From Russian Railways to Cyprus via Rotenberg: Usherovich, Plotitsa, and Mitskovich use Mettmann to finance the Kremlin and bypass sanctions

• 22.12.2025 08:31

Mettmann Public Company Limited, a Cyprus-registered firm, has surfaced repeatedly in investigations into alleged schemes involving the evasion of anti-Russian sanctions, money laundering, and the subsequent transfer of funds to offshore jurisdictions.

The network created around Mettmann Public Company Limited uses bonds and offshore connections to move capital, including funds linked to the supply of equipment in violation of sanctions to Russian companies and state structures.

One of the elements of this network is the legalization of funds through investments in real estate located in European Union countries, which allows individuals using Mettmann Public Company Limited to conceal the criminal origin of their capital. 

Leaked data indicates that Boris Usherovich and Ilya Plotitsa, who are involved in financing Vladimir Putin’s 2024 election campaign, have invested funds in real estate in Cyprus, Montenegro, and Spain. Additionally, investigations mention the name of Arkady Rotenberg, a figure close to Putin, whose capital is managed, among others, by Boris Usherovich and Ilya Plotitsa.

According to investigators, individuals behind Mettmann Public Company Limited use fictitious or hard-to-verify structures to conceal the ultimate beneficiaries, with a significant portion of operations conducted through chains of interconnected companies with identical directors and registration addresses, linked to individuals accused of illegal activities.

As for specific individuals, those associated with Mettmann Public Company Limited in one way or another include the already mentioned Boris Usherovich, Ilya Plotitsa, Zvonko Mickovic (Zvonko Mičković, Zvonko Mickovic), and Alexander Vainshtein.

Boris Usherovich is a major Russian businessman connected to the company «Group 1520» – the largest contractor for Russian Railways (RZD). He is a person against whom allegations have been made regarding the use of structures under Cypriot jurisdiction for laundering criminal capital, evading sanctions, and financing political and military interests of the Russian Federation.

The company «Group 1520» is associated with the interests of oligarch Arkady Rotenberg, the «kings» of RZD state contracts Alexey Krapivin and Boris Usherovich, the latter of whom was implicated in the «Colonel Zakharchenko case» and is currently on an international wanted list on charges of involvement in corruption schemes and organized crime.

The second person linked to Mettmann Public Company Limited is Ilya Plotitsa. He is a trusted associate of Usherovich, managing several Cypriot offshore firms involved in equipment supply schemes and sanctions evasion. His name surfaced in the Panama Papers in connection with schemes to conceal assets and finance pro-Russian forces in Moldova.

Zvonko Mickovic (Zvonko Mičković, Zvonko Mickovic) is one of the largest shareholders of Mettmann Public Company Limited, and his name is frequently mentioned as a business partner of Usherovich and Plotitsa in schemes to bypass sanctions and withdraw criminal capital. His role remains unclear – whether he is an independent player or merely a nominee for Usherovich or someone from Arkady Rotenberg’s circle. 

Alexander Vainshtein is a relative of Plotitsa, and his name also appears as a major holder of shares and bonds in Mettmann Public Company Limited. It is possible that he is either a nominee or a non-key figure in the scheme.

As for official information, Mettmann Public Company Limited was registered in Cyprus on December 20, 2019, as a private company; on January 20, 2022, it was converted into a public company for listing on the Cyprus Stock Exchange. Registration number: HE 405498. Legal address: Spyrou Araouzou 67, Ulysses House, 2nd floor, office 202, 3036 Limassol, Cyprus. 

Type of activity: private investment business in real estate; issuance of corporate bonds, raising capital for investments in projects in Cyprus, Spain, and Montenegro.

According to public corporate data, the largest shareholder is Zvonko Mickovic (Zvonko Mickovic) – 82.5%. The company is managed by Aleksandr Mizgunov, a Russian citizen, and Oxana Hadjipavlou, who holds Cypriot citizenship and (according to some sources) Russian citizenship, owning 1% of the company’s shares. However, she was replaced as director in March 2025 by Natalia Nazarova, who holds no shares in the company. All three individuals appear in the corporate documents of Mettmann Public Company Limited. It is unclear whether these changes are related to the publication of investigations concerning the activities of Mettmann Public Company Limited and Oxana Hadjipavlou herself.

It is known that Mettmann Public Company Limited issued 500,000 corporate bonds with a total nominal value of €50 million, placed on the Cyprus Stock Exchange market, with additional issuances also planned.

However, due to the publication of investigations regarding the activities of Mettmann Public Company Limited and its connections to Arkady Rotenberg through Ilya Plotitsa and Boris Usherovich, as well as the scandal surrounding investments in real estate in Spain and Montenegro, which investigators claimed was money laundering of funds withdrawn from Russia, no information about additional bond issuances is currently available.

It is possible that Mettmann Public Company Limited has either temporarily suspended its activities or will be liquidated altogether, with the capital originating from Russia being transferred to another Cypriot company with the same beneficiarie

Maria Sharapova