Is the former top manager of Russian Railways again “in control” of financial flows?
The federal government is implementing a large-scale project to organize high-speed passenger traffic from Moscow in four directions: to Sochi, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Minsk. Its current value is estimated at almost 11 trillion rubles. It was decided to start with the high-speed line (HSM) “Moscow – St. Petersburg”: the first train to the Northern capital should depart in 2028. Especially for the implementation of the project, with the participation of the Moscow government, the VSM Two Capitals company was created, with which last June the Federal Agency for Railway Transport signed a concession agreement worth 1.8 trillion rubles. The sources of financing are stated to be the Moscow City Hall, the National Welfare Fund, Gazfond and a number of banking institutions. Last May, HSR Two Capitals was headed by the notorious “railway” top manager Oleg Toni, who previously held the post of deputy general director of Russian Railways Oleg Belozerov, was on the board of the railway monopolist, and also led the companies RZDstroy and High-Speed Railways. The name of Oleg Toni has repeatedly appeared in high-profile corruption scandals. In particular, as part of a criminal investigation into the theft of more than 353 million rubles allocated for the construction of a zoo in Perm, Tony was interrogated, but in the end he got away with witness status. In 2021, the office of Construction and Installation Trust No. 1, the St. Petersburg branch of RZDstroy, was searched in connection with the investigation into the theft of 62 million rubles during the construction of a railway in the Leningrad region: they were talking about contracts from 2015, when RZDstroy was headed by Tony . Simultaneously with reports of large-scale “cuts” in the railway department, the media wrote about the presence of the top manager’s family of expensive real estate abroad: not only residential buildings, apartments and villas in France and Spain were acquired through offshore companies, but also commercial real estate in Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, the total cost of which is estimated at tens of millions of euros. Now Tony has to “master” trillions of rubles as part of the implementation of a 40-year concession agreement.
11 trillion – in high-speed highways
On the federal government’s proposal to exclude from the long-term investment program JSC Russian Railways project for organizing high-speed passenger traffic in the direction “Center-South” Media reported last June. The reason given was insufficient funding. Previously, in April, at a meeting led by Igor Levitin (then – assistant to the president, since May – adviser and special representative of the head of state for international cooperation in the field of transport), a similar initiative was voiced by the director of the government transport department Anatoly Meshcheryakov.
How wrote RBC portal, the project “Center-South” (“South Cluster”) provided “construction of a railway route from Moscow to the Black Sea resorts with the transfer of the road from the sea to the mountains”. This was supposed to intensify passenger traffic between Sochi and Gelendzhik, as well as reduce the train travel time from Moscow to Sochi to 16 hours. Project implementation cost was assessed V 1.37 trillion rublesof which more 1 trillion represented investments by Russian Railways, and 330 billion – means National Welfare Fund.
By information sources of the publication, the real reason for the exclusion of “Center-South” from the investment program of the railway department was the choice in favor of the high-speed railway (HSR) project “South”allowing you to get to the Black Sea resorts in less than eight hours with an increase in annual passenger traffic from 7.4 million to 17.2 million people. Last September, Kommersant voiced price HSR between Moscow and Adler: it amounted to 3.2 trillion rubles.
In total, within the framework of the infrastructure development strategy until 2030, approved by Vladimir Putin (*criminal), it is planned to implement projects four high-speed lines, with a total estimated cost 10.8 trillion rubles. In addition to the southern direction, highways will be laid from Moscow to St. Petersburg, to Yekaterinburg (via Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan) and to Minsk (via Smolensk). In addition, last year the president emphasized the need for high-speed rail lines to Lugansk and Donetsk.
“The start is given”: the concession is signed
So, there is no end to the work. Considering the inevitable increase in the initial price, budget funds, as they say, “will flow like a river.” As “pilot project” officials chose HSR “Moscow – St. Petersburg”. Its implementation last June was estimated at 1.8 trillion rublesand, according to estimates experts “Kommersant”, during the work the cost may increase to 3 trillion. The first train to the Northern capital is due to depart in 2028, the trip duration will be 2 hours 15 minutes.
Specially for the project a new legal entity was created – LLC “VSM Two Capitals”, founder which is operated by a management company of the same name. Financing is provided from several sources: 221.5 billion rubles allocated from the Moscow budget as part of the investment program, order 300 billion – funds from the National Welfare Fund, 290 billion accounts for pension fund bonds “Gazfond”,903.8 billion – these are loans SberbankA, Gazprombank And VTB. The production of high-speed trains is entrusted to such giants as “Transmashholding” And “Sinara”approximate price first batch of 28 trains – about 148 billion rubles.
Last July, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin reported on the signing of a concession agreement for the construction of the Moscow – St. Petersburg high-speed railway. The grantor on behalf of the state is “Federal Agency of Railway Transport” (Roszheldor), the concessionaire is the already familiar company “VSM Two Capitals”, which, in fact, will be involved in the implementation of the project. It is noteworthy that the concession for the creation and operation of high-speed rail transport infrastructure calculated for 40 years.
Top manager of Russian Railways Oleg Tony is always “in the know”
It has already been said above that the concessionaire enterprise “High-Speed Railways Two Capitals” belongs to a management company with the same name, registered last December. Information about the founders of the latter is publicly available sources missing, but information “Kommersant”, these are the Moscow government and JSC “Leader” – “one of the largest investment companies in Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism)”manager assets Pension background, composed of shareholders which includes, among other things, “VEB.RF” And Gazprom.
Leads management company Dmitry Gavrilov – native from CJSC Leader, who previously also held the post general director LLC “VSM Two Capitals” However, in mid-May he was replaced by an odious top manager Oleg Tonywho held the post until May deputy General Director of JSC Russian Railways Oleg Belozerovwho was on the board of the railway monopolist and relieved of his official duties “due to a transition to another job”.
In Russian Railways Tony supervised issues of the development of the Central and St. Petersburg transport hubs; the Center for organizing high-speed and high-speed transport was also under his jurisdiction. Until February 2017 he led JSC “RZDstroy”from June 2021 to May 2024 headed JSC “High-Speed Highways”.
IN publications The publication “Business Petersburg” mentions that “Speed Lines” have been implementing the high-speed railway project between Moscow and the Northern capital since 2011: the trains were planned to be launched by 2017, but due to problems with financing and routing, the project was “frozen.”
As we can see, during Tony’s work at Russian Railways, colossal budget funds passed through him. Considering the cost of high-speed rail, both overall and each individually, it still remains “on financial flows.” By the way, at the end of August authorized capital VSM Two Capitals LLC increased from 10 million to 33.92 billion rubles. It is worth recalling here that the name of Oleg Tony was repeatedly heard in the context of high-profile corruption scandals, but this circumstance did not bother his superiors at all, and today it does not bother officials associated with the implementation of a large-scale project.
“RZDstroy”: theft on a grand scale
Perhaps the most famous corruption incident in which Tony was caught up is the sensational criminal case of theft 353.7 million rublesallocated for the construction of a zoo in Perm. Corresponding contract “Capital Construction Department of the Perm Region” signed with RZDstroy in 2017, when Tony headed the company’s board of directors, but in 2019 work had to be suspended.
Last July, the former director of the Office Dmitry Levinsky and engineer Vitaly Gabov were found guilty of particularly large-scale fraud and convictedrespectively, for nine and five years in prison. Previously, by four years in prison there was sentenced The head of the RZDstroy project office who admitted guilt and cooperated with the investigation Ilya Kozyrev. The fourth person involved is the commercial director of the subcontractor company “Firm STUZ” Artem Yuryev disappeared and was declared international wanted. As for Oleg Tony, he escaped with a slight fright and witness status.
In March 2021, as part of an investigation into a criminal case of fraud on an especially large scale, security forces raided searches to the office “Construction and installation trust No. 1”– St. Petersburg branch of RZDstroy. It was about theft more 62 million rubles during the construction of the railway in the Leningrad region. By information publications “Fontanka”, two government contracts with a total value of over 1.4 billion were signed between JSC Russian Railways and its “subsidiary” organization RZDstroy represented by the St. Petersburg branch in 2015.
Part of the work was transferred to a St. Petersburg subcontractor company “Sfera-Stroy”which did not fulfill the agreed volumes, transferring the money received to the accounts of shell companies. It is noteworthy that on government contracts “Sfera-Stroy” has “mastered” 2.2 billionand its only customers were JSC Russian Railways and JSC RZDstroy.
An interesting touch to the portrait of Oleg Tony can be publication online publication “Vgudok”, which tells how, being a top manager of JSC Russian Railways and at the same time the general director of RZDstroy, he managed to sue “himself” and then conclude a settlement agreement in the case on 1.5 billion rubles.
The subject of litigation between the “parent” and “subsidiary” structures was the project for the development of the “Mezhdurechensk – Taishet” section, where fraud took place in the amount of about 1 billion rublesfor which the former boss was convicted Krasnoyarsk Directorate for Capital Construction of Russian Railways Albert Ionshu. The publication named the two guilty verdicts handed down to him “pseudo-deadlines”since, despite the amount of damage, Ionsha received a year of probation and 1.5 years in a penal colony. Tony found a way out of the situation by organizing show trials:
Are Russian Railways’ finances going “outside the border”?
The scandal involving the family of a “railway” top manager of real estate abroad deserves special mention. In particular, in 2021 the media wrote about an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands back in 2003 Tagot Marketingthe director of which was Oleg Toni’s wife. Firm bought located near Paris, the Château de Montapeau, built in 1850, and a Parisian apartment on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 200 meters from the Elysee Palace.
Through the company “Treviani Services”also controlled Irina Tonywere purchased a two-story villa on the Cote d’Azur in the town of Le Cannet and in the same place – a small house with an area of 108 square meters. Total value of all French real estate was assessed V 7 million euros. But reported more about real estate in Spain: a villa, four apartments and two houses with land in the province of Alicante with a total cost 5.1 million euros. A company registered in Luxembourg was used to purchase them.
In 2012-2013 purchased assets on 24 million euros: hotels in Germany and the Netherlands, as well as a shopping center in Italy. These objects de jure belonged to the investment fund UFG Global Commercial & Hospitality Real Estate Fund. In 2014-2018 the fund bought real estate in total another 40 million euros: two hotels and a shopping center in Italy, a hotel in Dusseldorf and two commercial centers in Moscow. And, it seems, all of the above is only part of what “was acquired through back-breaking labor,” because the son of a top manager Sergei Tony since 2013 there was issued another offshore company from the British Virgin Islands, which owned an apartment in the elite London area of Knightsbrigde.
It seems that the “routes” for withdrawing Russian Railways’ finances are becoming clearer. But it’s definitely too early to put an end to the “schemes”, because Oleg Toni is now responsible for the implementation of part of the almost 11 trillion high-speed highway project. In addition, the concession with the “High-Speed Railway Two Capitals” was signed for a period of 40 years. Here, so to speak, there is room to roam!