The Ordzhonikidzevsky District Court of the city of Yekaterinburg on Monday sentenced the ex-billionaire, the former head of one of the largest power engineering holdings in Russia - Energomash - Alexandra Stepanova to two years in prison on charges of premeditated bankruptcy of the Uralelectrotyazhmash-Uralgidromash enterprise, ITAR-TASS reports.
According to the investigation, Alexander Stepanov, being the general director of the Uralelectrotyazhmash-Uralgidromash company, received a loan of almost 2 billion rubles. In early 2009, when it was time to return the money, the head of the holding created two new legal entities, to which he transferred all the workforce and production assets of the enterprise. This led to the cessation of production and the bankruptcy of the enterprise. Unable to get debts, Sberbank initiated criminal prosecution top management of the holding. At the initiative of the bank, Stepanov's enterprises were searched. In the plant administrations of the Energomash group of companies in Yekaterinburg, Sysert, Pervouralsk, Revda, Polevskoy, Chekhov, Podolsk and Moscow, documents and information on electronic media confirming the illegal activities of the company's management were confiscated.
Earlier, the Presnensky District Court of Moscow sentenced Stepanov to 4.5 years in prison, finding him guilty of attempting to swindle 12 billion rubles and abuse of power. "By partial addition of sentences, Stepanov was given a final sentence of 4.5 years in prison. He has been credited with the time spent in custody since February 1, 2011," the court explains.
Stepanov, being the general director of two companies of the Energomash holding - OJSC GT-TETS Energo in Moscow and OJSC Energomashcorporation in Belgorod - received a loan from Sberbank of 17.5 billion rubles for the construction of gas turbine stations low power. Energomashkorporatsiya acted as a guarantor for the loan. At first, Alexander Stepanov regularly paid interest on the loan, and then stopped and filed a bankruptcy petition for both companies with the Arbitration Court. Thus, both the borrower and the guarantor were insolvent.
The damage to Sberbank amounted to more than 12 billion rubles. In addition, in order to maintain control over the bankrupt GT-TES Energo, Stepanov entered into a service agreement with GT-TES Energo Management Company LLC, which was established two weeks before the emergence of the designated contractual relationship, and headed by its director, controlled personally by Stepanov. Employees of the bankrupt enterprise went to work in the management company, actually continuing to work at their previous jobs. "GT-TETS Energo" continued to work in the same mode and at the same time paid for services that it did not need. In particular, Stepanov used his powers contrary to the interests of the company to withdraw its liquid assets.The damage from his actions amounted to more than 170 million rubles.
Having calculated how much the ZhEK or HOA owes you, it will be possible to demand compensation from them, but first things first. Let's start by calculating the amount that the ZhEK or HOA owes you using a special formula.
Formula recalculation for low-quality heating or for its absence, taken from Government Decree No. 307. Date of its appearance - May 23, 2006. There is a clause in this regulation that for every 60 minutes that the temperature in your apartment was below normal, you are entitled to a deduction. Its size is equal to 0.15% for each degree and multiplied by the number of degrees by which the temperature in your apartment was below normal.
The formula itself is described in paragraph 15 of this resolution.
Deciphering the formula:
- ∑ - the amount of money owed to you as a result of the calculation.
- T is the number of hours during which the heating did not correspond to the norm.
- S - the total amount for heating according to the receipt for the month (or for the period for which you are trying to get a recalculation).
- C ° norms - the temperature that should be according to the norms. Read about the rules.
- C ° fact - the temperature that was actually in the apartment.
- 0.0015 is 0.15% in numerical terms. This is the coefficient by which we are charged recalculation according to the 307th resolution.
During the recalculation for poor-quality heating or for the lack of heating using this formula, consider important nuance. Its essence is that the calculation of the refund for night heating and day heating is carried out separately. This is due to the fact that the temperature norms at night and during the day are different. According to the law, at night is considered heating period from 12:00 noon to 5:00 am. During this period of time, the allowable the norm becomes lower by 3 С °. Accordingly, the day and night values \u200b\u200bof "C ° norms" will also be different.
We wrote about what the temperature in the apartment should be during the heating season in an article about.
Keep in mind that there is one law that says that we cannot demand from the ZhEK or HOA an amount for heating that exceeds the one that was billed to us on the receipt. This is the Law of the Russian Federation on consumer protection. His number is #2300-1. In other words, the maximum that we can get from our housing office is free heating.
An example of recalculation for low-quality heating using this formula
The calculation of the amount for the lack of heating is carried out according to the same formula.
Let's take an example.
Take, for example, Chelyabinsk. Our payment for heat in December was 3,000 rubles.
First, we look at the allowable average temperature. To do this, open "SNiP 23-01-99", look for table No. 1 in this document. In the column "0.92" for the "five days" we find Chelyabinsk. Meaning: "-34 C °". This is lower than -31 C°. Accordingly, for our city temperature norm, defined as 18 C °, increase by another 2 degrees and amount to 20 C °. Where such norms come from - read in the same article, located on the links above.
Let's say that in all the rooms of our apartment the whole month (both day and night) the temperature was 16 ° C. December has 31 days.
Let's do the night time calculation first. For 31 days, we get 155 hours related to the night period, 5 hours a day.
The temperature norm for our city is 20 C°, but at night this norm is 3 C° lower and amounts to 17 C°.
∑=S*T x 0.0015*(С° norm - С° fact).
∑=3000 rubles *155 hours x 0.0015 *(17 С°-16 С°)=3000 rubles *155 hours x 0.0015*1=697.5 rubles.
It turns out that for the night hours we are owed 697.5 rubles in the ZhEK.
By the way, if there was no heating in the apartment at all and the temperature in the apartment was 0 C °, then the value of the temperature difference “(C ° norms - C ° fact)” can be equal to 20 C °.
Now let's recalculate the daytime heating
As expected, a significant number of prisoners convicted, in particular, for economic crimes, may be amnestied in our country. According to the proposals of a number of deputies, the total number of amnestied people may reach 14,500 people. The draft resolution "On announcing an amnesty in connection with the 20th anniversary of Russia's independence" has already been submitted to the State Duma.
According to the authors of the initiative, the amnesty for this category of convicts is a very serious step in terms of strengthening mutual trust between business and the state. Its consequences will have a positive impact on the investment climate in Russia and many others important aspects economic life of the country.
There is, however, a less enthusiastic and even negative point of view regarding the draft amnesty decree. Electronic media, in particular, cite the statement of the head of the State Duma Committee on Legislation Pavel Krasheninnikov. "Judicial errors should be corrected in individually rather than by accepting large-scale amnesties, he said. - Discussion and adoption of amnesty State Duma is a very delicate process. Too many people - both convicts and their relatives - pin their hopes on the amnesty. Therefore, the ill-conceived, not properly calculated introduction of the amnesty project, based on opportunistic, pre-election considerations, seems to me an immoral deed."
What caused such a sharp and even tough point of view of an authoritative and respected lawyer and legislator can be understood if we turn to a very recent case that has gathered a lot of press and is related to the situation around Alexander Stepanov, head of the Energomash power engineering holding. The case is not just curious, but to a certain extent indicative of a number of positions.
The story is like this. The once prosperous businessman Alexander Stepanov "accumulated" debts, according to some estimates, as much as 29.5 billion rubles. According to experts, he has nothing to give them back, creditors do not want to wait, and they do not believe in the revival of Stepanov's Energomash from the ashes. And today it is more than a sad picture: the equipment is old, there are no orders and a lot of small debts that turn into large ones, including to the pension fund. The leader himself is behind bars.
By the way, Stepanov has nowhere to go: according to the central press, he is being sentenced to two years in prison on behalf of the British court for contempt of this court. These two years are given in absentia. At the face-to-face consideration of Stepanov's case, it is possible that a document-agreement between Mr. Stepanov and Kazakhstan's BTA Bank, which was recognized as false, will emerge. But all this is there, in "foggy Albion". But our articles are completely different.
In a letter from the ex-head of the Moscow police department, Vladimir Pronin, addressed to the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, article N 159, its 4th part, appears. The one that is on the list of articles of the Criminal Code that fall under the Duma's draft amnesty. It sounds like this: "Fraud committed organized group or on an especially large scale, shall be punishable by deprivation of liberty for a term of up to ten years, with a fine in the amount of up to one million rubles, or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to three years or without it and with restriction of liberty for a term of up to two years or without it.
Strict and quite specific article. However, many experts believe that next to it, if not always, then, as a rule, there are others, for example, 199th - tax evasion. In world legal practice, attitudes towards this type of crime are not just negative, but universally intolerant.
Let's return to Energomash. Jokers immediately dubbed the actions of his leader "Stepanov's five-year plan." It turns out that he set himself a not entirely modest goal: by 2010, his holding company was supposed to build almost hundreds of gas turbine thermal power plants, which were supposed to pay off in about 5 years. The cost of the project, as the media wrote, seemed almost fantastic - almost $6 billion.
It is difficult, if not impossible, to obtain such an amount. But why not try in parts? Happened. Sberbank allocated a loan of 17.5 billion rubles for the construction of the first 120 stations. This happened roughly between 2004 and 2006. Somewhat later, in 2008, Stepanov managed, as journalists found out, to agree with BTA Bank on a loan of $500 million, which is about another 15 billion rubles. Stepanov did not receive the entire tranche, but almost 3/4 of the amount appeared on the accounts of Rolls Finance Limited. The money is big. What can we say about the "unfortunate" 120 million rubles that Stepanov's subsidiaries Energomash (UK) Limited and Energomash (Volgodonsk) Atommash LLC owe to the Rostov pension fund!
Of course, no one considers a loan a crime, it is - financial activities. Not repaying the loan is the problem. And problems, according to observers, began with Stepanov with the onset of the crisis. The idea to build 120 gas-turbine CHPPs looked, perhaps, attractive. However, the enterprises that implement this project and are part of the Energomash corporation,
were simply unable to service Stepanov's credit obligations. Therefore, by 2010, a money ball of 63 billion rubles had grown. The press wrote that it was for this amount that lawsuits were filed against the companies of the Energomash group in the Moscow Arbitration Court. The largest creditors were just Sberbank and BTA Bank, which were owed 14.4 and 12.5 billion rubles, respectively, by the court.
Further, as they say, a matter of technology. Law enforcement. First, that is, in February 2011, Alexander Stepanov was detained, then a decision was made to arrest him. Not spontaneously, by the way, and not by chance, as some people are trying to assert today. Back in 2008, a serious document appeared in the Central Internal Affairs Directorate - the result of "carrying out special operational and preventive measures to decriminalize the country's fuel and energy complex." In particular, it says that Energomashcorporation OJSC, which positions itself as the largest organization in the field of small-scale energy development, actually exists only at the expense of newly attracted borrowed funds, which may be a sign of a financial pyramid. And then - a quote about the notorious 120 gas turbine CHP plants. “Thus, in 2004-2006,” the document says, “Energomashcorporation OJSC received more than 16 billion rubles under loan agreements for GT TETs Energo OJSC for the construction project of 120 gas power plants low power. In fact, only 14-18 stations were built, of which only six are functioning... In total, more than 30 billion rubles were received as loans, most of which were transferred to the accounts of foreign offshore companies... speculative transactions with unsecured bills of exchange and shares, part of it is invested on behalf of third parties in the construction of elite real estate in Moscow ... "
Here's an example. He, of course, is not the only one and was taken by us simply because recent times. And it confirms the thesis that if we are talking not only about economic crime, but also about fraud and other actions that fall outside the scope of the law, then can we even talk about leniency towards the accused? As a result of such "projects", such as the Energomash gas turbine CHP plants, enterprises go bankrupt, people lose their jobs, pensioners are left without money, and figuratively entire industries. And the one who is responsible according to the law and according to conscience, receives the forgiveness of the state? Amnesty? What about moral damage? What about material? And what about the honor and dignity of the affected citizens?
In a high-profile story with financial problems of one of strategic enterprises of the domestic energy complex, the Energomash industrial group, which also produces rocket engines, has another bullet point. Alexey Pleshcheev, junior partner of the holding's founder Alexander Stepanov, has filed for bankruptcy. Creditors' claims amount to 55.2 billion rubles.
Little tricks of the industry giant
Earlier, in 2012, Alexander Stepanov was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for abuse of power and attempted fraud. Two years later, Stepanov was convicted again - for deliberate bankruptcy. Now he faces another trial.
junior partner Alexey Pleshcheev got off, as we see, so far only with bankruptcy. But this, however, does not mean at all that everything fell into place in the Energomash case.
This story is interesting not only for the substantial amount of debt Alexey Pleshcheev owes to creditors. We are talking, among other things, really about the giant of the Russian energy industry.
Energomash PG was established back in 1998 on the basis of the Energomashinostroitelnaya Korporatsiya brought to bankruptcy. The holding also includes OAO Energomashkorporatsiyam (factories for the production of equipment for power plants and the petrochemical complex in seven cities of Russia). In total, PG Energomash employs more than 22 thousand people.
Particular attention should be paid to the PG division called OAO GT-TETS Energo. Its task during the creation is the construction of a mini-CHP, and, in addition, the sale of electricity. And it is no coincidence that these assets were consolidated on the balance sheet of the British Energomash UK Ltd. Because it was with this company that the rise and then the fall of Alexander Stepanov and Alexei Pleshcheev, who were considered extremely successful businessmen, began.
In 2004-2006, this same "GT-CHP Energo" received a loan from Sberbank for 17.5 billion rubles. The loan was targeted and intended for the implementation of an ambitious project proposed by Stepanov and his deputy Pleshcheev. It was about the idea to build many, many small gas turbine power plants in the cities and villages of the country, and thereby solve the problem of electrification of the whole of Russia (posed by Vladimir Lenin).
However, this problem could not be solved. Two years later, in 2008, the servicing of loan obligations ceased. Soon, bankruptcy proceedings were initiated at GT-TES Energo, as well as at Energomashcorporation and CJSC Energomash.
From that moment on, Alexei Pleshcheev and Alexander Stepanov fell into a losing streak. One of the brightest milestones in this period was the adoption in 2010 by a London court of a decision to arrest Alexander Stepanov for a period of two years for contempt of court. It was issued in the course of the process on the claim of BTA Bank for non-repayment of the loan.
Alexander Stepanov, of course, did not rush to the shores of foggy Albion to sit on them for a couple of years. And with this, he completely closed his way to Europe and beyond for the rest of his life. Which explains why, a year later, such a rich man as Alexander Stepanov, having learned that he was threatened with arrest, did not go on the run. There was nowhere to run.
Electric pyramid
There is a lot hidden behind the abundance of stated dry facts. Including questions: how did Alexei Pleshcheev, in company with Alexander Stepanov, manage to take control of strategically important enterprises, which prompted them to play a risky loan game with such a formidable partner as Sberbank, and so on.
A well-known blogger answered some questions on his page in LiveJournal Alexey Abakumov, who conducted his own investigation into the history of the rise and fall of Energomash and its owners.
According to Alexei Abakumov, Stepanov acquired the start-up capital that allowed him to eventually enter the club of billionaires during the initial period of privatization. Energomash became the second and last stage of his career. By 1998, his Power Engineering Corporation included the largest enterprises in the industry, including the famous Elektrosila and Atommash. At the same time, as noted, large funds such an absorption Stepanov and Pleshcheev was not worth it. They acted according to the scheme known in the nineties - they introduced their people into the top management of enterprises, who then bankrupted these enterprises. And they bought it cheap.
But even that money was borrowed. And the owners of the corporation, apparently, were not going to give them away. When creditors began to press hard in 1998, Stepanov and Pleshcheev used another classical scheme- created a new structure - OJSC "Energomashcorporation". The shares of enterprises that were part of the Energy Machine Building Corporation were transferred there and declared bankrupt. It seems that the prosecutor's office is still working on this case. It is difficult for the prosecutor's office, because OJSC Energomashcorporation was once again completely reconstructed, and PG Energomash arose on its foundation. All the assets included in it became the property of the British offshore company Energomash UK Ltd, more than 90% of whose shares went personally to Alexander Stepanov.
However, the partners still needed money. Alexander Stepanov and Alexei Pleshcheev either did not know how to get them, or did not want to, in any other way, except from loans. It was decided to apply another classic scheme of non-violent money taking.
A brilliant project of national importance was drawn up: to build many, many small power plants, and flood all the farthest corners of the country with light. For example, the first phase of the project involved the construction of 120 low-capacity gas-fired power plants.
Oddly enough, Sberbank liked this idea. Pleshcheev and Stepanov, acting as personal guarantors and guarantors, received 17 billion rubles for the development of the program.
Needless to say, only a little over a dozen stations were built in total. Six of them actually work. In addition, it turned out - they are unprofitable. But Alexey Pleshcheev and Alexander Stepanov turned into electricity producers. And this gave them the right to enter the wholesale energy market of the country, where they engaged in banal electricity speculation - they bought cheaper, sold more expensive. Receiving tariffs is already an admission to work in the wholesale market, where you can low prices buy electricity and power, after which, without starting the station, sell them almost twice as expensive.
Everything was going well. But partners Pleshcheev and Stepanov, apparently, did not take into account that almost ten years have passed since they famously and with impunity took over enterprises for themselves, received and did not return loans. Times have changed. Control over such operations has become more stringent.
And first, in the name of the then head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Rashida Nurgalieva received a letter from the then head of the capital's head office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Vladimir Pronin, which stated that "JSC Energomashcorporation exists only at the expense of newly attracted borrowed funds, which may be a sign of a financial pyramid." Well, then the angry chief of Sberbank dealt a crushing blow to the debtors German Gref, who demanded to immediately stop the process of shameless theft of money from a credit institution that was taking place before his eyes. On August 18, 2010, criminal case No. 276078 was initiated under Part 4 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (large-scale fraud) against Alexander Stepanov.
The next is known.
It is curious that Alexander Stepanov took over everything. His colleague Alexei Pleshcheev, who also vouched for Energomash's loans, seemed to have nothing to do with it. Another cunning scheme?
And yet, it seems that the bankruptcy of Alexei Pleshcheev, which he himself initiated, is not the end of this story.
The owner of a well-known corporation, Alexander Stepanov, is accused of fraud and is in a Russian prison, while his enterprises are preparing for the sale of property
At the end of September, a celebration took place at the famous Chekhov plant Energomash. The enterprise decided to suddenly arrange a "non-circular" anniversary and celebrate the 69th anniversary of the plant with pomp. Everything, it seems, was not at all accidental. After all, the holiday was held under the sign of bankruptcy, as well as criminal prosecution of the general director and owner - Alexander Stepanov. There were songs and dances, jugglers and magicians performed. The paid entertainer tried to amuse the factory workers, showing sleight of hand: he quickly turned a 100-ruble bill into a 100-dollar bill ...
It seems that at that moment no one thought why this our domestic property is increasingly becoming overseas and becoming more expensive, and our dignity is being exchanged by various swindlers without asking us for nickels. However, the majority of Chekhov residents, ChZEM employees and local authorities still do not know the secret of the "focus", as a result of which the future of the enterprise was in question. Either they will crush it, having sold the property under the hammer, or they will transfer it to other hands ...
Who is what or what is who...
Talking about the Energomash Group means the same thing as talking - at least for now - about Alexander Stepanov himself. We say "Stepanov" - we mean "Energomash", we say "Energomash" - we mean "Stepanov". And it's not just a figure of speech. The credit monster created by this man may well deserve the title of the largest financial pyramid, based on the suggestion of detailed technical illusions to such "savvy" people as German Gref and his subordinates. Something in Stepanov's constructions resembles the scam with the mythical "red mercury", however, in his constructions, the share of truth is not equal to zero. Real basis available.
The formal top of the pyramid is the British company Energomash (UK) Limited. It is the managing company of the Group and its majority shareholder. More than 90 percent of the shares of Energomash (UK) Limited are owned by to CEO JSC "Energomashcorporation" - Alexander Stepanov. But on the balance sheet of this overseas "company" a controlling stake in OJSC "Energomashcorporation" is consolidated. She, in turn, owns factories in Belgorod, Engels of the Saratov region, Yekaterinburg, Sysert Sverdlovsk region, Volgodonsk, and also - in Chekhov.
The corporation also has a network of engineering centers involved in the development of projects power equipment. There is also OJSC "GT-TETS Energo". It was engaged in the construction of small thermal power plants and, according to investigators, was the subject of heat and electricity speculation.
However, since 2007, the Group's official website has ceased to replenish the "History" section. And two years ago, on October 7, 2009, OJSC Energomashcorporation itself applied to the arbitration court with a request ... to sentence it to bankruptcy. The statement stated that since 2007, consolidated enforcement proceedings have been conducted against the corporation, the property has been seized and put up for auction. In May 2010, the arbitration court also ruled to start bankruptcy proceedings and put the property up for auction. The total amount of claims for repayment of loans amounted to 13 billion 20 million 651 thousand 888 rubles 60 kopecks. By the way, this litigation has no end in sight, and it is clear that if the “mother” company has sentenced itself to bankruptcy, then not everything is in order with its “daughters”. Among them is the Chekhov Plant of Power Engineering (ChZEM), or "Energomash (Chekhov)".
Bankruptcy of ChZEM
In December 2009, two months after Energomashcorporation asked the court to bankrupt it, representatives of Sberbank of Russia filed a lawsuit with the Moscow Arbitration Court against several companies at once. These were Energomash (Volgodonsk), Energomash-Atommash, Energomash (Yekaterinburg) and Energomash (Chekhov). The amount of the bankers' claims amounted to no less than 14 billion 942 million 341 thousand 120 rubles 86 kopecks. Here and debt on loans, and bad loans, and interest, and penalties.
The process dragged on, and only at the end of July 2010 the court recognized the joint debt of the companies in the amount of more than 14 billion rubles. But only after the "traditional" appeal, on September 22, the decision came into force. It is clear that the management of Sberbank did not wait for the results of the consideration of the cassation appeal (by the way, it was never satisfied), but immediately went to court demanding that only one enterprise be declared bankrupt ... ChZEM. And although the representatives of the plant asked the court to refuse the bankers, since the amount of the debt should supposedly be distributed to all debtors, the creditor's application was accepted. It turned out that it is possible to initiate a bankruptcy case only in relation to one of the debtors. And, it seems, Chekhov's enterprise seemed to some to be the most "delicious".
On December 16, 2010, the court declared Energomash (Chekhov) insolvent, introduced surveillance at the plant, appointed a temporary manager and determined the amount that the plant owes Sberbank. This is 14 billion 113 million 248 thousand 216 rubles. On February 22, 2011, the court of appeal upheld this decision, and on April 12, the cassation instance rejected the complaint of Energomash (Chekhov) LLC.
Despite all this, rumors are spreading about Chekhov that the bankruptcy case has been suspended and is about to be closed. This is not entirely true. On May 19 of this year, the court considered the petition of a representative of Sberbank of Russia, who asked to postpone the case until the claims of all creditors were considered. It concerns claims tax service to ChZEM associated with certain tax violations. And at present, a part of the tax violations has been recognized by the court, but the appeal of Energomash (Chekhov) is still to be considered. As soon as this dispute ends in court, the bankruptcy process will continue.
Some employees of ChZEM still hope that the billionaire Alexander Stepanov will still avoid criminal prosecution, and everything will work out. However, it seems that such hopes have shaky grounds. Too cool people both abroad and in Russia want to settle accounts with the famous businessman. And there is every reason for this.
London combination
Six criminal cases were opened against Mr. Stepanov in Russia alone, now united into one. There are such cases in other countries - in particular in the UK. There he became a defendant in a case of embezzlement of credit funds from the Kazakh BTA Bank. 500 million dollars - this is the amount of the credit line opened by the bank in August 2008. This loan was secured by a block of shares in the parent offshore company Energomash UK Limited, which owns all of Energomash's Russian assets. Stepanov also gave a personal guarantee.
A special company, Rolls Finance Limited, was created to transfer money, BTA Bank began transfers. He managed to transfer 365 million dollars before the "energy" schemer stopped paying for the services of bankers. Then the Kazakhs turned to the court for justice. Their statements went to one of the Moscow courts and the High Court of London. And if the Russian court satisfied the claim and decided to recover 12.5 billion rubles from Stepanov in favor of BTA Bank, then in the UK everything turned out differently.
At the pre-trial proceedings in the High Court of London, Alexander Stepanov submitted new documents that testified that the employees of BTA Bank were not entirely competent or were persons of interest. Were brought to light additional agreements, signed, according to Stepanov, back in 2008, but ... "These documents significantly changed the terms of the loan agreement to the detriment of the bank's interests, however, as a result of a handwriting examination, these documents were found to be fake, and the version of events presented by Stepanov was refuted" - such the bank employees' statement dotted the i's. After this exposed falsification, the schemer began to change lawyers and generally did not pay attention to the requirements of the court - to disclose information about the assets belonging to him. And then he stopped showing up in court.
For such disrespect, a London court sentenced the machine builder in absentia to two years in prison. It was also decided to recover from Stepanov more than 486 million dollars, and his company - Energomash UK Limited - to be forcibly liquidated. However, the liquidation service appointed by the court is still looking for the property of this offshore company.
Stepanov's penchant for using offshore companies and figureheads is starting to fail him. For example, Sberbank was considered the largest creditor of Energomashcorporation, but Olana Trading Inc suddenly appeared on the scene. - offshore company from Belize. It turned out that Stepanov's companies allegedly owed her ... 16 billion rubles. In this scenario, the offshore company became not only the largest creditor of Stepanov's companies, but also began to play the role of the main cooperator at the meeting of creditors, and also received grounds to claim the maximum share of compensation. Bankruptcy actually became under the control of a company free from the "shores".
It should be noted that arbitrators often - willingly or unwittingly - played along with Stepanov and his offshore creditors. However, it suddenly turned out that the creditor company did not exist at all and was liquidated back in 2006. Moreover, false documents were slipped into the case by the arbitration manager Agapov, who, as it turned out, after discovering the results of his "bad" work - in the interests of Stepanov - received the appropriate "parting words" from the judicial corps.
General Pronin's letter
It would be a mistake to think that such a resourceful craftsman and his capital will remain out of sight of the powers that be. Back in 2008 former boss Moscow police department Vladimir Pronin decided to write a letter to the Minister of Internal Affairs Rashid Nurgaliyev. This epistolary work was made public by the Izvestia newspaper. It notes: “OJSC Energomashcorporation exists only at the expense of newly attracted borrowed funds, which may be a sign of a financial pyramid ... So, in 2004-2006, OJSC Energomashcorporation received for OJSC GT-TES Energo more than 17 billion rubles in loan agreements for the construction of 120 low-capacity gas-fired power plants. In reality, only 14-18 stations were built, of which only 6 are functioning.”
General Pronin also argued that the commissioning of new facilities is of interest to the leaders of this company only on paper, since the very production of electricity at the thermal power plants under construction is not economically profitable. It turns out that “Receiving tariffs is already an admission to work on the wholesale market, where you can buy electricity and power at low prices, after which, without starting the station, sell them almost twice as much.”
Stepanov was able to pull off such a trick with the idle Vsevolozhsk gas turbine thermal power plant. Illegally, the station received the status of an object of the wholesale electricity market, as well as the right to sell its products at a price of 1.08 rubles per kWh. As a result, in 2007, Stepanov's energy company, without generating a single kilowatt-hour, bought 108.5 million kW / h on the wholesale market for 0.52 rubles. and immediately resold them to OJSC "Petersburg Sales Company", but already at 1.08 rubles. This is how the owner of Energomash turned pieces of paper with numbers into real 117 million rubles.
In total, under the small-scale generation project, the businessmen received loans in the amount of more than 30 billion rubles. Most of them, according to the general, dissolved in offshore. “At present,” writes Pronin, “A.Yu. Stepanov, head of Energomashcorporation OJSC, active measures are being taken to counter the ongoing investigative and operational measures, up to discrediting law enforcement officers.” Despite the "terrible face" of a disabled corporate bigwig, Moscow policemen were able to collect necessary materials on tax evasion on an especially large scale back in 2005.
There are other examples of the epistolary genre in this story. Here is what German Gref, Chairman of the Board of Sberbank, wrote to Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika:
“Companies of the industrial group Energomash are debtors of Sberbank of Russia for total amount over 15 billion rubles.… According to our information, Stepanov A.Yu. together with the management, he is trying to transfer the assets of the Energomash group to various organizations controlled by him and others in order to evade the payment of the existing debt ... The group for the production, operation of equipment and materials in the fuel and energy sector exists only at the expense of newly raised borrowed funds, which is a sign of a financial pyramid… In connection with the above, I ask you to prevent illegal actions of Stepanova A.Yu. organize an appropriate check to establish signs of a crime in his actions. Order given?
And this is what Assistant Prosecutor General A.S. writes a little later. Sologubov to OJSC Energomashcorporation:
“On August 18, 2010, the SC SU (Investigation Department of the Investigation Department) at the Department of Internal Affairs for the SWAD of Moscow, at the request of the Chairman of the Board of Sberbank of Russia Gref G.O. about misconduct the management of Energomash group companies aimed at evading loan repayment, a criminal case No. 276078 was initiated under Part 4 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Let me explain: this is a standard accusation of fraud.
Raider seizure?
It would be wrong not to mention another point of view present in the press. According to investigators, Stepanov tried to steal all the loans received from Sberbank and transferred them to foreign accounts. Back in February, speaking in court, a representative of the prosecution argued the need for Stepanov's arrest by saying that he allegedly disappeared after he was charged. At the same time, the court was not surprised by the fact that the “hiding businessman” was not detained in the Canary Islands, but in the lobby of the Moscow office of Sberbank. There he arrived at the next stage of negotiations on debt restructuring.
It must be understood that this is not the first criminal case for Stepanov over the past three years. In August 2008, a case was already brought against him under the same article 159 of the Criminal Code, and then, in October of the same year, a charge was added under article 199 - “tax evasion”. And in June 2009, article 201 was added - "abuse of authority." The businessman sought protection and turned to different people. And they, it should be noted, tried to help.
For example, at that time, the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Yevgeny Primakov reported to the same Rashid Nurgaliyev about the signs of a raider seizure of the enterprise. Sergei Ivanov, Chairman of the Commission for Interaction with the Accounts Chamber of the Federation Council, addressed Alexei Anichin, Head of the Investigative Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In November 2009, Ella Pamfilova, chairperson of the Human Rights Council, submitted a report to President Dmitry Medvedev about an attempted raider takeover of one of the Energomash plants in Barnaul. The President of Russia Medvedev himself sent this report to the Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika with the resolution "Please consider." Stepanov, it seems, was left alone, but many are sure that the raiders were only engaged in a regrouping of forces and were preparing a serious attack - a new criminal case and a place on the bunk.
Almost a month after Stepanov's arrest, on February 22, 2011, a document labeled "For Official Use" signed by Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Infrastructure of the Government of the Russian Federation Alexei Tsydenov was sent from the apparatus of the Government of the Russian Federation to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Energy, the Federal Tax Service, Sberbank and Energomash. Here is what he wrote: “Materials regarding the settlement of the debt ... were reported to Deputy Prime Minister I.I. Sechin. It was noted that the dispute settlement process should be carried out within the framework of the current arbitration and bankruptcy laws… This process should not lead to the termination of the implementation of the investment project for the construction and operation of gas turbine stations ... The next report is scheduled for April 2011”.
Many hoped that Stepanov would be released after such a letter. There were hopes for mitigation preventive measures against those suspected of economic crimes. And taking into account the fact that Stepanov is a disabled person of the first group, they also counted on house arrest. However, it remains unknown what was reported to Sechin in April, but at the end of June the court refused to release the head of the Energomash group, even on bail of 30 million rubles. He was kept behind bars until November 1, 2011.
It didn't take long for events to unfold. A year or two. But it has already become clear that the property of Chekhov, the glory of the city - ChZEM - finally passed into private hands with all the ensuing consequences of a fight for capital. And it is no coincidence that the city authorities stand on the sidelines, no one is interested in and values the opinion of the city residents and workers of the plant. The employees of Energomash, as it should be under capitalism, have only the right to observe and maintain their professional dignity. However, you can’t spread it on bread, if - God forbid - the property of the enterprise is still put up for auction ...
By the middle of last year, the total external debt of Russia amounted to 450 billion dollars, and the state's share in its structure did not exceed 7%. The volume of the rest of the debt fell on banks (32%) and the corporate non-banking sector - 61%.
After the crisis receded, the situation seemed to have changed. But entrepreneurs continue to look for ways to default on loans today. One of them is the abuse of the institution of bankruptcy with the subsequent transfer of the assets of the borrowing company to a “clean” structure…
Now the media are actively discussing the methods of work of the owner of the Energomash group of enterprises, Alexander Stepanov, who two years ago, according to the magazine Finance, occupied the 151st place in the rating of billionaires with a fortune of 15.2 billion rubles. With the help of schemes dubious from the point of view of the law, the businessman kept his assets, leaving creditors with a nose.
The entrepreneur has long dreamed of consolidating domestic assets in the field of power engineering, which were previously under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry and Energy of the S.S.S.R. To do this, in 1993, the Power Engineering Corporation (EMC) was created, which by 1998 had “unified” several dozen enterprises in the industry. According to the Internet newspaper VEK.ru, such a merger usually took place in the following way: at first, persons affiliated with Stepanov became top managers state enterprise, then in geometric progression his debts began to grow, and then the inevitable bankruptcy and buying for next to nothing followed.
In such a simple way, Alexander Stepanov took possession of a number of strategic enterprises in the industry - Electrosila, the Leningrad Metal Plant, the Podolsk Machine-Building Plant, the Belgorod Power Engineering Plant, the Barnaul Boiler Plant, Uralelectrotyazhmash, Uralgidromash, the Turbine Blade Plant, Chekhovenergomash, JSC "Sila", "Atommash". This association turned out to be truly golden for Stepanov: the commissions of his EMC for each contract concluded at the enterprises of the corporation reached 30% of the transaction amount. One can only guess where the funds went, but obviously not for business development (for example, salaries in the holding company were paid very late, so most of the qualified employees left EMK) and not for the modernization of equipment inherited from Soviet times.
Bankrupt Borrower
In parallel, huge loans were issued to the Power Engineering Corporation. And when the position of the corporation staggered in the crisis year of 1998, the management of the EMK initiated a deliberate bankruptcy “by artificial creation insolvency”, as the then 1st Deputy Prosecutor General Yuri Biryukov would later write based on the materials of the criminal case. In order not to return the borrowed funds, the leaders of EMC, under a fictitious sale and purchase agreement, simply transferred the shares of 40 enterprises that were part of the corporation to the balance sheet of a new structure not burdened with debts - Energomashcorporation. Only three St. Petersburg enterprises fell out of the scheme - the Leningrad Metal Plant (LMZ), the Turbine Blade Plant and Elektrosila, control over which passed to another large Russian holding.
The shares of the remaining plants were bought out on paper by Energomashcorporation, and then transferred to offshore companies Energomash UK Ltd. and Mardima company Ltd. from the British Virgin Islands, which were registered both to Alexander Stepanov himself and to persons close to him. In 2001 General Prosecutor's Office filed a criminal case against the management of the EMK under the article “Intentional bankruptcy”. The investigation of this case, which consisted of 120 volumes 7 years ago, is still ongoing.
New level of business
When the crisis of 1998 passed and the market situation began to improve, Alexander Stepanov's "business" went into new level. A reorganization was carried out - the Energomash group of enterprises was born, which included Energomashcorporation OJSC, Chekhov Power Engineering Plant OJSC, EMK-Atommash OJSC, Uralelektrotyazhmash-Uralgidromash OJSC and Energomash (Belgorod) CJSC . management company the holding company became offshore Energomash UK Ltd, 90% owned by Stepanov. Also, the world was shown a new super project of Energomash - the development and construction of small gas turbine thermal power plants, which were planned to flood the entire territory of the country. For this purpose, JSC "GT-TETS Energo" was created.
Only in the next crisis, in 2008-2009, it will become clear what goals the Energomash management pursued when promoting this project. In 2008, the ex-head of the Moscow police department Vladimir Pronin, in a letter to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Rashid Nurgaliyev, clearly stated that "JSC Energomashcorporation exists only at the expense of newly attracted borrowed funds, which may be a sign of a financial pyramid." “Thus, in 2004-2006, JSC Energomashcorporation received more than 17 billion rubles for JSC GT-CHP Energo under loan agreements for the construction project of 120 gas electric stations low power. In reality, only 14-18 stations were built, of which only 6 are functioning, - Pronin claimed.
Sberbank issued a loan for the project in 2004-2006. Stepanov received billions from the country's largest bank under personal property and under the guarantee of the group's enterprises, including offshore Energomash UK Ltd. And eventually stopped paying. AT this moment the amount of debt, including% for the use of the loan and the penalty, is about 15.8 billion rubles - this is how much Sberbank was able to sue from Stepanov in Oktyabrsky district court Belgorod in October of this year.
The total debt of Energomash is 63 billion rubles. Among its creditors are the largest banks in the country.
Whether this money will be returned to German Gref's institution is a big question. Earlier, in order to get rid of an annoying creditor, the management of Energomash already tried to use a scheme from the 90s. When the enterprises of the group, which acted as guarantors to Sberbank, and then could not pay off the obligations of GT-TES Energo, entered bankruptcy proceedings, an offshore company from Belize, Olana Trading Inc., suddenly appeared. and demanded to include her among the creditors - allegedly Energomash (Belgorod) and Energomashcorporation owed her 16 billion rubles. Thus, Sberbank ceased to be the largest creditor of Energomash and its share in the sale of property of bankrupt companies decreased to 37%. However, later it turned out that the offshore company presented false documents. And the company itself ceased to exist in early 2006.
All these facts became the basis for initiating a criminal case under the article “Fraud”. Alexander Stepanov is charged with malicious evasion from repaying loans to Sberbank, initiating bankruptcy proceedings at enterprises that are borrowers of banks, creating "inflated" accounts payable and withdrawing production assets, as well as falsifying evidence.
By the way, the electricity produced at Stepanov's small thermal power plants also turned out to be fake. This episode formed the basis of another criminal case initiated by the Main Investigative Directorate at the Main Department of Internal Affairs of Moscow two years ago under the article “Fraud” against the management of GT-TES Energo. It follows from Pronin's letter that the commissioning of new facilities is of interest to the leaders of this company only on paper, because production electrical energy at CHPPs under construction it is not economically profitable. “Receiving tariffs is already an admission to work on the wholesale market, where you can buy electricity and capacity at low prices, after which, without launching the station, sell them almost twice as much,” Pronin emphasized. Energomash was able to pull off such a trick with its idle Vsevolozhsk gas turbine thermal power plant. Illegally, the station received the status of an object of the wholesale electricity market and the right to sell its products at a price of 1.08 rubles. per kWh. As a result, in 2007, Stepanov's energy company, having not generated a single kilowatt-hour, bought 108.5 million kW / h on the wholesale market for 0.52 rubles. and immediately resold them to JSC "Petersburg Sales Company", but already at 1.08 rubles. per kWh. More than 117 million rubles materialized out of thin air for the owner of Energomash, which became the subject of special interest of Moscow investigators.
In total, Stepanov's companies received more than 30 billion rubles of loans for the small-scale generation project, most of which, according to Pronin, disappeared into offshore companies. “Currently, the head of OJSC Energomashcorporation, Stepanov A.Yu. active measures are being taken to counter the ongoing investigative and operational measures, up to the discrediting of law enforcement officers, ”complained the former head of the Moscow police. But despite the pressure, investigators were able to gather Additional materials, on the basis of which another criminal case was initiated - for tax evasion on an especially large scale in 2005.
London calling
In addition to the above, at the moment Alexander Stepanov is a defendant in another criminal case - on the theft of credit funds from the Kazakh BTA Bank. In August 2008, the oligarch managed to negotiate with the Kazakhs to open a $500 million credit line. The loan was secured by a block of shares in the parent offshore Energomash UK Limited, which owns all of Energomash's Russian assets, and a personal guarantee from the businessman. Before the main Russian “private power engineer” stopped paying, BTA Bank managed to transfer $365 million to him, more precisely, to his company Rolls Finance Limited, created specifically for this purpose.
The Kazakh bank applied for justice to the courts - the Cheryomushkinsky district of Moscow and the High Court of London. The Russian Themis did not question the evidence of the dispute and at the end of last year decided to recover 12.5 billion rubles from Stepanov in favor of BTA Bank.
And for pre-trial proceedings in the High Court of London, Alexander Stepanov presented additional agreements with the bank, allegedly signed back in 2008. events, presented by Stepanov, was refuted,” the bank said in a press release. After the attempt to deceive the English court failed, the oligarch changed his lawyers twice, stopped responding to the judge's demands for disclosure of information about his assets and generally showed up in court. Moreover, as the media wrote, he changed his place of registration and moved from a luxurious Moscow apartment to a hostel in Belgorod.
For contempt of the English court, Stepanov was sentenced in absentia to two years in prison. The same court ruled to recover more than $486 million from the entrepreneur and forcibly liquidate Energomash UK, but the liquidators appointed by the court still cannot find the company's property.
The show goes on
In July of this year, open letter Employees of Energomashcorporation complained to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin: "The history of 1998-2000 is repeating itself, when the international swindler Alexander Stepanov acquired strategic production assets through the deliberate bankruptcy of OJSC Energomashinostroitelnaya Korporatsiya." The appeal included, among other things, the businessman's attempt to deceive his creditors and sell for 10 billion rubles the already twice pledged block of shares in Energomash UK to Ros_Atom's subsidiary, JSC Atomenergomash. The deal was banned by the London High Court until the debt to BTA Bank is paid off.
The total debt of Energomash is 63 billion rubles. Among Stepanov's creditors, in addition to the already mentioned Sberbank and BTA Bank, there are also MDM Bank ($47.9 million) and Rosevrobank ($38.5 million).
In the first half of November, the Prosecutor General's Office instructed Investigative Committee under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation to combine all 6 criminal cases into one proceeding. The news is encouraging, but it is unlikely that the former flagships of the domestic power engineering industry will be able to regain their once leading positions. It is highly likely that their owner will remain the same, and only the sign will change ...
investigative committee under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation detained Alexander Stepanov, the main owner of the group "", the largest manufacturer of power equipment in Russia, a representative of the committee said. The businessman is suspected of credit fraud. Yesterday, a petition was sent to the Tverskoy Court of Moscow to order a measure of restraint against him in the form of detention.
Energomash has machine-building plants in seven cities of Russia, including St. Petersburg. Alexander Stepanov owns 90% of Energomash UK Ltd, which controls the parent company of the group - OJSC Energomashcorporation. In 2001, the shareholders of Energomash created JSC "GT-TETS Energo" (gas turbine thermal power plants), which was supposed to implement the holding's ambitious project - to build more than a hundred small thermal power plants. But the project didn't go.
Energomash problems began during the construction of the GT-CHP in Vsevolozhsk. In 2006, the unfinished CHPP was put into operation, and its electricity was sold for 56 million rubles. In 2008, a criminal case was initiated against the management of Energomash and GT-TES Energo, but the results of the investigation were not publicly reported.
AT 2004–2006"GT-TETS Energo" took loans from Sberbank for 17.5 billion rubles for the construction of a mini-CHP. The enterprises of the holding, as well as personally Alexander Stepanov and his deputy Alexei Pleshcheev, vouched for the loan. Securities and some objects of the group were transferred as collateral. The holding had to return 12 billion rubles on the loan to Sberbank, and, according to the investigation, there was misappropriation of funds.
But Energomash stopped repaying the Sberbank loan back in October 2008. Then the holding explained that the delay appeared due to the unexpectedly changed financing scheme of Sberbank, which reduced the amount of funds issued for Energomash projects. As a result, bankruptcy procedures were introduced in four enterprises of the group.
Besides, In the spring of 2010, a London court issued a decision to arrest Alexander Stepanov for a period of 2 years for contempt of court (as part of the proceedings on the claim of BTA Bank for non-repayment of a loan of $ 365 million).
Holding "Energomash" and its owner led to the decline of inefficient investment and intractability, experts say. During a crisis, the financial position of most companies with investment projects and debts deteriorated sharply, resources for projects became scarce, says Dmitro Konovalov, an analyst at UniCredit Securities.
According to Baker & McKenzie partner Ivan Smirnov, the detention of Alexander Stepanov is definitely pressure from his creditors, practice shows that such methods force intractable business owners to quickly find assets to pay off debts.
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