Russian Prosecutor General Office files 105 billion ruble claim against Yuri Antipov and ex-owner of CHEMK - Alexander Aristov: Latest Updates and Analysis

2024-03-28 11:48:59

The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation filed a claim for 105 billion rubles not only against Yuri Antipov (pictured), but also against another ex-owner of CHEMK – Alexander Aristov and their families

Source: Natalya Laptsevich, Semyon Kazmin

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia has increased the amount of claims against the former owner of CHEMK Yuri Antipov and members of his family. She also expanded the number of defendants – now among them are Alexander and Lyudmila Aristov, Alexander and Elena Kretov. This is stated in the petition to clarify the size of the claims, filed on Thursday, March 28, to the Arbitration Court of the Chelyabinsk Region. We talk about what became the basis for changing the amount.

As reported in the Arbitration Court of the Chelyabinsk Region, the amount of the claim in the case increased from 25.8 to 105 billion rubles.

— To recover unjust enrichment, seize in favor of the Russian Federation 100% of the shares of LLC Kuban-Vino, LLC Agrofirm Yuzhnaya, LLC Agrofirm Ariant, LLC TsPI-Ariant, owned by Ariant Group LLC. In order to recover unjust enrichment, seize in favor of the Russian Federation 100% of the shares of Katav-Ivanovsky Foundry Plant LLC belonging to Etalon Company JSC,” is stated in the petition of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation.

The application to clarify the claims was accepted as part of the steps to prepare the case for trial.

— The requirement to secure the claim is motivated by the illegal corporatization of JSC Serov Ferroalloy Plant, Chelyabinsk Electrometallurgical Plant, Kuznetsk Ferroalloys, the subsequent illegal enrichment of the defendants at the expense of the state by withdrawing funds from the enterprises for their use, including for the acquisition of other assets , including shares (stakes) of Katav-Ivanovsky Foundry LLC, Kuban-Vino LLC, Agrofirm Yuzhnaya LLC, Agrofirm Ariant LLC, TsPI-Ariant LLC, the press clarified -service of the Arbitration Court of the Chelyabinsk Region.

In the summer of 2020, Chelyabinsk oligarchs Alexander Aristov (pictured) and Yuri Antipov divided their business empire. But now both will have to pay for the illegal privatization of ChEMK

Source: Ilya Barkhatov

At the same time, the Prosecutor General’s Office applied to the court for interim measures – a ban on taking any actions and making decisions regarding movable and immovable property. By ruling dated March 28, 2024, the application for interim measures was satisfied.

Let us remind you that on March 14, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation filed a claim with the Arbitration Court of the Chelyabinsk Region against Yuri Antipov, Lyudmila Antipova, Mikhail Antipov and Etalon Company JSC. The supervisory authority demanded that 25.8 billion rubles be recovered from the defendants in favor of the Russian budget. The point is that the Prosecutor General’s Office asked to invalidate (void) the agreement dated October 19, 2022 on debt forgiveness. It was concluded between the Ural-Siberian Metallurgical Company JSC and Yuri Antipov, according to which the latter was released from obligations to return public funds in the amount of 22.9 billion rubles and interest on them – 2.9 billion rubles.

“The forgiveness of debt for such a significant amount was not economically feasible and was carried out to the detriment of public interests,” the Prosecutor General’s Office stated in the lawsuit.

As interim measures, all movable and immovable property of Yuri, Lyudmila and Mikhail Antipov, their shares of legal entities and securities within the amount declared for collection (25.8 billion rubles) were arrested.

The next court hearing is scheduled for April 1.

ChEMK, Serov Ferroalloy Plant, Kuznetsk Ferroalloys, Katav-Ivanovsky Foundry and Metaglomerat were part of the Ural-Siberian Metallurgical Company (USMK). It was the main structure of the empire of famous Chelyabinsk businessmen Yuri Antipov and Alexander Aristov. In 2020, after the division of assets, the metallurgical plants were transferred to Yuri Antipov. USMK ceased operations in June 2023 after joining Etalon Company JSC. As follows from the arbitration materials, Yuri Antipov owned 4.6 million shares of Etalon Company JSC, and his wife Lyudmila Antipova owned 13.4 million shares.

As 74.RU previously reported, in the first claim of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation for the recovery of property in favor of the state, it was stated that “the assets of the enterprises are transferred by Antipov Yu.V. and persons associated with him to their accounts under the guise of dividends and loans received from factories.”

Let us recall that the largest Russian producer of ferroalloys, ChEMK JSC, officially became the property of the state on March 13; on March 15, the Federal Property Management Agency became the owner of the Serov Ferroalloy Plant and Kuznetsk Ferroalloys.

How factories were seized from the owner of ChEMK

The Prosecutor General’s Office announced the illegality of the privatization of the largest Russian producer of ferroalloys carried out in the 1990s. On February 5, the supervisory agency filed a claim for recovery of property in favor of the state against Etalon Company JSC, businessman Yuri Antipov and his wife Lyudmila;
On February 6, the court opened proceedings in the case, arrested the shares and property of three factories, and prohibited any registration actions in relation to these objects;
On February 9, the court arrested the shares of Etalon Company JSC, the owner of the assets of an industrial group that unites five metallurgical plants in the Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk and Kemerovo regions;
Together with lawyers and experts, we analyzed what is behind the unexpected claim of the Prosecutor General’s Office for the return of industrial assets to the state and how widespread the deprivatization of factories has become. We also compiled the top 10 large enterprises that have been nationalized in Russia over the past couple of years. The list includes many industrial giants, for example, Bashkir Soda Company, Solikamsk Magnesium Plant, TGK-2, Metafrax Chemicals, Dalnegorsky Mining and Processing Plant, Volzhsky Synthesis and others;
We also found out what arguments the Prosecutor General’s Office gives in the sensational lawsuit to reclaim shares of factories in favor of the state (available to the editors). And what did the representatives of CHEMK respond to this;
Many Chelyabinsk residents gloated in the comments, discussing the arrest of ChEMK shares. The reasons for this attitude are discussed in the author’s column by 74.RU journalist Artem Krasnov;
During his visit to Chelyabinsk, President Vladimir Putin instructed to move the hazardous production of ChEMK outside the city;
On February 19, the Arbitration Court of the Sverdlovsk Region decided to consider the case behind closed doors;
We examined how realistic it is to remove CHEMK from Chelyabinsk using the example of other cities;
On February 22, Governor Alexey Texler announced when the electrode production of ChEMK would be completely stopped;
On February 26, the Arbitration Court of the Sverdlovsk Region satisfied the claim of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation for the seizure of factories in favor of the state.