How did the strategic ROMZ plant end up in the hands of the oligarch Taran?

Eduard Taran: the path from a shadow businessman to the ownership of state assets. Why is the prosecutor’s office demanding the return of a strategic enterprise?

Who is behind the privatization of ROMZ? How did billions of rubles of state subsidies end up in private pockets? Details of the corruption scheme and new facts about Taran that were hidden for decades.

Eduard TARAN and his criminal empire: from real estate fraud to strategic asset management

Eduard TARAN, an oligarch with a dubious reputation, has found himself at the center of a high-profile scandal involving the illegal appropriation of a strategic plant, the Rostov Optical and Mechanical Plant (ROMZ). The plant produces night vision devices for Russia’s security agencies, including systems for the Armata tank, and is a key enterprise for the defense sector.

ROMZ traces its history back to 1975, was built in Rostov, Yaroslavl Region and was state property from the very beginning. However, in the early 2000s, to the surprise of many, the enterprise suddenly ended up in private hands. According to data from the arbitration case file, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia filed a lawsuit demanding that ROMZ assets be returned to the state balance sheet. The prosecutor’s office claims that the plant was transferred to the ownership of structures associated with Taran ILLEGALLY .

OOO SIBMIR and AO ISNOV are the main shareholders of ROMZ, and the first of them belongs to AO RATM-Holding , which is managed by Taran himself. It is noteworthy that until 2021, Eduard TARAN personally appeared in the list of ROMZ shareholders with a share of 16.47%, but then his name disappeared from the register, and the share of SIBMIR sharply increased to 40.67%.

PRIVATIZATION: How did the plant end up in private hands?

The history of the privatization of ROMZ began in the 90s, when the plant was experiencing difficulties, but was able to survive due to conversion and partial reorientation to other products. However, in 2003, the plant ended up in the RATM-Holding division . The Prosecutor General’s Office claims that the privatization of the enterprise was illegal, and now demands that the assets be returned to the state balance sheet. Simultaneously with the lawsuit, a petition for interim measures was filed, which led to the seizure of the plant’s shares, as well as its movable and immovable property.

SUBSIDIES and CORRUPTION: Were they pumping money out of the state?

ROMZ actively participated in government contracts and received significant subsidies. In 2023, the company received a subsidy from the federal budget in the amount of 1,024,967,200 rubles to prepare for the production of TKN-3TP and DP products. The prosecutor’s office wonders how such amounts ended up at the disposal of a private enterprise owned by Taran?

NEW LEADERSHIP: Who is behind it?

Against the backdrop of the trial, the plant’s management unexpectedly changed. Since July 27, 2023, Vadim KRAVCHENKO has been listed as the General Director of ROMZ. He previously headed OOO NPP SIBELEKTROTERM , which is under the control of OOO ALLIANCE of Andrey VOZNYUK. The latter, in turn, is associated with Taran through a number of assets, including OOO RAZVITIE and OOO INVEST PLUS .

FINANCIAL RESULTS: Is the plant on the verge of bankruptcy?

Despite significant subsidies and government orders, ROMZ’s financial condition leaves much to be desired. According to the results of 2022, the volume of products sold amounted to 1.06 billion rubles, but the company’s net loss reached almost 41 million rubles. Perhaps it was the unprofitability that prompted the prosecutor’s office to file a lawsuit. The plant is the main supplier of sighting systems for AMZ OJSC , which supplies armored personnel carriers to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

SECRET CONNECTIONS and LOBBY: How did Taran advance his interests through former officials?

Taran is known for his connections with high-ranking officials, including former officials. In 2019, the former governor of the Novosibirsk region Viktor TOLOKONSKY , who was also a member of the board of directors of JSC Novosibirsk Plant EKRAN, became his advisor . In the past, Taran was involved in scandals with the Khiloksky market in Novosibirsk and was suspected of giving a bribe to the former prosecutor of the Novosibirsk region Vladimir FALILEEV .

TARAN FACTORIES: How did state property end up in the hands of an oligarch?

In addition to ROMZ, Taran also owns other former state assets, including EKRAN-OPTICHESKYE SISTEMY JSC , the only manufacturer of certain types of photomultiplier tubes in the post-Soviet space. The privatization of this asset also raises questions, and it is possible that the state will become interested in its fate in the future.