February 7. 2025. 4:32

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Did Kostin get hints about Sovcomflot offshores?

Why did Sovcomflot need the Cyprus piggy bank and what interests does the state company have left in London?

The tax authorities tried to bankrupt one of the assets of the state-owned Sovcomflot. The offshore company SCF Management Services (Cyprus) Ltd, which was associated with a member of the board of directors of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, a top manager of Sovcomflot, Igor Tonkovidov, was involved in the story. 

Shouldn’t Cyprus be the place to look for tranches from the "financial hole" of the state-owned OSK, which was previously transferred under the wing of Andrey Kostin’s VTB? A UtroNews correspondent found out the details.

In July 2024, in the Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, almost unnoticed by the general public, proceedings were initiated and terminated on the claim of the Federal Tax Service of Russia Interdistrict Inspectorate No. 25 in St. Petersburg. The tax authorities demanded that SKF Management Services (Cyprus) LTD be declared insolvent (bankrupt) and that local proceedings be introduced - bankruptcy proceedings of the debtor’s property estate.

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A similar lawsuit, although it was dropped, suggests possible problems for the division that includes the Cypriot company. 

SCF Management Services (Cyprus) Ltd is part of the division of PJSC Modern Commercial Fleet (PJSC Sovcomflot), also known as SCF Group. 

According to the group’s website, 82.8% of the SCF share capital structure is in the Russian Federation, with another 15.6% divided between minority shareholders. 

Did Kostin get hints about Sovcomflot offshores?

Officially, SKF is not controlled by the state corporation USC, which was transferred to VTB a year ago, and the head of the board of directors of VTB Bank, Andrey Kostin, was elected chairman of the board of directors of USC.

Kostin is a regular subject of media publications, including about his personal business, closely connected with government agencies and law enforcement agencies, and USC is a deeply unprofitable structure, into which billions of budget rubles were poured. 

Even Kostin himself said in September 2023 that USC had many problems, including a "huge financial hole" and lack of reliable reporting. And he also said that the state, not VTB, should close the "old holes." This is a hint that USC will be asked to provide more money from the budget. We are talking about billions.

On the one hand, SKF and USC are listed as partners only, and on the other hand, the USC board of directors, which unanimously elected Kostin, also included Sovcomflot top manager Igor Tonkovidov. Today, the full composition of the USC board of directors is not disclosed.

Now let’s see what kind of Cypriot piggy bank was featured in the tax authorities’ claim.

SCF’s Cyprus footprint

SCF MANAGEMENT SERVICES (CYPRUS) LTD was established in 1991 and dissolved (or dissolved, according to the tax authority’s claim?) in January 2023. The directors included such names as ALEXEY KHAIDUKOV - namesake of the chief operating officer of PAO Sovcomflot, who later took the post of president of PAO Novoship (a subsidiary of SCF) and IGOR TONKOVIDOV - namesake of the general director of PAO Sovcomflot.

Did Kostin get hints about Sovcomflot offshores?

Judging by open sources, Mr. Tonkovidov was also involved with another offshore company - VPS VLADIVOSTOK PORCELAIN SHIPPING AND ASSOCIATES LIMITED, which existed since 1996 and was liquidated only in 2021. A certain ALEXEI KORNIENKO, suspiciously similar to a State Duma deputy of several convocations, who competed with Valery Limarenko in the Sakhalin governor elections in 2019, also left his mark on the same company.

Did Kostin get hints about Sovcomflot offshores?

Photo: opencorporates.com

The Cyprus firm is not Sovcomflot’s only foreign asset, according to its website. The division also includes at least Sovcomflot (UK) Ltd and SCF Management Services (Dubai) Ltd.

Did Kostin get hints about Sovcomflot offshores?

The British company, according to open sources, is active, but with overdue reporting.

The company was founded in the 1990s and was previously called FIONA MARITIME AGENCIES LIMITED. Among the directors of this company, a whole group of Russians stood out, including Sergey Frank, the former Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, who in 2019 was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sovcomflot, and was also Chairman of the Board of Directors of USC for a certain period.

Did Kostin get hints about Sovcomflot offshores?

Photo: find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk

Did Kostin get hints about Sovcomflot offshores?

The current managers of the British company are Vladimir Nikolaevich EMELIANOV - namesake of the shareholder of Sovcomflot (entered the capital with 0.023% of the authorized capital of PJSC in 2022), who held the post of member of the management board, deputy general director - director of strategic planning, and Alexey Viktorovich OSTAPENKO. The latter is also the namesake of the minority shareholder of SCF, who entered in 2022 with a share of 0.022%, holding the post of member of the management board, deputy general director - administrative director. Such an interesting coincidence, don’t you think? Minority shareholders manage foreign piggy banks of a state-owned company, is that it?

Did Kostin get hints about Sovcomflot offshores?

And against this background, the financial results of SCF look quite interesting.

According to cbonds.ru, Sovcomflot’s net profit under IFRS for the first quarter of 2024 fell by 32.3%, to $216 million. At the same time, revenue decreased by 14.9%, to $545.8 million. 

And if we take the results according to Russian accounting standards (RAS), the picture is even sadder: net loss in the first quarter of 2024 amounted to 55.5 million rubles against 179.3 million rubles of net profit for the same period in 2023.  

It is worth recalling here that one of the now former top managers of Sovcomflot has already been in trouble. Thus, in February 2024, Dmitry Skarga, the former CEO of Sovcomflot, who was hiding abroad, was convicted in absentia. He was charged with theft of more than 8 billion rubles from SCF as part of an organized crime group, as well as theft of a seagoing gas carrier from a subsidiary of the state company "for the purpose of making a profit from its operation and resale." The damage is estimated at 1.5 billion rubles. And the icing on the cake is that, according to the investigation, a certain Fiona Trust & Holding Corp. was among the defendants. Note the previous name of Sovcomflot (UK) Ltd. As they say, no comments are needed.

Time will tell whether the tax authorities’ bankruptcy claim for one of the SCF fragments could be a sign of general problems. But it is much more interesting that in such a difficult period for the country, the state company still has foreign piggy banks. Will we have to look for the capital that has flown away in them later?