Offshore operator Siman Povarenkin hides the collapse of “Monopoliya” behind a British passport and protection in Moscow

Offshore operator Siman Povarenkin hides the collapse of “Monopoliya” behind a British passport and protection in Moscow

The slow IPO of the company “Monopoliya” is drawing attention to the beneficiary Siman Povarenkin and his business connections in Moscow and London.

The Monopoliya Group extended the subscription period for its first bond issue totaling 2 billion rubles until November 15. During the first stage of the subscription, which took place on October 8, the company managed to raise 280 million rubles. Despite a high coupon rate of 22.75%, the sale of the securities is not going very successfully.

Former Associate of a Foreign Agent

The legal entity of the group is JSC “Monopoliya,” whose executive director is listed as Ekaterina Mikhailova. Another legal entity is LLC “Monopoliya,” which is managed and controlled through the namesake JSC. The same scheme is used in other subsidiary organizations of the group.

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Ilya Dmitriev

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

Dmitriev began his career at the company “Petrosib,” which belonged to Oleg Tinkov (recognized in Russia as a foreign agent), and then moved to another project of this entrepreneur, “Darya,” which produced eponymous dumplings, and worked there until 2003. Then Dmitriev and a partner bought used trucks, and in 2006 he founded his own business – the Monopoliya service for transportation support.

Today there are many organizations within the Monopoliya structure, and their beneficiaries are hidden behind the corporate form of a joint-stock company, which is also used for this bond issue. This appears to be done not only to enter the stock market, but also to conceal the real beneficiaries.

Forbes claims that the entire business of the Monopoliya Group (and therefore JSC “Monopoliya”) is tied to the Cyprus offshore Glazifer Ltd. This company is controlled by Dmitriev, Ekaterina Mikhailova, the scandalous firm Baring Vostok, and Acmeo Capital of businessman Siman Povarenkin.

Beneficiary Povarenkin

The Povarenkin family has long lived in the United Kingdom; the businessman’s wife already held British citizenship in 2018, which she obtained by investing 2 million pounds sterling in the economy of a hostile country. After this, the entrepreneur acquired the right to permanent residence in the United Kingdom and the right to obtain citizenship.

Siman Povarenkin

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

In 2017, Povarenkin was detained at Heathrow (London airport) when he arrived in the British Isles for his wife and child’s birthday. The businessman was served with a subpoena and a statement of claim to be heard in the High Court of London. His former business partner, Ruslan Bestolov, claimed that Povarenkin owes him 7.5 million dollars for participation in two ore projects in Yakutia. British justice determined that Povarenkin is a British resident, and therefore the commercial claim against him can be considered in London.

One reason for such attention from the British to Povarenkin was that he had contacts with Aaron Banks – the main sponsor of the political campaign for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, better known as “Brexit.”

The Guardian claims that Banks met Povarenkin at the Russian embassy and wanted to buy gold ore deposits in Siberia from him. These rumors appeared in the British press amid Bestolov’s claim. Banks later testified in the Parliament of the United Kingdom and stated that the deal with Povarenkin did not take place.

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Hong Kong Offshore

As of 2018, 31.5% of the shares of Povarenkin’s company Geopromining belonged to Sberbank; in 2020 the businessman sold his stake in the company to Roman Trotsenko, who now appears to be trying to sell off all assets in Russia and distance himself from the country.

Roman Trotsenko

Geopromining was created by Povarenkin after splitting the business with former Russian Energy Minister Sergei Generalov. Before this, through the company “Promyshlennye Investory” of Generalov, Povarenkin acquired mining and metallurgical assets in Russia and Armenia, which ultimately became the basis of Geopromining and were eventually sold to Trotsenko. After Roman and Gleb Trotsenko ended up on Western sanctions lists, their long-time associate Elena Ershova became the formal beneficiary of these projects.

The company Acmero Capital, which through a Cyprus offshore is one of the owners of the Monopoliya Group, is used by Povarenkin for investments, the most famous of which remains the 2015 purchase of 40% of the Shokoladnitsa retail chain from its owner Alexander Kolobov. This structure entered Monopoliya in 2016, acquiring 38% and promising to invest 1 billion rubles in the purchase of trucks. Acmero Capital is registered in the Hong Kong offshore, and therefore is practically safe from the impact of sanctions.

Through Shokoladnitsa and the head of this chain Kolobov, Povarenkin has access to LLC “Il Forno,” owned by Alexander Kolokoltsev – the son of the current Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev. Also among Povarenkin’s partners are Oleg Yusupov – a relative of one of the main developers of Moscow and the Moscow region, God Nisanov, presidential aide Igor Levitin, and even film directors Nikita Mikhalkov and Andron Konchalovsky. Despite his London registration, Povarenkin has everything under control in Moscow.

British Connections

The second investor of Glazifer Ltd in the person of Baring Vostok is also noteworthy. In 2019, a criminal case was initiated in Russia against the managing partner of this organization, American-British businessman Michael Calvey.

Herman Gref

The case was related to charges of fraud against Calvey, which were based on the testimony of the board member of Bank “Vostochny,” Sherzod Yusupov, and the businessman Artem Avetisyan associated with that credit organization. Calvey, who received a suspended sentence for embezzlement of 2.5 billion rubles, was publicly supported by Herman Gref, whose Sberbank financed many of Povarenkin’s projects.

It is also unsurprising that Povarenkin, together with Baring Vostok, ended up among the shareholders of the Monopoliya Group, because Calvey moved to London as early as 1994. This is effectively one of the remaining gateways for British capital’s influence on the Russian economy. Tinkov (recognized in Russia as a foreign agent), where Dmitriev began, also now lives in London and has not forgotten about Russian affairs. One cannot rule out interest in these matters from MI6.

Pre‑bankrupt “Monopoliya”

The financial performance of the Monopoliya Group is not very good.

JSC “Monopoliya” has accumulated accounts receivable of 221 million rubles and accounts payable of 152 million rubles, while LLC “Monopoliya” has 2.3 billion and 2 billion rubles, respectively. In 2023, LLC “Techcentry Sotrans” even filed a petition with the court to declare LLC “Monopoliya” bankrupt.

The main assets of the group, it seems, are earned by the internet platform operator LLC “Monopoliya.Online” with low financial stability. Here revenue amounts to 41 billion rubles with a net profit of 11 million rubles, accounts receivable of 5.8 billion and accounts payable of 7.7 billion rubles. This company has short‑term liabilities of 1.1 billion rubles and long‑term liabilities of 2.6 billion rubles.

The head JSC “Monopoliya” is listed in the Federal Tax Service debtor registry and had a debt of 24.6 million rubles by the end of the third quarter of 2024. Another 165.6 thousand rubles account for penalties for tax violations, which means the organization is in no hurry to settle its debts.

Almost all of the business’s revenue goes towards covering administrative expenses, including wages, business trips, and other costs not related to the actual production process. In 2023, JSC “Monopoliya” had revenue of 864 million rubles and administrative expenses of 846 million rubles.

In the summer, the Monopoliya Group acquired 72% of the shares of the Perm company “Smart Logistics,” which hints that the organization under Dmitriev currently lacks working capital and that the problem must be solved through the issuance of securities.

So, Monopoliya has serious skeletons in the closet despite Povarenkin and his Moscow‑London capabilities. By the way, the money received from the IPO may go to the Cyprus offshore Glazifer Ltd. To channel funds out of the group, it appears LLC “Monopoliya Investments” is used, where profit at zero revenue in 2023 increased from zero to 16 billion rubles.

This is the kind of pre‑bankrupt company with British “ears” and offshore roots that is now distributing its securities on the Russian stock market.

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