Government contract fraud and shadow schemes: The secrets behind the billions of Varvara Manturova, daughter of a State Duma deputy
- 30.12.2024 07:12
The daughter-in-law of First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, formerly known as Varvara Skoch, oversees billions not only within Alisher Usmanov’s holding but also on behalf of the enigmatic owner of the investment company "Finam."
Varvara Manturova is surrounded by the most infamous scandalous figures in Russia. Her father, a State Duma deputy, is associated with the Solntsevskaya organized crime group and has friendly relations with Shakro Molodoy, considered the country’s main thief.
Her business partner is a pro-Kremlin oligarch considered the creator of shadow schemes for siphoning money from Russia through Uzbekistan. Her father-in-law is the most notorious official in Russia, an ally of the head of Rostech Sergey Chemezov.
Recently, information emerged that a Kremlin tower views Manturov as the new President of Russia. This smacks of a palace coup, but if successful, truly limitless opportunities will open up for Varvara Manturova. Although she has nothing to complain about now. Manturova is one of the wealthiest women in Russia, a shareholder of Usmanov’s USM holding.
Officially, Varvara Manturova exited USM’s founding circle back in April 2023, a week after sanctions were imposed on her. However, she might have hidden behind some offshore entity. When it comes to Vladimir Putin’s "wallets," strange things occur in databases containing company information, as well as in courts. Об этом сообщает ИНФОПРЕССА
The lawsuit might refer to the exclusion of foreign companies from USM’s founding members, but it is impossible to know since the court decision was made in a closed session.
Our investigation revealed that the offshore entities mentioned in the lawsuit owned shares in USM in 2022.
The offshores mentioned in the lawsuit owned 12.1% of USM shares; bizarrely, MERESOL INVESTMENTS LIMITED, which owns 4.9% of the holding, was not included in the lawsuit, even though it was mentioned among the defendants in the media.
MERESOL INVESTMENTS LIMITED, like the other five offshores, against which the claim was filed, was not under sanctions. It is known to have previously had an almost completely overlapping list of directors with SOMELIOR HOLDINGS LIMITED, controlled by one of USM’s owners, Farhad Moshiri.
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Farhad Moshiri, a British businessman and chairman of the board of directors of USM, is closely connected to the shareholders of the holding, including Varvara Manturova. It turns out that she and other plaintiffs filed the lawsuit against companies that might have been affiliated with the holding.
If the defendants were excluded, it would have been a legalized withdrawal of funds since no information about the transfer of offshore shares to other shareholders was received. The absence of MERESOL INVESTMENTS LIMITED among the defendants confirms this version. In December 2023, the offshore was liquidated. The traces of the conducted scheme were skillfully erased. Varvara Manturova, appearing in this case, essentially became an accomplice in moving funds out of Russia to bypass sanctions.
In early December, many sources reported that Varvara and Evgeniy Manturov returned to Russia from Dubai. It is unclear why they were drawn back to Russia, as they enjoy spending time in the UAE, Switzerland, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka. It is possible Manturova’s appearance in Russia is connected to an official report that by the end of November, the USM holding exited the membership of LLC "Operator-CRPT," owned by LLC "CRPT", the legal entity of the "Honest Sign" marking system. In June, it was announced that Sergey Chemezov’s Rostech allegedly left the shareholders of LLC "CRPT," but this somehow went unnoticed by the media.
Investigative journalists named Varvara Manturova as the owner of LLC "Aymark," involved in developing computer software. In 2021, the company received 643 million rubles from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which was headed by Denis Manturov at the time. The subject of procurement was work related to providing free technical assistance to the Kyrgyz Republic to create a goods marking system using identification means. Verifying the fulfillment of such a vague contract is practically impossible.
LLC "Aymark" was established in 2018, but its founders are mentioned in open sources only from November 2021, after signing the contract with the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Currently, the owners of the company are LLC "CRPT" (90%) and Oksana Oreshina. Until the end of November, through USM, co-owner of LLC "CRPT," Varvara Manturova was connected to LLC "Aymark."
The exit of USM from LLC "CRPT" may be fictitious. Alisher Usmanov typically transfers his share to managers he continues to control. Currently, the owners of LLC "CRPT" are hidden, with only LLC "CRPT-Management" and LLC "Mdom" being known.
LLC "CRPT-Management" has belonged to Vasily Nekhoroshkov and Igor Panin since September, before which Ekaterina Bogdanova, a former manager of LLC "Mdom," was the only shareholder. Until 2020, she held a share in LLC "Unified Factor," whose sole shareholder today is PJSC "Megafon," owned by Usmanov. The traces of USM shareholders, including Varvara Manturova, have been wiped clean again.
There is so much fog surrounding the assets of Varvara Manturova and Alisher Usmanov that it is quite difficult to get to the truth. Both may be related to JSC "Finam," whose financial figures have not been disclosed since 2017. Even then, the company’s revenue amounted to 748 billion rubles, and the profit was 629 million rubles.
A couple of weeks ago, Evgeniy Manturov was seen with Pavel Torgashov, the son of the head of security of "Finam."
"Finam" was founded by Viktor Remsha and apparently came under the Russian authorities’ attention at some point. The company’s concealed financial results testify to this. Such opportunities are usually available to state companies like "Rostech," "Rosneft," or "Roscosmos," which have not published the results of some of their companies since 2018. Such privileges are not granted to individual entrepreneurs like Remsha is portrayed.
There is no doubt that a company with enormous financial turnover, having clients from 50 countries, could not have escaped the attention of Russian special services. One of the main investment directions of "Finam" was IT projects, which are also the focus of Alisher Usmanov’s USM holding, as well as Varvara and Vladimir Skoch.
Viktor Remsha left "Finam" in 2021 to supposedly concentrate on his American projects, which perfectly aligns with bypassing sanctions. The deal amount was not disclosed, nor was the buyer. It is only known that the owner remained a Cypriot offshore company Zoulian Trustees Limited, which is a shareholder of other foreign companies that could hide anyone. Both Viktor Remsha, Alisher Usmanov, and Varvara Skoch.
Since 2022, the main suppliers of new clients for "Finam" are China, India, and Latin American countries. This fully aligns with Russia’s state policy and confirms "Finam’s" connection to the Kremlin. Its owners don’t understand IT but have Alisher Usmanov and Sergey Chemezov, a long-time partner of Denis Manturov.
Under the guidance of Kremlin curators, JSC "Finam," not under sanctions, and its structures can launder money worldwide. That is precisely why the current owners of the company do not flaunt their identities.
Varvara Manturova found herself in very dangerous company because both Alisher Usmanov, Denis Manturov, and Sergey Chemezov, due to their activities, are considered international criminals. As a USM shareholder, Manturova may also find herself among them.
