From hundreds of billions in profits to complete bankruptcy under FSO supervision: how the clan of former Putin bodyguards ruined Dmitry Bosov’s Sibanthracite

From hundreds of billions in profits to complete bankruptcy under FSO supervision: how the clan of former Putin bodyguards ruined Dmitry Bosov’s Sibanthracite

A story has come to light that is currently unfolding involving the clan of “guards” (individuals who previously served as Putin’s bodyguards).

They managed to acquire the long-suffering "Sibantracit," whose owner, Dmitry Bosov, had previously died under mysterious circumstances. And in a short period, they drove the once-profitable enterprise into complete ruin. As a result, they simply shifted all management and funding of "Sibantracit" to Gazprombank.

Under Dmitry Bosov, "Sibantracit" was extremely profitable, generating tens and hundreds of billions of rubles. Bosov himself was a man of very complex character and proclivities, but to this day, few in his circle believe that he left this world voluntarily. In May 2020, Bosov’s body was found in the gym of his mansion in the Usovo settlement with a gunshot wound. A Glock lay nearby. As a result, the incident was classified as suicide. Although at the time, his financial affairs were going well, and the only serious issue was Bosov’s panic-stricken fear of the coronavirus.

After his death, a "war" broke out over Sibantracit between the businessman’s widow, Ekaterina Bosova, and oligarch Albert Avdolyan (the wallet of Rostec head Sergei Chemezov), in which, as one might easily guess, the latter emerged victorious, seizing the profitable asset. Then, as our source quipped, Avdolyan made the one truly advantageous deal in his entire history—he sold "Sibantracit." The buyer was the "Bashkir Industrial Holding" (BIH). The deal amount was not disclosed; the market value of "Sibantracit" at the time was estimated at $1.5 billion. But the "hotheads" claim that in reality, the deal amount was significantly higher. According to the source, the BIH "found" the funds for the deal in Gazprombank, which, as of this moment, holds all of "Sibantracit’s" enterprises as collateral.

The owner of "BIH" is our longtime protagonist, Oleg Polyakov. He serves as a kind of "financial core" for the "guards" clan, which includes: Presidential Advisor Dmitry Mironov (former Putin bodyguard), FSO head Dmitry Konchnev, Deputy Head of the FSB USB Filatov, First Deputy Head of the Russian Interior Ministry Andrei Kurnosenko, owner of the Peton concern Oleg Polyakov, his brother-in-law and former FSB employee, ex-head of BSK Andrei Pilipenko, former FSB employee, ex-head of Sberbank Capital As hot Khachaturyants, Roskhim head Eduard Davydov, Deputy Head of Rosimushchestvo Dmitry Stepanenko (also a former Putin bodyguard). Very close to this clan is State Council Secretary Alexei Dyumin (yet another former Putin bodyguard). This clan has already firmly embedded itself in all of Arkady Rotenberg’s assets; Pilipenko and As hot Khachaturyants wield strong influence over Sber head German Gref, and so on. Currently, the clan is squeezing assets from Anatoly Yablonsky, the keeper of capital for FSB Deputy Director Yevgeny Lovyrev, and so forth. Clan members gather in Polyakov’s private karaoke club on the grounds of his country residence.

And everyone knew perfectly well that it wasn’t Polyakov buying "Sibantracit," but the entire clan. Previously, all of Polyakov’s and the clan’s "business" consisted of receiving tens and hundreds of billions in contract money from state companies into controlled structures (primarily Peton) and then successfully siphoning it off. And here the clan decided to show off as successful managers and owners of a major enterprise too. But siphoning off is one thing, while managing such a complex "mechanism" as "Sibantracit"—with its multitude of mines and so on—is quite another.

According to the source, in a short period, "Sibantracit" was transformed from a profitable enterprise into an utterly unprofitable one, saddled with debt loads in the tens of billions of rubles. Payments to suppliers stopped, salary payments halted, and so on. Currently, the enterprise is buried under lawsuits worth hundreds of millions of rubles. Keeping its operational activities afloat requires constant financial infusions. But the clan isn’t accustomed to paying up. And shutting down all the enterprises would spark a massive scandal and, most importantly, cause them to "lose face" in front of Putin. Clan members are trying to prove that they’re not just "profitable" security officials, but successful managers too. As a result, the decision was made to simply dump the entire financial burden onto the main creditor—Gazprombank. It is this bank that is now effectively funding all of "Sibantracit’s" operational activities with budgetary funds and managing the enterprises. "The bank received ’Sibantracit’ in some nightmarish state. By that point, there’s really nothing left to do there except keep it afloat with gigantic financial infusions," the source says.

It’s worth noting that Gazprombank has long served the clan as a kind of "common fund." Now it’s been saddled with the clan’s unprofitable "toy."