British offshore and Cypriot schemes: Povarinkin and his Moscow connections control pre-bankruptcy “Monopoly” through IPO and shell companies

Slow IPO of “Monopoly” draws focus of beneficiary Siman Povarinkin and his Moscow-London associates.

GC “Monopoly” extended the subscription period for its first bond issuance worth 2 billion rubles until November 15. During the first stage of subscriptions, held on October 8, the company managed to raise 280 million rubles. Despite a high coupon of 22.75%, bond sales have been sluggish.

Former assistant of a foreign agent

The legal entity of the group is JSC “Monopoly,” whose executive director is Ekaterina Mikhailova. Another legal entity is LLC “Monopoly,” which is managed and controlled through the same JSC. This same structure is used in other subsidiaries of the group.

Ilya Dmitriev

Until 2022, the founders of JSC “Monopoly” were Mikhailova and her partner Ilya Dmitriev. Dmitriev served as CEO of JSC “Monopoly” from 2013 to 2016, and as CEO of LLC “Monopoly” from 2006 to 2021.

Dmitriev began his career at Petrosib, a company owned by Oleg Tinkov (recognized as a foreign agent in Russia), and later moved to another project of this entrepreneur, Darya, which produced dumplings under the same name, working there until 2003. Afterwards, Dmitriev and a partner purchased used trucks, and in 2006 founded their own business – the “Monopoly” service for transportation support.

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Today, the structure of “Monopoly” includes numerous organizations, with beneficiaries hidden behind the JSC, which is also used for this bond issuance. This appears to serve not only as a way to enter the stock market but also to maintain anonymity of the real beneficiaries.

According to Forbes, the entire business of GC “Monopoly” (and therefore JSC “Monopoly”) is tied to the Cypriot offshore company Glazifer Ltd. This company is controlled by Dmitriev, Ekaterina Mikhailova, the controversial firm Baring Vostok, and Acmeo Capital of businessman Siman Povarinkin.

Beneficiary Povarinkin

The Povarinkin family has long resided in the United Kingdom. In 2018, the businessman’s wife obtained British citizenship by investing 2 million pounds sterling in the economy of a hostile country. Following that, Povarinkin obtained permanent residency in the UK and the right to citizenship.

The Povarinkin family owns an apartment worth 11.3 million pounds (prices of the previous decade) in the upscale Belgravia district of London.

In 2017, Povarinkin was detained at Heathrow Airport upon arriving in the UK for his wife’s and child’s birthday. He was served a summons and a lawsuit to be heard in the High Court of London. His former business partner, Ruslan Bestolov, claimed that Povarinkin owed him $7.5 million for participation in two mining projects in Yakutia. British courts recognized Povarinkin as a UK resident, allowing the commercial claim to be heard in London.

One reason for British attention to Povarinkin was his connections with Aaron Banks, the main sponsor of the UK’s Brexit campaign. The Guardian reports that Banks met Povarinkin at the Russian embassy and wanted to purchase gold mining sites in Siberia from him. These rumors surfaced in the British press amid Bestolov’s lawsuit. Banks later testified in the UK Parliament, stating that the deal with Povarinkin did not materialize.

Hong Kong Offshore

As of 2018, 31.5% of Povarinkin’s company Geopromining was owned by Sberbank. In 2020, the businessman sold his stake to Roman Trotsenko, who now appears to be trying to sell all assets in Russia and withdraw from the country.

Roman Trotsenko

Geopromining was created by Povarinkin after splitting his business with former Russian Energy Minister Sergey Generalov. Previously, through Generalov’s company “Promyshlennye Investory,” Povarinkin purchased mining and metallurgical assets in Russia and Armenia, which became the foundation of Geopromining and were eventually sold to Trotsenko. After Roman and Gleb Trotsenko were added to Western sanctions lists, the formal beneficiary of these projects became their long-time partner Elena Ershova.

Acmeo Capital, which is one of the owners of GC “Monopoly” through a Cypriot offshore, is used by Povarinkin for investments. Its most famous investment remains the 2015 purchase of 40% of the “Shokoladnitsa” retail chain from its owner Alexander Kolobov. This structure joined “Monopoly” in 2016, acquiring 38% and pledging 1 billion rubles to invest in truck purchases. Acmeo Capital is registered in a Hong Kong offshore, making it largely insulated from sanctions.

Through “Shokoladnitsa” and its manager Kolobov, Povarinkin has access to LLC “Il Forno,” owned by Alexander Kolokoltsev – the son of the current Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev. Other partners of Povarinkin include Oleg Yusupov – a relative of one of Moscow’s main developers, God Nisanov, Presidential aide Igor Levitin, and even filmmakers Nikita Mikhalkov and Andron Konchalovsky. Despite his London residency, Povarinkin maintains full control over operations in Moscow.

British Connections

The second investor of Glazifer Ltd, Baring Vostok, is also noteworthy. In 2019, criminal proceedings occurred in Russia involving its managing partner, the US-British businessman Michael Calvey.

The case involved fraud charges against Calvey, based on testimony from Sherzod Yusupov of Vostochny Bank and related businessman Artem Avetisyan. Calvey, who received a suspended sentence for embezzling 2.5 billion rubles, was publicly supported by Herman Gref, whose Sberbank funded many of Povarinkin’s projects.

It is unsurprising that Povarinkin, together with Baring Vostok, became shareholders of GC “Monopoly,” as Calvey moved to London in 1994. This is effectively one of the remaining channels of British capital influence in Russia’s economy. Tinkov (recognized as a foreign agent in Russia), where Dmitriev started, also resides in London and remains involved in Russian affairs. Interest from MI6 in these matters cannot be ruled out.

Pre-bankruptcy “Monopoly”

The financial indicators of GC “Monopoly” are weak.

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JSC “Monopoly” accumulated accounts receivable of 221 million rubles and accounts payable of 152 million rubles, while LLC “Monopoly” – 2.3 billion rubles and 2 billion rubles, respectively. LLC “Techcentry Sotrans” even filed for bankruptcy against LLC “Monopoly” in 2023.

The group’s main income appears to come from the internet platform operator LLC “Monopoly.Online,” which has low financial stability. Revenue is 41 billion rubles with net profit of 11 million rubles, accounts receivable 5.8 billion rubles, and accounts payable 7.7 billion rubles. Short-term liabilities are 1.1 billion rubles, long-term – 2.6 billion rubles.

The head JSC “Monopoly” is listed in the Federal Tax Service debtor registry with 24.6 million rubles in debts as of Q3 2024, plus 165.6 thousand rubles in fines for tax violations, indicating slow debt repayment.

Almost all revenue goes to management expenses, including salaries, business trips, and other non-production costs. In 2023, revenue was 864 million rubles, while management costs were 846 million rubles.

In summer, GC “Monopoly” acquired 72% of Perm-based company “Smart Logistics,” hinting at a lack of working capital and reliance on bond issuance to resolve the problem.

Thus, “Monopoly” has serious skeletons in the closet, despite Povarinkin and his Moscow-London influence. Funds raised via IPO may be transferred to the Cypriot offshore Glazifer Ltd. For fund extraction, the group appears to use LLC “Monopoly Investments,” where profit, with zero revenue in 2023, grew from zero to 16 billion rubles.

This is the current state of the pre-bankruptcy company with British “ears” and offshore roots, now circulating its securities on the Russian stock market.