The court took a break to review complaints about the confiscation of Dmitry Dremlyuga’s assets
- 27.08.2024 15:48
Autumn Marathon of the “Crab King”
In Primorye, legal proceedings continue against companies and individuals associated with the fugitive “crab king” Dmitry Dremlyuga. Earlier, part of the Ukrainian businessman’s Russian assets had already become the property of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country), including the largest floating base “Vladivostok 2000”.
The Fifth Arbitration Court of Appeal in Vladivostok took into account the arguments regarding the untimely notification of representatives of fishing companies and individuals who are defendants in the lawsuit of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country) against To Dmitry Dremlyuga and related companies and individuals for a total of 17.4 billion rubles, postponing the consideration of their complaints until September. In particular, one of the defendants (a representative of Krab DMP LLC) explained to the court that, in accordance with previous court decisions, the defendants’ property had become the property of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country) since January 2024, which led to the termination of lease agreements and dismissal of employees. Therefore, he learned that the appeal had not been filed only when he arrived in Vladivostok to participate in the court hearing, and filed it on the morning of the hearing, August 14, so the document had not yet had time to go through the court office. The court agreed with these arguments, since all complaints must be considered simultaneously.
At the same time, the court refused to take interim measures on the defendants’ appeals. The defendants asked to suspend the electronic auction for the sale of the right to conclude an agreement on securing and providing a share of the crab fishing quota in the Far Eastern Fisheries Basin, and to prohibit the Federal Agency for Fisheries from concluding a corresponding agreement with the winner of the auction until the decision of the Primorsky Krai Arbitration Court of May 13, 2024, comes into legal force. In justification, the applicant (Merlion LLC) indicated that if the disputed auction is held and the disputed quotas are alienated, the actual restoration of rights to them will be impossible if the decision of the regional Arbitration Court is overturned and will lead to significant damage. However, the Fifth Arbitration Court of Appeal did not find reasons to satisfy this application. The next hearing is scheduled for September 12.
Let us recall the claims of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country) against Ukrainian businessman Dmitry Dremlyuga (who also holds a Russian passport) and legal entities and individuals affiliated with him: the department believes that a number of companies and individuals associated with the “crab king”, who fled Russia (*aggressor country) back in 2012, caught crabs and other aquatic biological resources in Russian waters according to allocated quotas, then sold the catch in neutral waters to companies from other countries, and transferred the profits to accounts in foreign banks. The Prosecutor General’s Office demands that the contracts of a number of companies on securing a share of the quota for the extraction of aquatic biological resources be declared null and void and that the defendants be jointly and severally awarded more than 17.4 billion rubles in damages in favor of the state.
Where will the floating fish factory sail?
Previously, a number of assets directly or indirectly owned by Dmitry Dremlyuga had already become the property of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country) by a court decision. One of these objects is the world’s largest floating fish factory “Vladivostok 2000”, capable of processing up to 2 thousand tons of fish per day. It was put up for auction starting in April 2024 with a starting price of 2.1 billion rubles, but the vessel was sold only on the fourth attempt and with a huge (90%) discount. “Vladivostok 2000” was put up for auction on July 10 with a starting price of only 211.49 million rubles and went under the hammer for 274.49 million rubles. What is interesting is that it is still unclear who became the lucky owner of the floating fish factory?
Thus, on the electronic trading platform “Sberbank-AST” it is indicated that the only participant/winner of the auction is Tiger Shipping Limited (application No. 7848), which offered a price of 274.49 million rubles. And on the GIS “Torgy” platform, the only participant/winner of the auction is OOO Professional Collection Organization “Aktivbizneskonsalt” (application No. 7848), which offered the same 274.49 million rubles. Who ultimately became the new owner of the unique vessel?
According to rusprofile.ru, Tiger Shipping LLC was registered in Vladivostok in December 2021, has one employee, and showed zero revenue for 2023. Such data is usually found in so-called “shell companies”, since a reasonable question arises: with zero revenue, where does the money come from for such a fairly large purchase?
It would be more logical to assume that the new owner of the floating fish factory was OOO PKO ABK (AktivBiznesKonsalt), registered in Moscow in April 2013, with an average headcount of 565 employees and a profit of 804 million rubles with revenue of 2.1 billion rubles for 2023. In addition, the collection agency KBK is part of the Sber group. At first glance, the purchase is strange. Why does Sber’s subsidiary need a clearly non-core asset?
It is quite possible that the collection agency intends to resell the floating fish factory at a higher price. But given that no one wanted to buy Vladivostok 2000 until the price was reduced tenfold from the initial one, this will not be easy. The floating fish factory must work in close cooperation with the fishing fleet, which continuously supplies it with products for processing, otherwise its production capacity loses all meaning. Another option is to lease it to some friendly country in Southeast Asia.
But it is quite possible that the Vladivostok 2000 will be re-equipped to transport, for example, oil. After all, this vessel was originally built in Japan as an oil tanker. In this case, the fish processing equipment will be scrapped or moved to land, and the tanker itself, who knows, may join the Russian “shadow fleet” transporting sanctioned oil.
In the end, the new “master-lord” may scrap the ship. And, considering the purchase price (10% of the initially assumed one), even this option may turn out to be profitable. Although I would like to hope that it will not come to that.
But the story of the fugitive “crab king” does not end there. According to the arbitration case file, several more lawsuits involving Dmitry Dremlyuga and companies and individuals associated with him in one way or another have been accepted for proceedings or are being considered in the courts of Primorsky Krai. Hearings on these cases have already been scheduled for the end of August and September. So – to be continued…