Kostin is buying up vineyards in the Crimea. Vargas Properties Inc. Guarantees from us

It has acquired another 1088 hectares in the Sevastopol region and will create a new brand of wine in addition to Alma Valley

The Sevastopol company "Invest Reserve" acquired three land plots at auctions of the department for property and land relations of Sevastopol, according to the website of the department. Invest Reserva is 100% owned by Invest Plus, which is owned by East Investments, owned by Vargas Properties Inc., registered in the British Virgin Islands. The beneficiaries of the latter are not disclosed. Andrey Grigoriev, the general director of Invest Plus, confirmed the information about the purchase of plots.

Invest Plus is the operating company of the Crimean winery Alma Valley. The main beneficiary of this company are structures close to the chairman of the board of VTB Andrey Kostin, Forbes magazine reported in 2014. In private conversations, top managers of Alma Valley also called Kostin the owner. Kostin is among the beneficiaries, says a person familiar with the ownership structure. The company belongs to Russian private investors, Grigoriev told Vedomosti, but did not comment on the connection with Kostin. A request addressed to the press service of VTB remained unanswered.

Alma Valley produces red, white, rosé wines under the same name brand from its own grapes grown in the Alma Valley. The area of ​​vineyards is 200 hectares, 150 hectares of which are already bearing fruit, says Grigoriev. In the next two years, it is planned to lay another 200 hectares of vineyards, the land for which the company has acquired in recent years. Currently, production is 1 million bottles per year, says Grigoriev.

Vineyards in Sevastopol is a new project of the Invest Plus company, says Grigoriev. The total area of ​​plots here is 1088 hectares (this is almost a fifth of the currently registered vineyards in Sevastopol). The land went to Invest Plus for 474.8 million rubles. The Yalta company "Riviera-10" also participated in the auction, but did not receive a single lot, according to the documentation. Vedomosti failed to contact her.

The purchased land has not been used for more than 20 years, explains Grigoriev. Some of them are abandoned vineyards that have to be uprooted. In the near future, the company will have to analyze the soil, and then decide on the grape varieties that will be grown there. It can be used for both still and sparkling wines, Grigoriev believes.

The economy, which will be created in Sevastopol, will produce wine under a new brand. The terroir is fundamentally different here, and Alma Valley wines have a protected geographical name, Grigoriev explains. The land will be developed gradually, approximately 700-750 hectares will be allocated for vineyards. It will be possible to start planting them already in 2018, in the fourth year the vineyards will begin to bear fruit. The company is going to build a new winery for processing Sevastopol grapes, in the future, production is estimated at 4-5 million bottles per year. It will be a large-scale production, says CIFRRA CEO Vadim Drobiz. But the market leaders are still far away: Kuban-Vino produced 37 million bottles last year, Fanagoria - about 28 million. Investments will amount to several tens of millions of euros, including planting vines, says Grigoriev. The company will load its existing Alma Valley wineries as grape production in the Alma Valley increases, he adds.

The company has the ability to increase production, explains Grigoriev.

Firstly, the state provides significant support to winemakers, primarily in the form of subsidies for the laying of new vineyards and a reduced excise rate for wines with a protected geographical indication. According to the Crimean Ministry of Agriculture, in 2017 a subsidy of 260 million rubles is provided. for laying and caring for vineyards and 9 billion rubles. - uprooting of unproductive vineyards.

Secondly, market conditions favor. The price category that Invest Plus focuses on is 1000-1500 rubles. per bottle in retail, before the crisis, this niche was occupied by high-quality European wines, which then went up in price, says Grigoriev. Such wine is in demand among the consumer and the niche is not yet saturated with Russian wines, he believes.

Consumer interest in Russian wines really grew after the crisis and their range was expanded, says Andrey Golubkov, head of the Azbuka Vkusa press service. But Russian winemakers have a significant problem - with an increase in supply volumes, the quality may become unstable. As a result, most buyers at this price prefer European and New World wines, says Golubkov.

Middle-class consumers are losing interest in Russian wine as their incomes gradually recover, says Drobiz: Russian wine production fell 10% in 2016 to 450 million bottles. And the import of wine, on the contrary, began to grow.

A company called "Invest Reserve" was able to get 1,000 hectares of vineyards in the Sevastopol region at an auction. The company has serious plans for the future, namely the expansion of sales of Alma Valley wine brand.

But the most interesting thing is not the strategy of Invest Reserve, but the fact that the company belongs to Invest Plus, which is owned by East Investments LLC from Yalta. This is not the end. After all, the Yalta asset belongs to the offshore Vargas Properties Inc. from the British Virgin Islands. But behind it, according to informed sources, is the state banker Andrey Kostin.

Back in 2015, Alma Valley was associated with Kostin. But it seems that Andrei Leonidovich does not want to sit back and continues to actively conduct business.

Recall that VTB, headed by Kostin, was planned to be privatized in 2017, but due to sanctions, this initiative was postponed. The government and Kostin himself said that if the sanctions regime is weakened, which became possible after the election of US President Donald Trump, the bank would sell 11% of its assets. “If the sanctions are changed or mitigated, or there is a signal to the market and investors stop being afraid to participate in such transactions, then, of course, we believe that the sale of a stake of less than 11% is quite possible,” Kostin said.

But after Kostin's "frills", the sanctions seem to only increase. Here two decisions are born: either to remove Kostin, or not to privatize. And the federal budget now needs to be replenished, because the deficit in the first quarter of 2017 amounted to 274.2 billion rubles.

But, behind these important questions is another. What money did Kostin make the purchase from and why is he hiding? Corruption fighters point to numerous embezzlement schemes from the state bank, which then settled offshore. Vargas Properties Inc., allegedly affiliated with Kostin, may be one such offshore company.

The investigation of the "Crimean purchase" may be the beginning of the disclosure of the corruption system in VTB.

What's going on at VTB?

Strange as it may seem, the sentence against Fyodor Khoroshilov, who allegedly single-handedly stole 12 billion rubles from VTB, illustrates the situation in the state bank quite well.

And it happened because of the fire, during which "several high-ranking figures disappeared from the list of suspects."

It must be said here that in 2015, another defendant in the case, Pavel Mitrofanov, who left the country, said that “high-ranking VTB employees should be interrogated in the Khoroshilov case,” this was a hint at Kostin.

We note in particular that this money went offshore, and also "invested in real estate and luxury goods." Wasn't this money used to buy a vineyard in the Crimea?

There are no questions to Mr. Kostin, because the case burned down. On the other hand, the influential banker Alexander Lebedev cited data according to which Andrei Leonidovich, using the bank's money, "acquired a yacht and an airplane in the Maldives for entertainment."

Yacht Kostina (photo from Alexander Lebedev's blog)

Kostin's plane (photo from Alexander Lebedev's blog)

I must say that Lebedev not only published pictures and provided evidence, but also sent a request to the Accounts Chamber of Russia! Only for some reason the auditors did not check Andrei Leonidovich.

Incidentally, not only the "Crimean purchase" raises questions, but also the fact that the banker is the actual owner of the X-Land park, "which is located on one hundred hectares of "golden" land near Moscow in the Dmitrovsky district." Andrey Leonidovich also has, to put it mildly, a luxurious apartment in Moscow in a house in the Swedish Dead End (the most elite place in the capital)!

Raider money?

It is impossible to “pass by” the story when VTB Capital literally “ran into” the Svoboda company, behind which is the entrepreneur August Meyer. This "raider attack" was associated with a desire to seize control of the Lenta supermarket chain from Meyer. "Then, against the shareholders of Lenta, VTB threw a" capture group "led by Kostin's deputy Andrey Puchkov," the journalists wrote. Meyer was nevertheless squeezed out of the company.

They call VTB raiding and the "attack" of Kostin's top managers on the Yenisei Plywood Mill.

Moreover, the ex-head of the Bank of Moscow, Andrey Borodin, directly called the takeover of the financial structure of VTB a "raider takeover"!

"Work is not a wolf"

Despite all the failures, Andrei Leonidovich was reappointed in April of this year to the post of head of VTB.

A bank cannot exist under the leadership of such a top manager without state subsidies. In 2015 alone, VTB received federal loan bonds worth 307 billion rubles!

Andrei Leonidovich does not forget about himself and his deputies. So in 2016, Kostin pleased his and "zamsky" pockets with a salary of 6.1 billion rubles.

None of the siloviki paid attention to the story when Andrey Kostin decided to "lease drilling rigs for Russian state-owned companies." VTB created a "daughter" - and began to buy drilling rigs from the Chinese Sichuan Honghua Petroleum Equipment Co.Ltd.

There was a contract for thirty pieces of ZJ50DBS installations - each unit cost 10 million dollars. But first they were bought by a subsidiary of VTB, and then sold to the bank itself for $15 million apiece! Where the difference went - one can only guess ...

It is not known where the offshore Vargas Properties Inc. from the British Virgin Islands money for the purchase of 1000 hectares of vineyards in the Crimea. Perhaps these are funds stolen from VTB. In any case, acquiring assets with unconfirmed funds through a chain of companies is rather doubtful for the head of a large bank. But will law enforcement agencies check this version?

The Sevastopol company Invest Reserve, allegedly associated with the structures of the chairman of the board of VTB Andrey Kostin, is buying up vineyards in the Crimea. This was reported by the newspaper "Vedomosti" with reference to the message of the department for property and land relations of Sevastopol.

"Invest reserve" at the auctions of the department for property and land relations of Sevastopol acquired three land plots with a total area of ​​more than 1 thousand hectares. According to the publication, in this way, companies associated with Kostin are expanding their wine-making business in the Crimea. The general director of Invest Plus, Andrey Grigoriev, confirmed to Vedomosti the purchase of plots, but did not comment on the connection with Kostin.

Invest Reserve is 100% owned by Invest Plus, which is owned by East Investments, owned by Vargas Properties Inc, registered in the British Virgin Islands. The beneficiaries of Vargas Properties Inc are not disclosed, but Invest Plus is the operating company of the Crimean winery Alma Valley, the main beneficiary of which are structures close to VTB Chairman Andrey Kostin, Forbes magazine reported about this in 2014.

At the same time, the fact that Kostin may have invested in vineyards could be judged by indirect information, RBC, referring to three sources from different Russian wineries. In addition, in October 2015, the Kompaniya magazine reported that Kostin became the owner of the Crimean Forian LLC. The press service of VTB then stated that this company owns a dacha in Foros, "where Andrei Leonidovich Kostin rests year after year." The bank stated about this company that "it does not conduct any commercial activities." According to the SPARK database, from February 2015 to the present day, Andrey Kostin has been the sole owner of Forian LLC. The last date for making changes to the company card in the database is April 4.

At the same address as Forian, East Investments LLC is registered, the subsidiary of which is Invest Plus LLC, the operating company of Alma Valley.

According to Andrey Grigoriev, General Director of Invest Plus, the vineyards in Sevastopol are a new project of the company, which it got for 474.8 million rubles.

In the mass sale of wines from Alma Valley came in the summer of 2015. The products of the new participant in the wine market were then appreciated by President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Alma Valley was awarded four medals by professional tasters for Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon wines.

Prior to that, at the annual general meeting of VTB, Kostin called business in the Crimea risky. “My civic position is that I would, of course, work in Crimea. I am one of those who write "Crimea is ours" in two words, not one. Under the sanctions, any Russian company, including banks, if they work in Crimea, then personal sanctions can turn into more severe sanctions, including the freezing of funds, dollar accounts, which, of course, would cause irreparable damage to the largest Russian banks.

"Invest reserve" at the auctions of the department for property and land relations of Sevastopol acquired three land plots with a total area of ​​more than 1 thousand hectares. According to the publication, in this way, companies associated with Kostin are expanding their winemaking business in the Crimea. The general director of Invest Plus, Andrey Grigoriev, confirmed to Vedomosti the purchase of plots, but did not comment on the connection with Kostin.

Invest Reserve is 100% owned by Invest Plus, which is owned by East Investments, owned by Vargas Properties Inc, registered in the British Virgin Islands. The beneficiaries of Vargas Properties Inc are not disclosed, but Invest Plus is the operating company of the Crimean winery Alma Valley, the main beneficiary of which is considered to be structures close to VTB Chairman Andrey Kostin, Forbes magazine reported about this in 2014.

At the same time, the fact that Kostin may have invested in vineyards could be judged by indirect information, RBC wrote, citing three sources from different Russian wineries. In addition, in October 2015, the Kompaniya magazine reported that Kostin became the owner of the Crimean Forian LLC. The press service of VTB then stated that this company owns a dacha in Foros, "where Andrei Leonidovich Kostin rests year after year." The bank stated about this company that "it does not conduct any commercial activities." According to the SPARK database, from February 2015 to the present day, Andrey Kostin has been the sole owner of Forian LLC. The last date for making changes to the company card in the database is April 4.

At the same address as Forian, East Investments LLC is registered, the subsidiary of which is Invest Plus LLC, the operating company of Alma Valley.

According to Andrey Grigoriev, General Director of Invest Plus, the vineyards in Sevastopol are a new project of the company, which it got for 474.8 million rubles.

In the mass sale of wines from Alma Valley came in the summer of 2015. The products of the new participant in the wine market were then appreciated by President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Alma Valley was awarded four medals by professional tasters for Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon wines.

Prior to that, at the annual general meeting of VTB, Kostin called business in the Crimea risky. “My civic position is that I would, of course, work in Crimea. I am one of those who write "Crimea is ours" in two words, not one. Under the sanctions, any Russian company, including banks, if they work in Crimea, then personal sanctions can turn into more severe sanctions, including freezing funds, dollar accounts, which, of course, would cause irreparable damage to the largest Russian banks ”(TASS quote) , he declared.

 

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