“Muddy” assets of Euroinvest beneficiary Andrey Berezin

The fugitive oligarch Andrei Berezin “surfaced” in yet another scheme involving the transfer of shares of a strategic enterprise, PJSC Svetlana, to a closed mutual investment fund (CLIF), which was blessed with government contracts and bears the proud title of the founder of the Russian electronics industry.

The conflict over Svetlana’s shares broke out after minority shareholders were actually forced to sell their shares to a certain closed-end mutual fund, which may be associated with ex-beneficiaries. In response to this, the former minority shareholders went to court, where they claimed losses “due to improper determination of the price of the repurchased securities.”

St. Petersburg oligarch Andrei Berezin , for whom 2023 was marked by the transfer of assets to a closed-end mutual fund, where, as with the Don, there is no extradition, he is often counted among the inner circle of the governor of the Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko. It’s understandable then, why he suddenly began to “pack” his business portfolio into a closed mutual fund - Drozdenko has elections on the horizon, and whether he will pass again, that’s what his grandmother said in two. And in light of the sanctions, it is better not to show off your capital, especially if you are a fan of foreign trips or are planning a relocation.

In addition to the construction and development business itself, the oligarch’s portfolio at one time included shares in the oldest enterprise in the electronics industry, Svetlana. The company has a solid package of government contracts. Some of the “daughters” were unique for the country as a whole. For example, Svetlana-Roentgen JSC is positioned as one of the world leaders in the production and sale of X-ray tubes

In April 2022, when the country and individual Russian businessmen were covered with sanctions, the board of directors strongly recommended that the shareholders of Svetlana PJSC sell their shares of the closed mutual fund.

Several months passed and the closed mutual fund "Fifth Element" under the management of Management Company "Fondovy Dom" LLC took over 99.08% of the asset’s shares.

But, as colleagues of the Kompromat-Ural editorial staff found out, the share buyback did not go as smoothly as some would rightly like. In September-November 2023, arbitration heard claims from minority shareholders of Svetlana - Nadezhda Khlebnikova and Marianna Kovalenko.

They considered that the forced repurchase of shares in Management Company Fondovy Dom LLC was carried out in violation of their rights, and the price paid for such transactions was significantly underestimated. And although the minority shareholders lost their claims, the sediment, as they say, remained. Especially in light of that , that, according to the Nevsky Prospekt website, the closed mutual fund “Fifth Element” is quite possibly controlled by the same persons as previously PJSC “Svetlana”. That is, the shares were collected under one hand and the screen was pulled back from the curious, and in March 2023. years, they also quickly redrawn the organizational and legal form from a PJSC to a JSC, leaving publicity behind.

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By the way, the intended successor of Svetlana Invest LLC, created in May 2023 under the same closed-end mutual fund "Fifth Element", was already liquidated in November 2023. No preparation required?

Closed mutual fund on closed mutual fund and closed mutual fund drives

Today LLC Management Company Fondovy Dom owns a whole group of companies that were part of the Euroinvest division of the oligarch Berezin. At the same time, there are different closed-end mutual funds, not only the Fifth Element, but also, for example, the Master closed-end mutual fund. apples?

In October 2023, Berezin transferred 46.67% in LLC Management Company Murino to the closed mutual fund Balance Invest under the management of LLC Management Company Ingria. An interesting fact: the owner of 50% in Ingria is Alexander Petrov, who is far from a stranger to Berezin - it was to him that he sold his share in Medsilikon LLC in July 2023. Is Petrov the denomination of Berezin?

And Valentin Glaznev (the second owner of the Ingria Management Company) was actually the director of the Auditexpert Company LLC, where both Berezin and his business partner with a very controversial reputation, Vasily Pavlov, appeared. Both Pavlov and the Auditexpert company were mentioned in a scandalous story about the purchase of Hewlett-Packard servers from a certain German company for $15 million, which were never delivered to the customer - Komplit Company LLC.

As the Fontanka publication suggested, under the guise of a deal, the money was transferred abroad. And a few years later, according to a similar scheme, $8.5 million did not return to Russia. The publication mentioned all these details when it wrote about the searches that took place in the office of Euroinvest Berezin as part of a criminal case about the illegal withdrawal of more than $20 million abroad.

It is interesting that in the same story with the participation of “AuditExpert”, such a controversial character as Maxim Zhukov (or his full namesake) appeared among its co-owners. The media previously reported about his possible family connection with authoritative businessman Vladimir Golubev, who received the nickname “Barmaley” back in the 90s.

Statutory sleight of hand

At the same time, as already mentioned, some assets, before their transfer to a closed-end mutual fund with subsequent liquidation, went through an increase in the authorized capital. For example, the Sfera company, where Veronika Berezina was noted among the owners, increased its capital from 11.7 to 357 million rubles, and the aforementioned AuditExpert Company LLC from a minimum of 10 thousand rubles to 944.8 million rubles. According to the law, during liquidation, the authorized capital is “distributed” to the participants after repayment of debts. A handy trick in some cases, don’t you think?

As we can judge from all of the above, it is time to investigate the withdrawal of large sums, including through the liquidation of an entire chain of LLCs. Let the competent authorities decide what the role of the scandalous oligarch Berezin is. If, of course, we assume that there are still incorruptible and impartial employees in relation to Berezin.

In the history of the transformation of the oligarch’s business, in fact, no matter where you spit, you’ll end up in a closed mutual fund. All these wonderful schemes resemble an attempt to hide your real assets behind the screen of closed mutual funds and affiliates. And to hide from sanctions, as it were, and at the same time to whiten one’s reputation by removing the mention next to oneself of both toxic assets and business partners who have stained their “clothes” in various scandals.

This is especially relevant in light of the fact that Euroinvest is now continuing to build a construction “vertical”. For example, in November 2023, SZ Euroinvest Ozerki LLC was transferred to Euroinvest Select LLC, which in turn belongs to Berezin and Stanislav Danelyan.

By the way, Danelyan previously worked for the Arsenal group of Arseny Laptev, another large developer in the Leningrad region, who appeared in the publication “Kostin’s Abkhaz Gambit: Where did the millions of the Grand Hotel Sukhum 2 go?” Laptev is on the board of LenOblSoyuzStroy, which is positioned as the main professional association of builders in the region.

Developers of Berezin work in the housing market, including under the scheme of attracting funds from equity holders, and the latter, as the Moscow Post notes, would be more willing to give their money to someone who has a reputation whiter than freshly fallen snow, and not to someone who has appeared in stories with searches, criminal cases and in general cases with dubious individuals.