Money “deposits” of Musa Bazhaev. Musa Bazhaev went down in history

Billionaire Musa Bazhaev, after purchasing an Italian resort, decided to take out a loan from the state bank for Russian Platinum.

Mr. Bazhaev began to beg from Sberbank for a huge loan of $1.5 billion. Let us recall that last year Russian Platinum and Vnesheconombank (VEB) signed a memorandum of cooperation in implementing a project in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. VEB is expected to invest 1.2 billion rubles in Bazhaev’s projects.

At the same time, Musa Yusupovich prefers to invest his funds in other places. In 2015, the brothers Musa and Mavlit Bazhaev allegedly purchased an expensive resort in Sardinia, Forte Village, a tourist complex consisting of eight hotels with 770 rooms and 33 separate suites, costing hundreds of millions of dollars.

The resort is controlled by the company Progetto Esmeralda S.R.L., among whose administrators are the general director of Russian Platinum, Magomed Galaev, and a member of the board of directors of the Alliance group, Andrei Sletov. There is practically no doubt that the complex belongs to Bazhaev.

Beggar

Russian Platinum, owned by a businessman, applied for state support in the form of state loan guarantees. The company needs at least 220 billion rubles. After media reports, the billionaire’s press service “erupted” with a statement. Bazhaev will not go to court for a refutation, so the company hid behind sending spam to editors.

The text of the company's press release letter states that Russian Platinum did not apply to the government for state guarantees. The company does not ask for additional benefits, financial resources or other assistance from government agencies.

The company independently develops its assets, using financing methods and instruments available on the markets and “in compliance with current Russian legislation.”

Well, actually, the second contradicts the first. Private companies have repeatedly applied for subsidies and assistance. The company needs at least 220 billion rubles, and Bazhaev has nowhere to get that kind of money.

Further, the company's PR people write that Russian Platinum strictly complies with the terms of the license agreements and the agreement on socio-economic cooperation with the Krasnoyarsk Territory in relation to the Chernogorskoye field and the southern part of Norilsk-1 (one of the largest deposits in Taimyr. The reserves of its southern part amount to 273 thousand tons of nickel, 378 thousand tons of copper, as well as 12.7 thousand tons of cobalt and about 518 kg of platinum group metals).

Musa Bazhaev

Mr. Bazhaev’s company has been marking time for several years, unable to begin developing the Norilsk-1 field! Therefore, he constantly asks for help from state banks. The strange thing is that state banks, instead of purchasing an asset, sponsor it while Bazhaev buys Italian assets.

Malicious Bazhaev

Even before taking office as head of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiulina sent a letter to the head of state asking him to bring Natural Resources Minister Sergei Donskoy to justice. According to her, Donskoy provided incorrect information when the government was looking into the situation with Norilsk-1. According to Elvira Sakhipzadovna, the state “has suffered material damage,” and Donskoy “has led the situation to a dead end” and must answer for everything.

“Material damage has been caused to the state. They treated the investor rudely: they held a competition, then, apparently, changed their mind and waited for a new law on the transition to an auction system for distributing rights to subsoil, said the assistant who passed Nabiullina’s letter to the president.

When the government was looking into the situation with the Norilsk-1 field, Donskoy provided incorrect information to the presidential administration. The minister indicated that the Ministry of Natural Resources cannot issue a license until the arbitration court’s decision on Norilsk Nickel’s claim comes into force, and in support of his words he attached an allegedly independent study from the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg State University, thereby misleading the government. A representative of St. Petersburg State University claims that this research was carried out by one of the university’s employees, but he did it on behalf of a commercial company.

This is not the first story that calls into question the activities of Sergei Donskoy. In 2011, the Minister of Natural Resources patronized his friend Artem Tretyakov, who, without the appropriate education, was appointed deputy general director of JSC Rosgeologiya (in 2011, Donskoy himself was the general director).

Sergei Donskoy, Minister of Natural Resources

One way or another, Bazhaev received the necessary assets.

Is Bazhaev banking?

In September of this year, Finprombank, affiliated with Musa Bazhaev, asked the Central Bank to revoke the license. Anti-corruption fighters say that funds could have been withdrawn from the financial institution.

It turned out that Finprombank shareholders will vote on October 14 on whether to submit a petition to the Bank of Russia to cancel or revoke the bank’s license to carry out banking operations, as follows from the published agenda of the shareholders’ meeting.

Finprombank’s reporting states that it “does not have a person exercising final control over its activities.” This means that if the funds were stolen, then it is unclear by whom... Although the main beneficiaries of the bank are Pyotr Kondrashov (19.99%), Andrey Belkin (19.99%), Anatoly Goncharov (19.99%), Dmitry Semenov (18 .22%), Stanislav Perminov (11.58%), Musa Bazhaev (8.41%), Evgeny Lyubimov (1.73%). The remaining part of the shares (less than 1%) is distributed among minority shareholders.

It should also be noted that Dmitry Semenov, Anatoly Goncharov, Pyotr Kondrashov, Andrey Belkin, Stanislav Perminov and Evgeny Lyubimov are the ultimate owners of CB AiMoneyBank LLC.

The bank's problems became known in the middle of this year, when citizens' funds placed in the accounts of Finprombank (FPB) decreased by 10%, companies, in turn, took 20% of their funds.

Earlier, in May of this year, clients withdrew only 1.8 billion rubles from Bazhaev’s bank, the companies’ funds decreased by 2 billion rubles, to 8 billion rubles! Experts note that from January 1 to June 1, the volume of retail deposits in the bank fell by more than a quarter (27%), or by 5.8 billion rubles, the volume of company funds decreased by 3 billion rubles!

In December 2015, information appeared according to which the structures of the owner of the Russian Platinum group, Musa Bazhaev, would additionally capitalize the FPB by 10 billion rubles. “As a result, the bank will be additionally capitalized by more than 20 billion rubles, which will allow it to enter the top 50 Russian banks,” bank employees said.

Bazhaev invested only 12.4 billion rubles. The clients “ran.”

"Old songs about the main thing"

Market participants talk a lot about the Bazhaevs’ ability to negotiate - this has been known since the 90s. For example, in the Khabarovsk Territory, which was previously led by Viktor Ishaev, there were significant problems with both government money and property and compliance with the rule of law. When the fate of the Khabarovsk airport was being decided, which was sold for a symbolic sum of $10 million to the Alliance-Prom company friendly to Ishaev (a subsidiary of the Alliance Group, headed by Musa Bazhaev), the press again started talking about another raider scandal.

Representatives of Russian Platinum write that the structure of ownership of foreign assets of the companies Russian Platinum, Alliance Group and their shareholders is transparent and declared to the regulatory authorities of the Russian Federation in accordance with current legislation.

A number of media outlets wrote that several Krymnefteprodukt oil depots “not entirely legally” became the property of the Bazhaev family with the help of the Salem organized crime group.

It is noted that the Salem organized crime group included the current head of Crimea, Sergei Aksenov, and Musa Bazhaev himself was credited with having connections with “authoritative Chechens” (for example, with Abu Archakov and Sultanbek Aidamirov).

Sergei Aksenov, head of Crimea

Question about Shumakov

Let us also note the story of the mysterious death of Bazhaev’s partner. For quite a long time, lawyer Dmitry Shumkov was considered a close acquaintance and partner of Musa Bazhaev, the main owner of Russian Platinum. But in the summer of 2015, Shumkov’s representatives announced that he had put up for sale his share in one of the key assets of the mining company - the southern part of the Norilsk-1 deposit.

It was reported that Shumkov expected to receive for his 10 percent share in this project.

“Shumkov is ready to come to an agreement with Bazhaev on acceptable terms or sell his share to third-party investors,” the media reported then, citing a source.

The businessman actively developed his business, although sometimes this raised “corruption issues,” donated to charity, and loved his relatives. But after a number of successful transactions, he decided to hang himself! Immediately after this, his influential partners divided almost all of Shumkov’s assets, leaving the heirs with virtually nothing.

And the Olympic complex was transferred to Musa Bazhaev! Questions may also arise for Bazhaev...

As a result, Bazhaev, who received Norilsk 1 with violations, is suspected of withdrawing assets from Finprombank, receives money from state banks for which Russian Platinum works. Meanwhile, the billionaire buys an elite Italian resort complex. It’s hard for officials to imagine the situation with Bazhaev without a rollback...

Musa Bazhaev is a Russian entrepreneur of Chechen origin, president and co-owner of the Alliance Group diversified concern, which is involved in construction, oil and textile industries. In addition, Bazhaev is on the Board of Directors of the Russian Platinum group of companies, and holds the position of chairman there.

Musa was born in the Chechen Republic on May 11, 1966. The boy grew up with his brothers Isa, Mavlit and Ziya Bazhaev. The last of them, much later, in 2000, tragically died in a plane crash of a Yak-40 plane at Moscow Sheremetyevo-1 airport. A Russian journalist also died in the same accident.

After school, Bazhaev Jr. entered the Grozny Oil Institute named after Academician M.D. Millionshchikov, from which he graduated in 1991 and received a specialty as an engineer in chemical technology for oil and gas refining. Musa was immediately employed in his specialty as a process engineer, but gradually managers noted his leadership qualities, and the young man made a dizzying career. Bazhaev was first a manager, then a department director and, finally, president of the Lia Oil group of companies.

In 1998, Musa and Ziya Bazhaev organized Alliance Group OJSC. This concern did not have a narrow focus, but was engaged in diverse projects in various fields of industry: from oil to textiles. In addition, the brothers also explored the Russian construction market. Initially, the company was headed by Ziya Bazhaev, and his younger brother headed the holding’s subsidiary, Alliance Oil Joint Stock Company, focusing on the oil business, which he knew best.

In 2000, when Bazhaev Sr. unexpectedly died as a result of a plane crash, the duties of the head of the board of Alliance Group OJSC fell on Musa. Among his personal achievements as the head of the concern, it is worth noting the opening of a network of gas stations on the Crimean peninsula together with the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea Sergei Kunitsyn, an agreement with the famous Samsung company on the modernization of the Khabarovsk oil refinery and the founding of one of the world's leading enterprises for the extraction of precious metals "Russian platinum".

In addition, Bazhaev has joint ventures with the Dutch-British company Shell, the Spanish concern Repsol and the Independent Oil Company of Eduard Khudainatov. Of course, all these joint ventures are aimed at developing the oil refining market, as well as further sales of products, not only in Russia, but also in neighboring countries.

"Alliance Group" transformed into the independent company "Alliance". Its board of directors is headed by Musa Yusupovich Bazhaev, who turned the organization into a profitable full-cycle oil company. Now this structure not only extracts hydrocarbon raw materials, but also processes it and sells it in a wide branched network of its own gas stations. Three times over the past 16 years, Alliance has won the national Company of the Year award. She was noted for the best corporate management, social responsibility and for the development of economic ties between the CIS countries.

In 2003, Musa Bazhaev’s organization also became a laureate of the international competition “Golden Trademarks”, and later the international award “Business Olympus”. In addition to the oil refining business, the Alliance company owns enterprises for the production of sugar and cotton processing. The management of his own airline is concentrated in the hands of Musa Bazhaev.

Musa Yusupovich is not only a businessman, but also a recognized philanthropist. On the initiative of the entrepreneur, the Ziya Bazhaev Charitable Foundation was created, which implements various social programs. In addition, Bazhaev initiated the founding of the “Fund for Support of Hostages and Victims of the Terrorist Act in Moscow,” which financially helps children who lost their parents as a result of terrorist attacks.

Back in 2007, Musa became the owner of the Amur gold mining artel, and a year later he announced his intention to spend over $50 million on the restoration of the Republic of Chechnya. In the Chechen Republic, two full-fledged hospitals were built at the expense of Musa Bazhaev.

The businessman did not forget about art: together with the Spanish company Tecnicas Reunidas, he implemented a project for an exhibition of modern painting and sculpture, and since the late 90s he has been constantly supporting the Boris Shchukin Higher Theater School, for which he received the Patron of the Year prize "by decision of the representative public council of the Theater Star award.

It is worth adding that from the very beginning Bazhaev tries to minimize his participation in the political life of the country. He has been offered many times to head a region, to become a deputy of a regional or republican council, including the Chechen one, but Musa refuses every time. He considers himself primarily a businessman and intends to help his native country by boosting the economy, and not through meetings and consideration of laws.

Not much is known about the private side of the biography of a prominent Chechen businessman. Musa Yusupovich has been married for a long time. His wife's name is Louise, and they have four children: two sons, Timur and Alim, and two daughters, Maryam. Both girls are already married.

In 2016, Maryam became the wife of Magomed Erikhanov, the son of the head of the Chechen regional branch of Rosselkhozbank. The wedding took place in the Moscow restaurant Safisa. The bride's outfit alone from the Zuhair Murad design house cost about 15 million rubles, and the band also performed at the celebration.

Six months after her older sister, Elina Bazhaeva also got married. Her chosen one was the son of the owner of the Dorchester Finance company Alikhan Mamakaev - Bekhan, a graduate of the University of London. The wedding took place according to European standards in one of the most expensive restaurants in Monte Carlo. The parents of the brides, as is customary among the Chechen people, were not present at both celebrations. Luiza Bazhaeva herself tries to avoid communicating with the press; photos of the millionaire’s wife rarely appear in the media.

The head of the Bazhaev family calls football the main hobby of his life. On the territory of the Forte Village resort complexes he owns in Italy, there is a children’s football club “Chelsea”, the adult version of which is owned by a Russian oligarch. There were also rumors that Musa Yusupovich was going to acquire a controlling stake in the Moscow football club CSKA, but either this information was not true, or an agreement was not reached. Bazhaev never became the owner of his own team.

However, from the perspective of love for football, it is worth considering the value of the gift given to Bazhaev on his fiftieth birthday by the management of the Spanish football club Barcelona. The owners of this team arranged a meeting for the businessman with his favorite football player, the legendary striker of the Catalan giants. Musa came to Spain with his youngest son Timur, where he met the Argentine star. After a short conversation, the men headed to the playing field and played football together. In addition, Lionel Messi recorded a video message in which he congratulated the Chechen oligarch on his anniversary.

In August 2017, Musa Bazhaev. The businessman’s first grandson was given to him by his daughter Maryam. The boy was given the name Amir. And at the beginning of 2018, another good news followed - the youngest Elina gave birth to a daughter.

At the end of 2017, a deal was concluded to sell the capital’s Olimpiysky sports complex, which previously belonged to Musa Bazhaev’s Alliance company. The Chechen entrepreneur acquired the main stake in Olimpiyskiy back in 2014 from the Moscow City Hall for 4.67 billion rubles. Now Zarakh Iliev, the owners of the Kyiv Ploshchad company, has become its new owners.

The new managers are going to invest up to $400 million in the Olimpiysky, reconstructing the territory of the complex. At the same time, the useful area of ​​the space will increase while maintaining its previous functions, and new areas will appear for holding conferences and exhibitions. Work according to the plan will begin in 2019 and will last two years.

In February 2018, Musa Bazhaev visited Krasnoyarsk, where he met with the governor of the region, Alexander Uss. In Siberia, the entrepreneur’s company “Russian Platinum” is engaged in the development of enterprises in the Norilsk industrial region, and is also the main investor in the construction of the Platinum Arena ice palace, where the Universiade 2019 sporting events will be held.

Modern technologies are used in the construction of the unique building; its main sites will be able to be transformed to perform a number of functions. Competitions in short track speed skating, figure skating, hockey, as well as volleyball, futsal and basketball matches will be held here. The sports grounds and skating rink can also be used for holding mass show programs and concerts.

According to information for 2018, which is provided on the official website of Forbes, Musa Bazhaev’s fortune reaches $600 million and makes him 164th on the list of the 200 richest Russian businessmen.

As it became known, the company “Russian Platinum” of businessman Musa Bazhaev is selling to VTB 20 percent of its share in projects for the development of deposits in Taimyr.

We are talking about the Chernogorsk field and the southern part of the Taimyr-1 field.

According to preliminary estimates, the transaction value will be $170 million.

True, market participants are skeptical that the huge money raised will get projects off the ground. For example, the first stage of the Chernogorskoye field should be commissioned already this year.

It provides for the launch of the enrichment plant and the transport infrastructure necessary for its operation - these are road and railway access roads. But the year is ending, and in Montenegrin what is called “the horse is not lying down.”

But squeezing bank loans for his projects is already in Musa Bazhaev’s blood. So, for example, he is simultaneously asking for a loan of one and a half billion dollars from Sberbank.

And last year, Vnesheconombank lent him 1.2 billion greenbacks. And also for the development of Taimyr fields. The money was taken - the projects were still standing. More precisely, their implementation essentially never began.

The situation is the same with Norilsk-1, one of the largest fields in the world. The reserves of its southern part amount to 273 thousand tons of nickel, 378 thousand tons of copper, as well as 12.7 thousand tons of cobalt and about 518 kg of platinum group metals. When the country will finally receive the most valuable metals, only God and... Musa Bazhaev know.

Independent observers ask a reasonable question: where is the money issued by banks strictly for the intended purpose?

Anti-corruption fighters responded to it quite eloquently. According to their information, last year Musa Bazhaev and his brother Mavlit purchased a fashionable resort on the island of Sardinia in Italy. It's called Forte Village. It includes 8 hotels with 770 rooms and 33 separate cottages.

No one can say the exact cost of the acquisition, but you don’t have to be a great expert to understand: the entire complex is valued at several hundred million dollars. It is also known that the operational management of this entire island oasis is carried out by a certain company Progetto Esmeralda S.R.L. And the administrator of all this beauty, among others, is the general director of Russian Platinum, Magomed Galaev.

Only one conclusion can be drawn from this - the main beneficiary of the complex is none other than Musa Bazhaev.

Returning to bank loans from Russian Platinum. They have to be given one way or another. And Musa Bazhaev follows a long-trodden path called begging. Thus, information leaked to the media that on behalf of his company he made an official appeal to the Russian government with a request to allocate no less than 220 billion rubles as state support.

When this story became public, the press service of Russian Platinum made an angry statement: Russian Platinum did not apply to the government for state guarantees. The company does not ask for additional benefits, financial resources or other assistance from government agencies. The company independently develops its assets, using financing methods and instruments available on the markets and in accordance with current Russian legislation” (end quote).

In general, Bazhaev never received government money, but for some unknown reason the banks are constantly “led” by the businessman’s promises and with enviable (or rather, unenviable) consistency they lend “Russian Platinum” huge sums!

Negotiator

Market participants note the unique ability of Musa Bazhaev to negotiate in his favor when the matter smells of big money. Many people remember the story in the Khabarovsk Territory with the sale of the local airport.

It was sold for a ridiculous price for such an object - 10 million dollars. The buyer turned out to be a certain company "Alliance-prom". It is a subsidiary of the Alliance group, which is controlled by Musa Bazhaev.

The then governor of the Khabarovsk Territory, Viktor Ishaev, was also involved in the strange deal, without whose knowledge the sale of the strategic enterprise would have been impossible. No one doubted that Bazhaev personally reached an agreement with the head of the region. Of course, not without a good kickback.

Raider?

At one time, independent publications reported on how the Bazhaev family illegally took possession of the oil depots of the Krymnefteprodukt company. Then it was said that the Whites could not do without the intervention of criminal structures. In particular, “the organized criminal group Salem allegedly helped Bazhaev to squeeze out the fuel and lubricants enterprises.”

According to some information, the current head of Crimea, Sergei Aksenov, was also a member of it. Bazhaev himself had close friendships with fellow crime bosses Abu Archakov and Sultanbek Aidamirov

And at one time, the very strange death of lawyer Dmitry Shumkov caused a great resonance. He was considered a long-time partner and even a close friend of Bazhaev. In particular, Shumkov also had his share in Russian Platinum.

Unexpectedly, Shumkov decided to sell it to a third-party buyer. After the main owner of the company, Bazhaev, found out about this, Shumkov was found hanged. According to the official version, it was suicide, which, however, was doubted by both journalists and independent observers. Shumkov was known as a fairly successful entrepreneur, without any problems in his personal life. And then suddenly he decided to commit suicide!

However, they say that after the sudden death of Shumkov, Bazhaev simply took possession of the remaining assets of his partner.

Now here is a major deal with VTB. True, the latter turned out to be more far-sighted than other credit institutions, not giving the money in the form of a loan, but in return becoming a large co-owner of the Taimyr fields. But where will Musa Bazhaev invest the huge money he received from VBT?

The Alliance Group invested 12 billion rubles in the capital of Finprombank

In April, Finprombank received an order limiting the acceptance of deposits from individuals, a financier who knew this from counterparties and bank employees, as well as a person close to the supervisory block of the Central Bank, told Vedomosti. They also indicated that the Central Bank temporarily transferred the bank to a lower qualification group. From the third to the fifth, one of them clarifies. However, according to Vedomosti’s interlocutors, now the restriction is not in effect, since the bank’s shareholders agreed on additional capitalization - this was supposed to remove the regulator’s claims.

The bank informs the Central Bank on a monthly basis about attracting deposits from the public and has no complaints from the regulator, its press service indicated. They did not comment on the situation with the order.

Finprombank was one of the contenders for the rehabilitation of Svyaznoy Bank, which had lost its capital, but last year it itself needed help. In December, Kommersant reported that the owner of the Alliance group, Musa Bazhaev, would additionally capitalize Finprombank by 10 billion rubles. in two tranches of 5 billion each until the end of the first quarter of 2016. But the deal dragged on.

The structures of Bazhaev, who was a co-owner of the bank previously, have historically worked closely with Finprombank, his counterparty indicated: they kept significant funds there - which is why the businessman could support the bank. A person close to the group confirmed that funds from the businessman’s companies are located there. Representatives of Alliance and Bazhaev did not comment on this and refused to clarify the size of deposits and account balances.

From the end of 2015 to February 2016, the bank received about 7 billion rubles from shareholders, Moody’s analysts indicated in a March report, but half of these funds are still not taken into account by the Central Bank in Tier 1 capital. They indicate that the bank has a high concentration of loans on one borrower and industry, as well as on the largest depositors.

On May 31, the RAEX agency downgraded the rating of Finprombank (it refused the rating). The reason is a decrease in the stock of instant liquidity: in April, the N2 standard decreased from 49.4 to 19.8%, while increased risks of refinancing raised short-term funds remained, the agency said in a release. In addition, agency analysts point to a deterioration in the provision of collateral to the loan portfolio - excluding securities, sureties and guarantees for February - April, coverage decreased from 29.5 to 19.2%.

According to NRA analyst Karina Artemyeva, a significant part of the funds with which the bank was recapitalized was spent on reserves. The bank has a lot of issued guarantees and guarantees - about 18 billion as of May 1, with a portfolio of 40 billion rubles.

Bazhaev’s representative said that the businessman invested 6.5 billion rubles in capital from December to February, in addition, in early June the bank was additionally capitalized by 5.8 billion rubles. at the expense of assets - in particular, at the expense of participation in the “Customs Card” payment system. Bazhaev now owns only 8.4% of the shares of Finprombank, and his representatives did not specify how his share will increase after additional capitalization. The amount of money provided to the bank is comparable to the capital of Finprombank, and Bazhaev could become a controlling shareholder.

The co-owners of Finprombank are Anatoly Goncharov (in 2013 he bought out the share of Bazhaev’s Alliance group), Stanislav Perminov and Pyotr Kondrashov (each owning approximately 19%). Goncharov refused to discuss the situation at the bank, citing a period of silence. The remaining shareholders could not be contacted.

Tatiana Voronova, Anna Eremina

How the co-owner of the Alliance group is connected with the bankruptcy of AiManiBank and Finprombank

Alexander Kashapov, a shareholder and member of the board of directors of AiMoneyBank, filed a claim in the arbitration court for the amount of 14 billion rubles. At first glance, this is a strange decision. First of all, because iMoneyBank was declared bankrupt on January 20, 2017. Typically, the liquidator's representatives seek out and sue the bank's shareholders, but in this case the shareholder is trying to sue other shareholders. Even stranger is the mention of Musa Bazhaev, a well-known oligarch with Chechen connections, on the list of defendants.

Made history

The fact is that Musa Bazhaev does not seem to be a shareholder of AiMoneyBank, and the plaintiff did not submit any additional materials to the court on this matter. On this basis, the court left Alexander Kashapov's application without movement. But it is absolutely obvious that such materials can be presented, and for now Kashapov and his representatives are taking a pause. Alexander Kashapov is not alone in his anticipation: throughout the summer, the committee of creditors of AiMoneyBank has been unable to meet due to the lack of a quorum. The latest such attempt was announced by the Deposit Insurance Agency, which performs its usual functions of a bankruptcy trustee, on August 29. The delays are most likely explained by the fact that the main issue on the agenda is determining the procedure and timing for the sale of AiMoneyBank’s property. And the parties involved have probably not reached behind-the-scenes agreements on this issue.

iMoneyBank went down in history by asking to deprive itself of its banking license. A month earlier, Finprombank (FPB) made a similar request to the Central Bank. Not only the appeal was similar, but also the composition of the shareholders of both banks. With one, but very important exception - unlike AiMoneyBank, Musa Bazhaev appeared among the co-owners of Finprombank. At the time of liquidation, he owned 8.41% of the shares of the credit institution.

In December 2013, a controlling stake in AiMoneyBank ended up in the Expo Capital company of the Russian “serial banker” Igor Kim

Cross-ownership in banks arose as a result of a transaction - in December 2013, a controlling stake in AiMoneyBank ended up with the Expo Capital company of the Russian “serial banker” Igor Kim. And a few months later - in April 2014 - the share of Expo Capital was distributed among five companies that simultaneously owned Finprombank (Sibtrans LLC, UM Management Ltd., Global Incest LLC, Aspect Management LLC, "Air incest"). It was a classic scheme - the creation of a single financial matrix for different licenses. Each element of this system played its role. The main strength of AiMoneyBank was “out-of-the-box solutions” - clients could quickly receive a non-registered credit card at the post office, but with a certain credit limit. A paradise for making prompt payments - without the risks associated with both cash and non-cash transactions.

Sanitize everyone

The strangest thing in this story was the fact that when shareholders changed and a new market strategy was chosen, the previous owners remained in the capital of AiMoneyBank - in the role of minority shareholders (the deal involved an increase in the authorized capital). Alexander Kashapov was one of them. Then his colleagues hurried to the exit, but Kashapov failed. Alexander Kashapov made an attempt to leave the capital of AiMoneyBank back in September 2015, but he became hostage to the rule for which he himself had voted at one time - on the ban on the redemption of shareholders' shares. The reason for Alexander Kashapov’s concern could well be the strategy of the new shareholders of AiMoneyBank, the implementation of which, despite all the promises to create a new business, was reduced to placing most of the assets in Finprombank.

By this time, the FPB was in a feverish state and survived solely due to the support of Musa Bazhaev, who, according to the Vedomosti newspaper, invested 12 billion rubles in the bank’s capital. Bazhaev even wanted to start rehabilitating Finprombank, but the Central Bank had already begun to suspect evil and demanded the reorganization of the entire banking group.

Musa Bazhaev most likely had free money after the sale of his oil business: the assets of the oil division of the Alliance group were bought by the Independent Oil and Gas Company of Eduard Khudainatov. It was no coincidence that Alliance ended up in Finprombank - Bazhaev had previously used the bank as a clearinghouse for his business, but was no longer a “visible” shareholder of this institution. Now he was forced to return in order to save his native treasury. As a result, the bank’s liquidators discovered a “hole” worth 23.6 billion rubles in it. This unexpected (against the background of the oligarch’s billion-dollar injections) discovery looks very strange. And the timely withdrawal of assets from the bank is the most likely explanation for the current situation.

Musa Bazhaev shows the oil complex

Banking Matrix

One of the main assets of the FPB, the state of which Musa Bazhaev was so concerned about, was the “Customs Card” - a payment system that ensures the payment of customs duties. The bank owned 90% of the company, the remaining 10% was controlled by the National Association of Customs Representatives (NACP).

But before the license was revoked, the general meeting of Finprombank decided to change the owners of the Customs Card. Amazing forethought, reminiscent of asset stripping. Thus, only 28.93% of the operator will be offered for the upcoming auction in September for the sale of Finprombank’s property - this is all that remains on the bankrupt’s balance sheet.

After the license was revoked from FPB, Payment Card began rapidly moving through the balance sheets of individuals and legal entities. In February 2017, 67.86% of the operator became the property of the company’s general director Andrei Barinov, then - the Promfinance company, and so on. In the legal field, these technical details can turn into very real articles of the criminal code for the participants in the operation. The Deposit Insurance Agency is challenging Finprombank transactions in the amount of 642.558 million rubles and 4.705 million dollars in court. In addition, the DIA is demanding the bankruptcy of one of the former owners of Azbuka Vkusa, Andrei Vdovin, who, according to the DIA, owes Finprombank $11 million. In addition, Andrey Vdovin is a co-owner of another troubled bank, Asia-Pacific Bank (ATB), which is urgently looking for a new owner. Representatives of the DIA do not see any crime in the quick sale of the Payment Card. But it is also well known that representatives of this organization know how to save important assets that are critical to the bank's owners.

A court hearing to consider the report of the bankruptcy trustee of Finprombank is scheduled for October 25, 2017. By this time, it may become clear what kind of connection there was in the banking matrix created through the efforts of Musa Bazhaev. So far (purely hypothetically) it looks like this. Musa Bazhaev's entry into banking assets was part of the Chechen oligarch's exit strategy from oil assets. And the banking business, thus, has never been independent, being only a method of managing other businesses. Alas, this is an ordinary Russian financial story. In which, however, outsiders – investors and clients – participated willy-nilly. Until recently, these included the state – represented by the Central Bank and the budget. It was they who took on the risks of such oligarchic circuitry.

Alexander Kuzmin