Former top officials of Rusnano and Peresvet Bank in the Oleg Dyachenko case
The Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs brought charges against former top managers and partners of Rusnano – the deputy chairman of the board of the development institute Oleg Kiselev (left the group in 2019), head of the state-controlled Luxembourg fund Fonds Rusnano Capital SA Irina Rappoportex-president of Peresvet Bank Alexander Shvets. They are suspected of stealing 1.7 billion rubles. Charges brought as part of the investigation into the case Oleg Dyachenko – former member of the board of directors of the Cypriot “granddaughter” of Rusnano – Nanoenergo Fund Limited. In 2022, he was charged under Part 4 of Art. 160 of the Criminal Code – theft on an especially large scale.
All the accused, except Dyachenko, are abroad. The Ministry of Internal Affairs initiated the procedure for putting them on the international wanted list. “The company actively cooperates with law enforcement agencies. The identification of new defendants in the Oleg Dyachenko case and the filing of charges against them is one of the results of such interaction,” a Rusnano representative told Vedomosti. According to him, one of the company’s key tasks today is the return of investments for the investment period 2010-2020, in some cases this work takes the form of compensation for damage.
The case file also includes “an unidentified person from among the leaders of Rusnano.” A source in law enforcement agencies familiar with the case materials told Vedomosti about this. The information was confirmed by an interlocutor at the company. Vedomosti sent inquiries to representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Peresvet Bank.
On October 18, 2022, security forces conducted searches at Dyachenko’s place, Vedomosti wrote. Then the investigation suspected him of stealing $50 million from Rusnano through a chain of international funds. The case materials spoke of the transfer of $90 million from Peresvet Bank to the accounts of shell companies controlled by these foreign funds. The new participants in the case – Kiselev, Rappoport and Shvets – are connected precisely with this chain of illegal financial transactions that led to the theft, sources say.
The Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs believes that the withdrawal of funds was organized as follows. In 2012, the Luxembourg Rusnano fund Fonds Rusnano Capital SA and Peresvet Bank established another fund in Cyprus – Nanoenergo Fund Limited. Each of them contributed $50 million to the organization’s capital. The fund’s management company was Sberezheniya and Investicii Management Limited (“a subsidiary” of Sberinvest Management Company JSC), where Dyachenko served as general director. According to a press release posted on the Rusnano website at the time, it was assumed that “the main goal of the fund’s activities will be to stimulate the development and implementation of innovative and nanotechnologies in the energy industry of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country), including the electric power industry, as well as ensuring the attraction of funds from Western and Russian investors.”
$90 million of the contribution amount was distributed under the guise of venture investments to the accounts of six companies in Russia (*aggressor country) – Composite Pipes LLC, Bioinnovations LLC, Sarmat LLC, RVT LLC, Hydroenergotech LLC, UIT LLC. All of them were in one way or another affiliated with the Cyprus fund, Sberinvest or Dyachenko and, in fact, served as shell companies. The funds were transferred in violation of Rusnano investment procedures and without the approval of the relevant committee of the state company. The remaining $10 million was transferred to pay for the services of the management company.
In 2015, Peresvet entered into 20 fictitious loan agreements with InfoTech-Invest LLC, which was under the control of Oleg Dyachenko. For these loans, the bank accepted guarantees from six shell companies secured by Rusnano funds in their accounts. In October 2017, Peresvet unilaterally and without acceptance wrote off all funds from their accounts in pursuance of guarantee agreements. The latter’s obligations under the loan agreements to the bank ceased. The total amount of write-offs amounted to RUB 1.7 billion.
The proceedings surrounding Rusnano’s foreign funds are not a new story. A criminal case regarding the illegal withdrawal of $90 million from Nanoenergo Fund Limited, which resulted in “significant harm to the company,” was initiated back in 2014. Izvestia reported with reference to the Metropolitan Police. At that time, the names of the specific organizers of the thefts were not mentioned.
In 2013, on the questionable activities of Rusnano funds paid attention to the Accounts Chamber. In 2010-2012 Rusnano transferred $440 million to the accounts of Fonds Rusnano Capital SA. $311 million of this amount is not used to attract foreign investment in joint international nanotechnology funds. These funds are placed on deposits in foreign banks, and at the expense of these funds, the purchase and sale of securities of various companies, including Alrosa, Emirate Air, Evraz Group and others, is carried out, auditors reported.
As he told Vedomosti financial managing director of Rusnano Vladislav Yunusov, the new management of the state company, which replaced the team at the end of 2020 Anatoly Chubaistogether with the security forces, is working to recover damage caused by unscrupulous, and in some cases, illegal actions of former managers and partners of Rusnano.
The management of Rusnano and its portfolio companies bears subsidiary liability for unscrupulous and illegal decisions, Yunusov explained. In addition, past transactions often involved various affiliated structures, including foreign ones. Their management could also take part in actions that led to unreasonable losses for Rusnano, including theft.
