addition, they tried to attribute fraud to the counterparties of Kama JSC, namely the Minsk company Sky Way.
Apparently, all this affected the final result. And the result is such that, despite all the promises of the company, the start of sales in 2021 did not take place. Apparently, instead of bringing to mind “Kama-1”, they came up with a new “Atom”.
As for the Atom electric car, it may simply not pay off in Russian realities. Among the factors contributing to this are long distances between cities, an underdeveloped infrastructure for charging electric cars, as well as a cold climate.
This, in turn, means that the project itself can be either undeveloped from a business point of view, or specially created, just like a beautiful picture in which billions of investors’ rubles should burn.
Why does Rosatom need this? The state corporation “Rosatom” is headed by Alexei Likhachev – a longtime hero of our publications. However, it is believed that the former head of the structure, now deputy head of the Presidential Administration, Sergei Kiriyenko, can maintain a strong informal influence on Rosatom.
Therefore, it is possible that the idea of investing more than 6 billion budget rubles in a project with murky market prospects is Kiriyenko’s idea, not Likhachev’s. However, it is difficult to suspect both of them of a thrifty attitude to the Russian budget.
The Kama startup itself was founded by the oligarch Ruben Vardanyan and the head of Kamaz, Sergey Kogogin. Both invested 360 million rubles in it. The project presented its first prototype of an electric car in May 2023. At the same time, it became known that Kamaz, led by Kogotin, also entered the capital.
JSC “Kama” – a new “sawing” for Chemezov and Kiriyenko? Photo: https://i-tc.ru/autonews/jelektromobili-atom-2023-novyj-rossijskij-brend/
The exact distribution of shares is unknown. However, according to Kommersant, Kogogin, Vardanyan and Kamaz should have about 31.3%, and Reners – 23%. And this is significant: billions from the treasury are invested in a certain startup, but the society does not know who else, except for state-owned companies, turned out to be the beneficiary of this attraction of unheard-of generosity.
Not to mention what is going on in Rosatom under Likhachev. Or is Sergei Vladilenovich directing his actions?
Dashing time “Rosatom”
Recall that in 2017, already in the first year of work as the head of the state corporation Rosatom, he got into a scandal. According to Konkir.ru, then the Chelyabinsk asset of Rosatom, the strategically important Federal State Unitary Enterprise PO Mayak, was at the epicenter of the attention of the FSB and the FAS.
Experts of the “All-Russian People’s Front” announced the likely theft of tens of millions of rubles from the enterprise, demanding that the special services conduct an audit.
The reason for accusations of possible embezzlement was a contract concluded by the nuclear industry with the Open Media Kit company to “reduce the level of social risks in Ozersk.” What kind of work in the municipality was to be carried out by the contractor in two years, the parties kept a strict secret. But this only exaggerates: it turns out that through the structures of Rosatom they can steal in areas related to state secrets.
And that was just the first call. Subsequently, our publication also repeatedly spoke about the situation at Rosatom, where billions of rubles were allocated for expensive and sometimes inefficient projects.
Nadezhda Popova, head of the investigative department of The Moscow Post, spoke in detail about this. In particular, about expensive and very problematic icebreakers for the state corporation in the material “Trap” from Rosatom: a cable-stayed bridge against a nuclear icebreaker”, and many others.
If you look at LLC Rener, then it has, in fact, become a black hole for the budget. At the end of 2022, the company received a net loss of 429 million rubles, the value of assets – minus 866 million rubles. Here is such a “investor”.
Kogogin is strong Chemezov
At the same time, Kamaz is included in the Rostec circuit. Kogogin is a trusted person of Sergei Chemezov, and without his go-ahead, he would hardly even look in the direction of Atom. Among other things, he is on the board of directors of the Rostec AvtoVAZ. And considering what Kamaz has been brought to under both of them, it becomes alarming for the fate of the new electric car.
Kamaz has been experiencing huge problems for a long time, and is mainly supported by the state defense order. The company recently announced a reduction in market sales of trucks in 2023 amid expectations of a fall in the market. A few years ago, in 2019, the losses of the structure reached 3 billion rubles.
We mentioned the state defense order not in vain. It was under the ex-head of the military department of the country, Anatoly Serdyukov, from 2007 to 2012, that Kamaz turned to full capacity, having received funding for the development of new armored vehicles. Subsequently, Kogogin thanked Serdyukov well: since 2017, the latter has joined the board of directors of Kamaz.
However, most likely, gratitude came from the head of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov. And everyone seems to have forgotten that Serdyukov in the past was a defendant in several corruption scandals along the line of Oboronservis. Of which, however, came out dry from the water. Chemezov doesn’t abandon his people?
And so, instead of pulling the enterprise out of the pit, Kogogin became interested in a new “toy” – JSC “Kama” with its “Atoms”. And then state support arrived in time in the form of an entry into the capital of Kamaz, and then 6 billion rubles from Rosatom. The question arises – why does the state not support such startups that are not related to their own top management? Is there not enough public money for everyone?
But Kogogin is not just a top manager. But also the husband of deputy Alfiya Kogogina, who sat in all three last convocations of the State Duma. Their total income for 2020 amounted to more than 70 million rubles. Apparently, they were saving up for a startup with Vardanyan.
Such “nepotism”, apparently, is transmitted to the employees of “Kamaz”. In 2019, a scandal broke out – a scheme of “family fraud” with positions and salaries was revealed in the production of engines for famous cars. Roughly speaking, the same classic “dead souls” for which some enterprising employees received incentive bonuses “in excess of the plan.”
Sergey Kogogin “developed” Kamaz so much that he decided to organize an automobile startup on the side. Photo: https://riatauto.ru/novosti/novosti_7404.html
So JSC “Kama” for Kogogin will be a wonderful opportunity to earn “above the plan”?
“Dialogue” with Vardanyan
As for his partner Ruben Vardanyan, he doesn’t seem to give a damn about everything that happens in Russia. As long as it generates income. How else to explain that instead of developing Russian business, he went into politics in his historical homeland – he headed the government of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).
At the same time, according to the authors of the website news.day.az, Vardanyan is allegedly the organizer of a whole criminal group, and is also allegedly involved in the plundering of the natural resources of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Given that the situation in the unrecognized republic has developed strongly against Armenia, Vardanyan will most likely have to return to Russia. And here he does not have a crystal reputation at all.
Ruben Vardianan is the former head and main partner of the Troika Dialog investment company, which was heavily tied to offshore assets. And then she was suspected of withdrawing almost $ 5 billion from the country to the West through such “gaskets”.
According to Kommersant, money related to the Magnitsky case, embezzlement at Sheremetyevo Airport and cashing out through insurance companies passed through the offshore network. As an example, the publication cites a situation in which in 2008-2009 one of the companies associated with Troika Dialog issued almost 15 million euros without collateral in favor of an 80-year-old Russian woman who spent them on three plots of land on the Costa Brava near Barcelona.
All this paints extremely unsightly prospects for JSC “Kama” and its “Atom”. If such people flocked to the project, you can expect anything. For example, a repetition of the situation with “Yo-Mobile” by Mikhail Prokhorov.
Ruben Vardanyan has repeatedly shown what a competent investor he is. Photo: https://irp.news/ruben-vardanjan-tema-nasledija-svjazana-s-vosprijatiem-identichnosti/
Then serious funds were invested in the project, while its cost was constantly growing, reaching 450 million euros. The result is a complete zilch and billions in debt. And it is still unknown how much they could steal from it. Subsequently, Sberbank bought out the car manufacturer, the Yo-engineering company. The amount of investment was not disclosed, but it looked like the state, represented by German Gref, saved Prokhorov and his partners.
Apparently, “Atom” can expect the same sad hzikhidtidekrt fate.