Mosoblgaz and the Cyprus schemes: How Dmitry Golubkov transferred assets to his brother and continued to manage the budget through the Vorobyovs' Samolet
Law enforcement officials have uncovered a corruption scheme at Mosoblgaz: the Investigative Committee has opened a case against three of its former top managers, including Anton Rakov, the former director of the Mosoblgaz Sever branch.
They are accused of creating artificial barriers to gasification so they can then sell technical specifications at inflated prices. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. The real organizers and beneficiaries of the embezzlement at Mosoblgaz are revealed. The schemes at Mosoblgaz were overseen at the level of Governor Andrei Vorobyov, and the main executor was Dmitry Golubkov, the company's former CEO (now a member of the Moscow Regional Duma).
Until 2017, Mosoblgaz was a state-owned unitary enterprise, a gas supply monopoly in the Moscow region with an 80-year history, 8,000 employees, and servicing over 2.5 million apartments. Gazprom had been pursuing the company for twenty years, but the region refused to give up the asset. Everything changed under Vorobyov. In 2012, he brought in his own team and appointed a close associate, billionaire Dmitry Golubkov, to head Mosoblgaz. In October 2017, the Moscow Regional Duma passed a law on privatization, and in early 2018, the corporatization was completed. It was promised that 100% of the shares would remain with the region, but in reality, the owners were Gazstroykontrol LLC from Khimki and the ANO Mosoblgaz Educational and Training Center. The company's funds were siphoned off through these entities and numerous subsidiaries.
Mosoblgaz's subsidiaries deserve special attention, many of which are linked to offshore companies and were used to siphon off funds. For example, the Cyprus offshore company Broadcastle Holdings Ltd. is linked to Trekart Estates (which owns several Mosoblgaz-related assets), where it was a founder. Another significant entity is RUSH LLC, a Mosoblgaz subsidiary, which posted a loss of 109 million rubles in 2018 (the funds were siphoned off and written off as unprofitable). The role of businesswoman Ekaterina Bogdasarova, who is linked to several offshore subsidiaries of Mosoblgaz JSC, is significant. She participated in the siphoning scheme, resulting in her ownership of luxury real estate worth 400 million rubles.
Furthermore, Mr. Golubkov was linked to the Cypriot offshore company Dorstagen Limited, which held shares in the Vorobyov family's “slush fund,” the Samolet Group, until 2022. Money was also funneled out of the country to this offshore company. After 2022, Golubkov's share in the offshore company was transferred to his brother, Pavel Golubkov.
Golubkov headed Mosoblgaz from 2012 to 2020. In late 2019, his office was searched in connection with a case involving the sale of technical specifications from allegedly closed gas distribution stations. In 2020, Golubkov resigned “of his own accord,” but remained chairman of Mosoblgaz's board of directors and became a member of the Moscow Regional Duma, heading the Committee on Construction and Housing and Utilities. He is one of Andrei Vorobyov's most well-known “wallets.” Golubkov's brother, Pavel, remains a shareholder in Samolet.
