The largest manufacturer of bearings - EPK company changed its owner from Alexander Moskalenko to ZPIF "Industrial Innovation Fund."
As the correspondent of The Moscow Post found out, the interests of billionaire Roman Abramovich may be behind the company. Details - in the material of the correspondent of The Moscow Post.
By the hand with the FSB
The managing company of the fund ZPIF "Industrial Innovation Fund" is the Joint-Stock Company "Central Trust Company" ("Centrotrast").
Photo: https://pif.naufor.ru/pif.asp?act=view&id=5736
According to an extract from the register for 2018, which was found on the Internet, the ultimate beneficiary of Cetrotrast with a share of about 70% is none other than Alexander Abramov, Mr. Abramovich's partner and, as it is believed, the holder of many of his assets.
Photo: http://www.centrotrust.ru/public/uploads/20180709193313.pdf
Another 30% of Dmitry Alekseevich Merkushenko - a person with the same name owns several large assets in Moscow and the Krasnodar Territory. Among them there is a company called "Zavidovo Beaches." The founder of the company is Eduard Vitalievich Bendersky. According to Radio Liberty (recognized as a foreign agent on the territory of the Russian Federation), this man is a veteran of the Vympel FSB special forces, whose son-in-law is part of a hacker group accused by the US and British special services of embezzling more than $100 million from banks, companies and individuals.
Merkushenko himself everywhere appears as the "face" of sports projects - the owner of the sports club-hotel "Aquatoria Leta," a fan of windsurfing. His name, including "glowed" next to the name of Abramov against the background of a loud scandal with an attempt by Oleg Belkov, general director of Bell Shipyard, to transport military boats to the Arab Emirates. Merkushenko and Abramov are the ultimate beneficiaries of the company.
The Moscow Post previously linked the scandal with the name of the lover of military equipment Abramovich.
It is possible that Merkushenko represents the interests of Mr. Bendersky, with whom Abramovich may have informal contacts through Abramov. Connections in the FSB could serve the oligarch well.
In total, we have the following alignment: the interests of Abramovich and Bendersky, who can be both an independent figure and a person "on the salary" of the oligarch, may be behind the acquisition of EPK.
Lobbyism on wheels
But even this is not the most interesting thing in this story. The fact is that EPK belonged to an extremely curious subject, who carried out very ambiguous manipulations with the company. In the light of the above information, all these perturbations are seen in a completely different light.
The main beneficiary of the EPC is considered to be State Duma deputy Oleg Savchenko, who for several years lobbied for the transition of all railway trains that are operated in Russia from roller wagon bearings to cassette bearings. Savchenko is listed as the founder of STD LLC - its management company is UK STD JSC, an organization associated with dozens of firms related to EPC.
Previously, the deputy's share was in the trust management of the "talking head" from the EPC - Alexander Moskalenko. Now Savchenko decided not to even hide? And no one sees a conflict of interest? In addition, Savchenko's share is in CC EPK.
Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
Returning to the scandalous initiative with lobbying for the transition to another type of bearings, we note that if this happens, then manufacturers whose equipment is not sharpened for the production of these risk "dying." The car building industry will suffer colossal losses due to imminent alterations. But the EPC will enrich itself, becoming, in fact, a monopolist in the field. After all, it is she who produces the very cassette bearings that Savchenko spoke about so much.
All this almost happened in 2019 - but the car builders rebelled, and the story was hushed up. But in 2022, the "empire" Savchenko suffered losses that, if the company were a monopolist, would inevitably "pull" down the entire car-building industry of the Russian Federation. The conversation, of course, about the burning sanctions. But EPK structures were around offshore, which could not but affect the position of the company.
The result was, among other things, a simple customer for the products of EPK Tikhvin Plant and further losses of Severstal. All this led the company to court - Severstal sued the company for 2 billion losses, which was "dripped" by them due to the downtime of the plant.
During the work of EPK, a lot of its factories and assets went bankrupt and "went under the hammer." On the eve of liquidation, the Communist Party website published information stating that the Moscow Aircraft Bearings Plant, led by the EPC, allegedly specifically leads to liquidation in order to sell those wishing to take possession of its land.
Now on the site of the former plant there is a building with sports clubs, restaurants, massage parlors and other attributes of the shopping center. And this is not an isolated story.
With all this, the "outgrowth" of the EPK, according to information from Ukrainian sources, still works in Nezalezhnaya. And, presumably, he pays taxes to Ukraine, supplies them with bearings. That is, it works against the interests of Russia? I wonder how Savchenko's colleagues at work in the State Duma and Russian law enforcement agencies look at this?
Has Abramovich been "in a share" for a long time?
Does he get away with everything, because the main beneficiary of all Savchenko's manipulations with the EPC was and remains Mr. Abramovich, who had previously acted with his hands? Is it not with the support of the oligarch that the deputy so stubbornly moved the scandalous bill (and it almost succeeded)? And the former FSB-shnik Bendersky could help by providing "cover" for all "muddy" cases?
The scandal over the work of the EPC in Ukraine was "dispersed" by the political elites of Nezalezhnaya back in 2018 - at least, according to the authors of the Oligarch Media website, allegedly the Kharkov Bearing Plant of the People's Deputy from the Will of the People Anatoly Hirschfeld tried to close Savchenko's access to the Ukrainian market. Abramovich turned out to be stronger, despite the already difficult political situation?
The media call Abramovich Savchenko's friend, and write that he began to seek "support" from him 15 years ago. This allegedly happened due to the fact that the deputy disagreed in views on her future with partners, who are Moskalenko and at that time still Artyom Zuev.
The latter left for Usmanov's Metalloinvest, that is, a potential threat looms over the supply of special steel for bearings. Then Abramovich could appear. To consolidate relations, Savchenko chose CMI Development, which has long been cooperating with Abramovich's Millhouse Capital, a partner for the construction of the Galileo business park on the territory of the Moscow Bearing.
Back in 2020, EPC announced that 57% of the company was leaving an unnamed buyer. The media then wrote that in the deal, as they say, nothing like that - just one of the owners puts his son in the business. Only, I think to us, then Mr. Abramovich and his colleagues could "find out" not at the level of rumors, but legally.
It seems that all-round support for the oligarch began to cost Savchenko dearly. I had to let into my business now not only in words? Friendship by friendship - and payment by assets is quoted everywhere.