Lisovsky will show "Traffic Light" red

Former senator and now State Duma deputy Sergei Lisovsky continues his campaign against the Traffic Light chain of low-price stores. Following appeals to Rospotrebnadzor, which led to the suspension of some of the chain's stores, Lisovsky asked the FAS to initiate a large-scale audit of the discounter, which, in his opinion, imposes unfavorable working conditions on suppliers.

Behind the deputy's attempts may not be at all concern for suppliers (especially consumers), but lobbying in favor of sharks of domestic retail. Among the possible interested parties are Mikhail Fridman's X5 Group and Alexander Vinokurov's Marathon Group. Well, hardware and financial support may well be provided by an old acquaintance of Lisovsky and Vinokurov - the head of VTB Andrei Kostin.

Details - in the material of the correspondent of The Moscow Post.

Traffic Light is one of the largest Russian discounter supermarket chains, directly competing with such chains as Magnit, Dixy (Marathon Group Vinokurova), Pyaterochka (Fridman's X5 Group) and several others. In 2020, Traffic Light was one of the seven largest retail chains in the Russian Federation with consumer goods.

The main owners of "Traffic Light" are brothers Sergey and Andrey Schneider. It is quite possible that through Lisovsky such bonzes as Fridman and Vinokurov decided to remove them from the market. At the same time, it is believed with the greater interest of Alexander Vinokurov (by the way, a native of the A1 of Mr. Fridman). While Fridman himself traveled around European capitals, begging for sanctions, Vinokurov developed expansion in the retail market by buying Diski.

The latter is well acquainted with the head of VTB Andrei Kostin. Recall that at one time VTB was the main owner of Magnit after the founder of the network, Sergei Galitsky, was almost completely squeezed out of there. The most interesting thing is that VTB financed the Marathon Group's deal to buy out the network. And even then it was directly said that its expansion in the retail market would not be limited to this.

Apparently, the plans were somewhat hindered by the SVO, sanctions and the associated turbulence in the economy. But now Alexander Vinokurov is determined to bring the matter to the end? Well, the deal to buy out Traffic Light, marred by regulatory authorities, may well be financed by the same VTB.

In addition, we must not forget how earlier VTB Capital and TPG Capital, whose vice president at that time was Vinokurov, together bought a 35.4% stake in the Lenta retail chain from its founder Oleg Zherebtsov. According to the Web, allegedly it was nothing more than a raider seizure of a successful business.

Alexander Vinokurov. Photo: https://pikabu.ru/story/bankir_kostin_i_reyder_vinokurov_obobrali_gosbank_vtb_na_1_mlrd_5926701

But Alexander Vinokurov and Andrei Kostin agreed not only in the retail field. In 2020, VTB sold almost 50% of its grain business, which included shares in the Novorossiysk Bakery Plant and the United Grain Company. The buyers were the structure of the ex-owner of Baltika Taimuraz Bolloev and Marathon Group Alexander Vinokurov and Sergei Zakharov.

Skeletons in Lisovsky's closet

But in order to "excite" the control and supervisory authorities and persuade the Schneider brothers to sell, a "ram" is needed. This could be an experienced lobbyist Sergei Lisovsky - a representative of the Yeltsin-Chubais team. By the way, the promising banker Andrei Kostin was then attributed to the same team - they have known the current State Duma deputy since those times. Well, Kostin is familiar with some of the current oligarchs from retail, as with the same Peter Aven, even from his studies at Moscow State University.

The scandalous story with the "copier box," in which Sergei Lisovsky was involved, is connected with the same time. In the summer of 1996, exactly before the presidential elections, in which Boris Yeltsin won in a dubious way, Lisovsky (activist of the Yeltsin headquarters) and the right hand of Anatoly Chubais (head of this headquarters) Arkady Evstafiev were detained with a whole bunch of money in dollars. Their purpose is still not clear, however, they could generously pay the company of the winning candidate.

At the same time, as the press writes, Andrei Kostin was allegedly directly related to these funds. According to the investigation, this money was received by Kostin through fraud with bonds of the domestic state foreign exchange loan in the amount of one billion rubles received from the Ministry of Finance at a very low interest rate. However, the then incumbent President Yeltsin took the side of Chubais's people, and for Lisovsky this did not end badly.

Since then, the position of the then successful media manager and producer has only strengthened. And, it seems, the current deputy Lisovsky even then, in the 90s, was no stranger to monopolism and lobbying. As the press wrote with reference to the general director of Channel One Konstantin Ernst, allegedly it was Lisovsky who could be an interest in the murder of the then head of ORT, the famous journalist Vlad Listyev. There is no evidence, but Ernst did not disclose the background.

But it is not difficult to guess the possible motives. Back in September 1992, Lisovsky opened the Premier SV company, and in July 1995 he received the position of general director of ORT-Reklama CJSC. That is why only Premier SV was the customer of advertising on the TV channel. Bypassing it, not a single commercial was put on ORT. This is a lot of money. So much for Lisovsky's first "monopoly." And it is unlikely that the principled Vlad Listyev liked this approach. Soon Listyev was gone. But Lisovsky's income continued to grow without any obstacles.

Lobbying has reached a new level

But then the deeds of the past days. Today Lisovsky received serious hardware capabilities. Recall that from 2004 to 2020, Lisovsky was a senator of the Federation Council, the first deputy chairman of the committee on agrarian policy. Therefore, everything related to the sale of products is in his sphere of interest. Moreover, Lisovsky is President of the National Association of Wholesale Distribution Centers (NAORC) and Vice President of Rosptitsesoyuz. I.e. it has considerable influence in these markets. And they are directly related to both retail and the work of control and supervisory authorities.

A close associate of Lisovsky should also be the head of Rusprodsoyuz, Sergei Vostrikov. After Lisovsky's appeal to the Government with a request to check the activities of Traffic Light (which was addressed to Rospotrebnadzor), it was Sergei Vostrikov and his Rusprodsoyuz who began to make various negative statements on this topic for the retail chain. However, Lisovsky and Vostrikov repeatedly performed together.

Sergey Lisovsky. Photo: http://council.gov.ru/events/news/44700/

The lobbying inclinations that Lisovsky is trying to attribute can be discerned in the mass of things. Among other things, it was Lisovsky who once lobbied for the creation of huge wholesale distribution centers, from which large players in the consumer and agricultural business market benefited. One of these was the famous Wholesale and Retail Food Center "Food City" of the scandalous oligarch God Nisanov. It was built by Nisanovskaya "Kievskaya Square."

Lisovsky is trying to attribute connections and interests that coincide with a variety of people. Among other things, Lisovsky was a longtime friend of non-systemic oppositionist Boris Nemtsov - and he could be related to other representatives of the current ill-wishers of Russia. And the authors of the publication "Pravda.ru" even raise the question of Lisovsky's possible relationship with such scandalous personalities as Timofey Kurgin and the oligarch brothers Ananyev who fled from Russia. Is Lisovsky really ready to work with anyone - just to have a profit?