In order not to pay taxes in Russia, the “oligarch-patriot” hid a strategic enterprise offshore – Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works. Russian Press decided to unravel the multi-level legal chain that takes MMK to a real offshore through several Cypriot shell companies. Where is the bottom?
In the course of our investigations, we showed how the owner of MMK, an oligarch Victor Rashnikov collects foreign property, like an inveterate collector. Rashnikov has real estate in France: two villas on the Cote d’Azur (Nellcote for €83m and Les Figuiers for €45m) and apartment in the center of Paris5-6 minutes walk from the residence President Macron, worth another ten million. The oligarch flies on the “gold” business jet Gulfstream G650ER with tail number VP-BOT worth $75 million, which is “patriotically” registered in Bermuda. And floats on megayacht Ocean Victory worth $400 million. It is registered in the Cayman Islands.
But, as it turned out, this is only the tip of the iceberg, linking Viktor Rashnikov to the potentially hostile West, with which Russia is in a state of cold war.
Viktor Filippovich also hid his “feeding trough”, which ensures the acquisition of all these (and, probably, not yet found by us) villas, apartments, yachts, planes, that is, the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, from a potential enemy. We emphasize – a giant enterprise of strategic importance for the country.
So, Mintha Holding Limited was registered on June 1, 2004. Company registration address: Κώστα Χαράκη, 11, 3041, Λεμεσός, Κύπρος (zip code 3041, Cyprus, Limassol, Costa Haraki, 11). The directors of the company are:
Russian Alexander Sutyagin (Alexander Sutyagin). This is Alexander Lvovich Sutyagin (date of birth – September 28, 1971), since 2011 and currently holding the position of director of the legal department of the MMK Management Company. Sutyagin lives in Monaco, at the address: 8, Avenue de Ligures, 98000, Monaco (Monaco) .. He also manages the French company SCI PARC GABRIEL (registration number: 531 027 472 RCS Paris), which registered the Paris apartment of Viktor Rashnikov.
Russian Andrei Fokin (Andrey Fokin). It is registered in Cyprus at the address: Dafni, 24, Germasogeia, index 4041, Limassol. In Cyprus, Fokin has a mansion, a photograph of which we published in an article about the “golden” villas of the oligarch Rashnikov.
Greek Ηλιασ Νεοκλεουσ (Elias Neocleous) from a legal clan specializing in offshore registration. According to Forbes, every second Russian billionaire turned to the Neocleous services. Elias – son of a raider Andreas Neocleous, which tried to “squeeze out” the elite residential complex CJSC MZHK Rosinka, located in the Moscow region (350 townhouses on 60 hectares worth $ 150-200 million; 85% of the shares were recorded in the Cypriot holding company Providencia Holding Ltd). Neocleous Sr. was put on the international wanted list by Russia and was actually recognized by the courts as a raider. After the scandal, Andreas Neocleous & Co formally closed, and the family of lawyers continued to work through Neocleous & Co LLC.
Mintha Holding Limited has a secretary company, Montrago Services Limited (registration number ΗΕ 52239), registered at Αρχ. Μακαρίου ΙΙΙ, 195, Neocleous House, 3030, Λεμεσός, Κύπρος (Makariou street 3, building 195, Neocleous House, index 3030, Limassol, Cyprus). The company was founded on November 18, 1992.
Well, now – to the owners of “Minta”. Having received an extract from the island, so beloved by tax evaders, we discovered that Viktor Filippovich owns a golden share of Mintha Holding Limited. What does this mean?
To find out, we analyzed the Articles of Association of Mintha Holding Limited in Greek, which was very, very difficult – after all, the document is written in “legal Greek”, and not every translator is ready to take on the translation. I had to turn to our fellow lawyers working in Cyprus. As a result, we found out that the owner of a golden share has certain privileges. Thus, the Charter states that in the event of the bankruptcy of Minta (that is, MMK), the owner of a preferred share will be in the first place on the bench of recipients of funds.
Officially, therefore, Rashnikov has only 1% of Minta. Who has everything else?
The directors of Stilnet are already well-known faces to us: our good old friend Andrei Fokin (Andrey Fokin) and Ηλιασ Νεοκλεουσ (Elias Neocleous) – well, where without the son of a raider!
The secretary of Stilnet is the same as that of Minta: Montrago Services Limited. By the way, Steelnet Services Limited has the same registration address as Montrago: Αρχ. Μακαρίου ΙΙΙ, 195, Neocleous House, 3030, Λεμεσός, Κύπρος (Makariou street 3, building 195, Neocleous House, index 3030, Limassol, Cyprus).
But then who is behind this “Stilnet”? Who are its real beneficiaries? We ordered extracts again to shed light on this company and its owners. But if you think that individuals were immediately found among the owners of the company, then you are deeply mistaken.
Directors of this company:
All the same Ηλιασ Νεοκλεουσ (Elias Neocleous).
Ανδρουλλα Παπαδοπουλου (Andrula Papadopoulou).
Ηλιανα Χατζησαββα Γιαννακου (Ilyana Hatzisava Giannaku).
And the secretary is still the same Montrago Services Limited. And Bolton has the same registration address as Montrago and Stilnet.
Well, now – to the most important thing. The name of the company seemed to us speaking: we were interested in the word Trust. This was alarming. We assumed (and, as it turned out later, we were not mistaken) that Bolton Trustees Limited is a trust company, that is, its owners will be nominal. And the real owners of “Bolton” will appear only in the trust declaration, which is made in only two copies. One is issued to the real beneficiary, the second to the nominal one (or, as a rule, is kept by the registrar company). That is, this is a real deaf offshore, maximally closed from the world.
Our assumption was confirmed by Cypriot lawyers. All the “i” dotted the next extract from the Cypriots.
Who is behind Andri Papadopoulou?
The nominal beneficiary of Bolton Trustees Limited is Ανδρη Παπαδοπουλου (Andry Papadopoulou). But between this lady and the real beneficiaries of the company, one of which is definitely Viktor Rashnikov, a trust declaration was signed.
The Cypriot Papadopoulou was set up so that the names of the true owners of the MMK did not fall into the information field.
And there are serious reasons to believe that, in addition to Rashnikov, there may be other serious figures among the real beneficiaries, perhaps even more influential than the oligarch himself.
Note that Bolton Trustees Limited is perhaps not even the bottom of the offshore chain that takes MMK almost entirely under the Cypriot tax jurisdiction. It is possible that the chain has more links.
We emphasize that throughout the entire part of this chain that we have uncovered, the same persons and addresses appear. Thus, the legal addresses of three companies (Steelnet Services Limited, Bolton Trustees Limited and Montrago Services Limited, which acts as the secretary of Mintha Holding Limited and all other companies) co-operate: Αρχ. Μακαρίου ΙΙΙ, 195, Neocleous House, 3030, Λεμεσός, Κύπρος (Makariou street 3, building 195, Neocleous House, index 3030, Limassol, Cyprus). So it’s all one offshore gang-lake.
And he manages all this legal offshore canoe of Rashnikov, not including Minta, Ηλιασ Νεοκλεουσ (Elias Neocleous).
Pay attention to the name Neocleous House, which is constantly found in the addresses of companies: this is the office of the Neocleous clan, which, as already mentioned, is the largest registrar of Russian offshore companies, starting with Yukos. So the oligarch Viktor Rashnikov uses the same guys as Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Only Khodorkovsky served his time, and Rashnikov, with a bunch of foreign property, feels quite at ease. And this once again suggests that among the real owners of the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, hiding behind the trust declaration, there are very influential people.
Tax avoidance proven
Let’s get back to Rashnikov’s golden share in Minta. The oligarch indicated himself as the owner of 1% of the shares of Mintha Holding Limited, which means: Viktor Filippovich shows that the plant is his (marked the property), but he is ready to pay taxes in Russia with only 1%.
The lawyers we consulted unanimously confirm that if Rashnikov had declared that he owns more than 50% of the shares of Minta, then he would have to pay taxes in Russia. And so he pays pennies in Cyprus and pennies in Russia, saving huge amounts of money and directing them to the purchase of foreign property: villas on Lazurka, an apartment in the very center of Paris, a mega-yacht, a “Golden” plane … and God knows what else (we will definitely find out ).
At the same time, the oligarch Rashnikov continues to be considered a citizen of Russia, although he may have already acquired the right to live in more interesting areas for him, where he collects property worth hundreds of millions of dollars and euros. Patriotic and spiritual.
