Wedding gift for Putin's daughter: two billion US dollars. RBC investigation: how the Shamalov family builds a business Vice President of the FKR Kirill Nikolaevich Shamalov
I deliberately did not write about this during the week, on the day the material was published, I thought that it needed careful, thoughtful reading on the weekend.
Two stories:
1. Reuters describe the wedding of Kirill Shamalov and Katerina Tikhonova, leaving no doubt for the general public that Tikhonova is the daughter of Vladimir Putin and she is married to the son of his old St. Petersburg friend Nakolai Shamalov,
The bride wore a long pearl-white wedding dress, the groom wore a dark one, said another participant in the event. The newlyweds were Katerina, the youngest daughter of Vladimir Putin, and Kirill Shamalov, the son of an old friend of the Russian president.The wedding took place in February 2013 in Igor, a small ski resort that combines beauty and privacy, five people who attended the ceremony told Reuters. Located among pine trees with a picturesque lake at the foot of the hill, the resort belongs to the family of Yuri Kovalchuk, a longtime friend of Putin, and a Cypriot offshore company whose shareholders have not been disclosed.
One of those present at the wedding said that the service staff were told that the bride and groom's names were Katerina and Kirill. According to him, guests wore white scarves decorated with the letters “K&K” embroidered in red thread. When he was shown a photograph of a woman known as Katerina Tikhonova, the source recognized her as the bride. Tikhonova is Putin's youngest daughter, a Reuters investigation published in November found.
“There were security guards on every corner, not letting anyone in,” said a resort employee.
“But we knew that they were celebrating the wedding of Kirill and Katerina, Putin’s daughter.”
In Russian: http://ru.reuters.com/article/...
More material in English:
2. RBC publishes a large investigation, “How the Shamalov family builds a business,” where, in particular, it describes an amazing deal as a result of which the happy 33-year-old groom Kirill Shamalov became the owner of 17% of Sibur, the country’s largest petrochemical company.
The purchase scheme looks absolutely brilliant:
a) Gazprombank is issuing a huge loan to Shamalov’s shell company “Yauza-12” - 73 billion rubles. The terms of the loan are completely opaque and suspicious;
b) 17% of Sibur is purchased with these borrowed funds;
c) interest on the loan is repaid from dividends paid by Sibur.
From the balance sheet of Yauza 12 it follows that at the end of December 2014 the company had two large financial items: long-term investments and liabilities. Financial investments on the balance sheet can be investments in shares; obligations can be meant both to credit institutions and to the founder, says Elena Starovoitova, general director of the auditing firm Starovoitova and Partners.The size of long-term investments of Yauza 12 for the reporting period is 78.6 billion rubles. This is the equivalent of $2.1 billion at the exchange rate on September 5, 2014, when the deal between Timchenko and Shamalov was announced. Most likely, based on RAS rules and balance sheet data, this is the purchase price of Yauza’s assets, Starovoitova believes. This may mean that the entire Sibur at the time of the transaction with Shamalov’s company was valued at $12.35 billion.
…
Shamalov is servicing the loan using the money received as dividends on Sibur shares, and now these payments are enough for him, sources close to the businessman and close to Gazprombank told RBC. In 2014, he was supposed to receive about 3.7 billion rubles.In order to service this loan from the company’s dividend flow, its terms must be purely individual, says Pavel Mitrofanov, director of corporate ratings and managing director of the Expert RA rating agency. With a market rate (this was no less than 10% per annum at that time, two major bankers told RBC) and uniform repayment, the loan term would be unrealistically long - many decades, the expert says.
- Yes, under such conditions, I would buy myself a Sibur!
, - any reader will exclaim at this point.
True, but we must not forget the difference between any reader and Kirill Shamalov. The latter is Putin's son-in-law, which is why Gazprombank gives him such amazing loans, and the reader is not Putin's son-in-law, so he can go look at mortgage rates and cry.
Why am I focusing everyone's attention so much on these two articles? Yes, because I often hear a conversation: there is no evidence that Putin personally (and not his entourage) is involved in corruption. Please, here is proof for you - a wedding gift to your daughter worth 2 billion dollars.
And he turned from a big businessman back into a hired manager.A former major shareholder of the petrochemical company Sibur, Kirill Shamalov, divorced Vladimir Putin’s youngest daughter Katerina Tikhonova, Bloomberg has found out. During the marriage, the son of Putin's friend and co-owner of Rossiya Bank Nikolai Shamalov managed to become the youngest billionaire in Russia.
- The agency's sources do not say when exactly the divorce was filed. And this is important: in August, Donald Trump signed a law expanding sanctions against Russia. It also contained a demand to form a blacklist of businessmen and members of their families close to the Kremlin.
- The list is due to be published next week. After the law was signed, it became known about several wealthy Russians at once - for example, Roman Abramovich.
- Shamalov and Tikhonova got married in February 2013, and the wedding was celebrated at the Igora ski resort, owned by another family friend, Yuri Kovalchuk, Reuters wrote.
- Shortly before this, Shamalov, who worked at Sibur as vice president for business development, received 4.3% of the shares of the petrochemical company as part of the option program.
- In 2014, having taken out a loan from Gazprombank, Shamalov bought from another friend of Vladimir Putin, Gennady Timchenko, a 17.3% stake in Sibur for $1.7 billion. The terms of this loan have always been a secret. RBC wrote about some details of this transaction (and about other businesses of the Shamalov family). As a result, in 2016, 34-year-old Shamalov became the youngest member of the Russian Forbes list with a fortune of $1.3 billion.
- But already in April 2017, Shamalov sold 17% of Sibur to its largest shareholder Leonid Mikhelson. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed; Vedomosti then calculated that Shamalov could earn $100 million (including dividends) from the purchase and sale of shares in the company. The deal looked very strange and unexpected, because shortly before the sale, Shamalov said that he decided to “focus on the petrochemical industry” and was ready to increase his stake in the future.
- Three Bloomberg sources claim that Shamalov did not earn anything at all from Sibur shares - the asset belonged to him only as the holder of “a kind of trust” while he was a member of the Putin family. These agreements were canceled as soon as Shamalov and Tikhonova divorced, the agency claims.
- Parting with the Putin family was not the loss of everything for Shamalov. His fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires index, is estimated at approximately $800 million, and his main asset remains a 3.9% stake in Sibur worth about $500 million.
(4) Co-owner and Former Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sibur Holding
"Biography"
In 2004 he graduated from the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg State University with a degree in jurisprudence.
In 2004-2005, he was a legal consultant at OJSC Gazprom for foreign economic activities. Since 2005 - legal adviser at Gazprombank.
"Ratings"
"Themes"
"News"
The United States imposed sanctions against Russian billionaires and government managers
The US Treasury has published a list of Russian businessmen and top managers against whom new sanctions have been imposed. As noted in the department’s message, the new list of SDN (Specially Designated Nationals) includes 26 people and 15 companies.
The United States introduced new sanctions due to the situations in Ukraine, Syria, as well as cyber attacks, but “primarily Russia’s attempts to undermine Western democracy,” the US Treasury said in a statement. The Russian government is involved in a number of conflicts around the world, “including continuing to occupy Crimea and provoking violence in eastern Ukraine,” supplying weapons to the Syrian army, the message quotes US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Oligarchs and heads of state-owned companies fall under new US sanctions
Bloomberg learned about the separation of Kirill Shamalov and Katerina Tikhonova
Forbes has found a new dollar billionaire in Russia
The fortune of the co-owner of the Sibur company, Kirill Shamalov, whom the media calls the husband of Vladimir Putin’s daughter, is at least $1.2 billion, Forbes magazine calculated
Forbes estimated the fortune of 33-year-old Kirill Shamalov based on the amount of the transaction for the sale of 10% of the petrochemical company Sibur to the Chinese state-owned company Sinopec for $1.339 billion, which took place in December 2015. At the time of the transaction, Shamalov owned 21.3% of Sibur shares, the total value of which was therefore approximately $2.85 billion. A source close to Shamalov clarified to Forbes that the businessman sold less than 1% of Sibur shares to Sinopec.
Kirill Shamalov is the youngest son of the co-owner of Rossiya Bank Nikolai Shamalov. He acquired the first 4.3% of the petrochemical company in 2011–2013 as part of an option program for Sibur managers. He bought another 17% stake from Gennady Timchenko in 2014. As Shamalov Jr. later admitted in an interview with Kommersant, a loan was raised from Gazprombank for the last deal. At the same time, the businessman did not name the exact amount of the loan; Forbes also does not name it in its article.
Reuters spoke about the wedding of Katerina Tikhonova and Kirill Shamalov
The agency claims that the wedding celebration of Katerina Tikhonova and Sibur shareholder Kirill Shamalov took place in February 2013 near St. Petersburg, at the Igora ski resort, co-owned by the family of Yuri Kovalchuk. Five people who attended the ceremony told Reuters about this.
According to a Reuters source, the bride wore a pearl-trimmed wedding dress, and the groom wore a dark suit. After the wedding, the newlyweds rode a troika, a worker who served the ceremony told the agency.
The entire ceremony, according to the agency, took place in secrecy. “Securities stood around every corner and did not allow anyone near the ceremony,” a source told Reuters. “But we knew that Kirill and Katerina, Putin’s daughter, were celebrating their wedding.”
RBC investigation: how the Shamalov family builds a business
On December 17, one of the largest transactions for Russia in 2015 was closed: the world’s second largest company in terms of revenue, Chinese Sinopec, acquired 10% in the chemical holding Sibur (22nd place in the RBC 500 rating). Despite the crisis, the buyer valued the company more than it was ever worth: $13.4 billion. The Chinese partners are the owners of Sibur - billionaires Leonid Mikhelson and Gennady Timchenko, as well as young businessman Kirill Shamalov, whom Reuters called the owner of a fortune $2 billion and the husband of Vladimir Putin’s alleged daughter Katerina Tikhonova. The president himself, answering a question from RBC, neither confirmed nor denied information about this relationship.
The journalist revealed the secret of Putin's youngest daughter
At the same time, according to Bloomberg, Ekaterina Tikhonova is married, her husband is Kirill Nikolaevich Shamalov, deputy chairman of the board of Sibur for interaction with authorities, owner of a 21.3 percent stake in Sibur, son of Putin’s St. Petersburg friend and co-owner of the bank “Russia” by Nikolai Shamalov.
Kashin notes that “Tikhonovna” is the patronymic of the mother of the former wife of the head of state, Lyudmila Putina. The journalist also found Ekaterina Vladimirovna Tikhonova on the website of the All-Russian Federation of Acrobatic Rock and Roll and a video in which a girl with this name dances at the World Acrobatic Rock and Roll Masters in Moscow.
It became known who is the husband of Vladimir Putin's daughter Katerina Tikhonova
The personal life of Vladimir Putin is one of the most discussed topics in the media. Speculation regarding Katerina Tikhonova, who is now called the daughter of Vladimir Putin, is acquiring new facts.
This is how Bloomberg learned the name of Katerina Tikhonova’s husband. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Katerina Tikhonova accompanied SIBUR Holding shareholder Kirill Shamalov, the son of “Putin’s old friend from St. Petersburg” Nikolai Shamalov.
“Kirill Shamalov is Tikhonova’s husband, according to an anonymous source close to the family,” writes Bloomberg.
Bloomberg named the head of the foundation working with Moscow State University as Putin's daughter
Katerina Tikhonova, director of the National Intellectual Development Foundation working with Moscow State University, is the youngest daughter of Vladimir Putin, four sources told Bloomberg. The agency, citing a “family friend,” writes that Kirill Shamalov, deputy chairman of the board of Sibur for interaction with authorities, owner of a 21.3 percent stake in Sibur and the son of Putin’s St. Petersburg acquaintance, shareholder of Rossiya Bank Nikolai Shamalov, is the husband of 28-year-old Tikhonova. Shamalov did not answer the call on his mobile phone. He also did not respond to a text message asking for comment.
Timchenko sold 17% of SIBUR to the son of businessman Shamalov
Businessman Gennady Timchenko sold a 17% stake in the petrochemical holding SIBUR to the deputy chairman of the company's board, Kirill Shamalov, the son of the co-owner of Rossiya Bank and longtime acquaintance of President Vladimir Putin, Nikolai Shamalov. The deal was announced in a company statement. Shamalov's share in SIBUR is now 21.3%, Timchenko continues to own 15.3% of the shares.
Whose resource is longer?
Another interesting figure is Kirill Shamalov, vice president for administrative business support of Sibur LLC. This is the brother of the president of the non-state pension fund "Gazfond" Yuri Shamalov and the son of the shareholder of the Rossiya Bank Nikolai Shamalov, known as the co-founder of the dacha consumer cooperative (DPC) "Ozero", on the shore of Komsomolskoye Lake in the Leningrad Region, where Vladimir Putin has a house. It is unlikely that Sibur will have business problems with such an employee.
15 years have passed since the formation of Putin’s dacha cooperative “Ozero” (list of those who were “in it”)
Nikolai Shamalov’s sons, Yuri and Kirill, found themselves in the business projects of the prime minister’s good friends and partners in Ozer. The first is a graduate of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia with a degree in jurisprudence, president of Gazfond, general director of Gazflot LLC. The second is a graduate of St. Petersburg State University with a degree in jurisprudence, a legal consultant at OJSC Gazprom, an expert at the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Rosoboronexport, a legal consultant at Gazprombank, and advised the department of economics and finance on issues of state property management in the Russian government. Recently - Vice President of SIBUR for administrative business support.
Kirill Shamalov was appointed Vice President of SIBUR LLC for administrative support of business
1 Kirill Shamalov has been appointed Vice President of SIBUR LLC for administrative support of business, the company’s press service reports. Previously, there was no such position in the management structure of SIBUR.
Kirill Shamalov was awarded a prize from the Russian Ministry of Energy
On February 9, 2012, a solemn ceremony was held to award the winners of the Russian Ministry of Energy “KonTEKst” competition among journalists and press services of fuel and energy companies, at which Deputy Chairman of the Board of SIBUR LLC Kirill Shamalov was awarded the prize in the nomination “For active contribution to government programs for business development and increasing the efficiency of interaction with authorities.”
SIBUR proposed more active use of polymers in road construction
The use of geosynthetics and modified polymer-based bitumen will increase the service life of the roadway by 7-10 years. Kirill Shamalov, vice president of SIBUR for administrative support of business, stated this at a meeting of the government commissions on transport and communications, the company’s press service reports.
Kirill Shamalov discussed SIBUR's plans with the Governor of the Tomsk Region Sergei Zhvachkin
Deputy Chairman of the Board of SIBUR LLC Kirill Shamalov congratulated the new governor on his appointment and spoke about plans for the development of Tomskneftekhim and BIAXPLEN in the region. Possible measures of state support for SIBUR investment projects were discussed. The press service of SIBUR reported this.
Sibur has taken up the promotion of geotextiles.
SIBUR Vice President for Administrative Business Support Kirill Shamalov spoke at a meeting of the Russian State Duma Committee on Transport with a report that was dedicated to improving the regulatory framework for expanding the use of innovative technologies and materials in road construction.
Kirill Shamalov about GRе at Sibur
“Most Russian companies have GR divisions,” says Kirill Shamalov. — Several years ago, the corresponding functionality appeared in SIBUR. A single center ensures effective coordination of GR activities both within the company and at all levels of its interaction with the external environment. The need for such a structural unit is obviously ripe: first of all, it is a “one-stop service” for relations between government authorities and the company and, on the other hand, all divisions of the holding with government agencies. Anything that the government needs to know about us or bring to our attention, all requests in the opposite direction go through our block or with our participation.”
Kirill Shamalov is a Russian entrepreneur, billionaire, member of the Board of Directors of Sibur. In the 2016 ranking of Russia's Richest Businessmen, compiled by Forbes, he ranks 64th with a fortune of $1.2 billion and is the youngest Russian billionaire. By the way, Shamalov appeared in this rating for the first time. Another interesting fact is that, according to rumors, he is the husband of Vladimir Putin’s youngest daughter, Ekaterina Tikhonova.
Biography of Kirill Shamalov
Kirill Nikolaevich Shamalov was born in Leningrad in 1982 into the family of a co-owner of Rossiya Bank, a longtime friend of Vladimir Putin.
After graduating from St. Petersburg State University in 2004 with a degree in jurisprudence, he worked in various positions at Gazprombank, Rosoboronexport, in the government apparatus and Gazprom.
During his work at Gazprom, the future billionaire was actively involved in promoting natural gas motor fuel. In addition, thanks to his active participation, a program was even launched to convert public transport to gas engine fuel in Nizhny Novgorod.
In 2008, he joined Sibur, where he began to hold the position of vice president of the petrochemical holding. His responsibilities included administrative support for the business.
In the period from 2012 to 2015, he served as Deputy Chairman of the Board of SIBUR LLC.
Since 2014, he has been a member of the Board of Directors of SIBUR Holding, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of RCC LLC.
One of the entrepreneur’s well-known largest transactions is the purchase of a 17% stake in Sibur from Gennady Timchenko in September 2014.
In 2014, together with his partners, he founded the KDS-invest company, whose assets include the only company, IT Service. The main direction is IT development. In addition, Shamalov is the sole owner of Yauza 12.
It is also known that Gazprom chose NIPIgazpererabotka, a subsidiary of Sibur, as the general contractor. The general contractor will be responsible for the construction of the Amur gas processing plant. The cost of the contract was estimated at 800 billion rubles. There is information that a subsidiary of Sibur has already saved 100 billion by optimizing construction costs.
In 2015, a 10% stake in Sibur was acquired by the Chinese state-owned company Sinopec. After evaluating this transaction, Kirill Shamanov was recognized as a dollar billionaire and entered the Forbes rating.
In the same year, he created the Ladoga Management company to manage all his assets. This company is looking for objects for investment in the IT industry, in the field of polymer processing, engineering services and in the production of import-substituting products. At the same time, it is not a competitor to Sibur.
Today, the billionaire's main capital is shares of Sibur (21.2%). He is the second owner of Sibur after Leonid Mikhelson.
Public and private life
According to media reports and independent sources, Kirill Shamalov is the son-in-law of the President of the Russian Federation. According to rumors, the wedding of Vladimir Putin’s youngest daughter Ekaterina Tikhonova and the entrepreneur took place in 2013. However, there is no official confirmation either from the President’s family or from the Shamalov family.
If these rumors are true, then such a relationship explains the absence of any publications or interviews with Kirill Shamalov. But this does not prevent the billionaire from continuing to increase his fortune. Whether Russia's youngest billionaire will be able to stay among the business sharks, only time will tell.
The Reuters news agency, which reported the day before with reference to Russian banker Andrei Akimov about the relationship between Katerina Tikhonova and Vladimir Putin, is ready to confirm its information with an audio recording - in response to denials by the press secretary of the Russian president and the press service of Gazprombank. Confirmation of the fact that Tikhonova is Putin's youngest daughter is not the only information told by the agency. A Reuters investigation shows that since Vladimir Putin came to power in Russia, many of his friends have become owners of huge fortunes. But not the president himself - at least, so say his supporters, who believe that Putin is “above” the fever of enrichment that has marked his reign. In April of this year, Putin declared income in the amount of 7.65 million rubles. He owns two small apartments and a garage. His daughter Katerina succeeded much more than her father in financial matters, and as a Reuters investigation shows, she succeeded in this with the support of powerful friends of the Russian President.
Andrei Akimov, chairman of the board of Gazprombank, told a Reuters correspondent that he met Katerina, now 29, when she was a child. He saw her in less distant times. According to Akimov, Katerina lives under the name Tikhonov ( her identity has been discussed more than once in the media and social networks. – RS). Katerina calls herself the wife of Kirill Shamalov, the son of Nikolai Shamalov, a longtime friend of President Putin. Shamalov Sr. is a shareholder of Rossiya Bank, which the American authorities consider the bank of the Russian elite.
After publication, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov stated that he “can refute the information presented in Reuters.” A little later, the press service of Gazprombank issued a refutation, reporting that Akimov, “who is on a business trip in China,” read the agency’s information “with surprise and bewilderment.” In response, on Wednesday morning, Reuters representatives told RBC that “Akimov spoke with them on the record” and the agency considers its presentation of his words “completely correct.”
The fortune of Kirill and Katerina, according to financial analysts whom Reuters correspondents met, is estimated at about $2 billion. Most of this fortune is a stake in a large petrochemical company, acquired by Kirill Shamalov from Gennady Timchenko, another old friend of the president. The young couple also owns a villa in the vicinity of the resort of Biarritz in France - it is estimated at $3.7 million. Kirill Shamalov also bought this property from Gennady Timchenko.
Katerina Tikhonova heads the Innopraktika project at Moscow University. According to Reuters, as part of it, she signed contracts worth several million dollars with a number of government organizations. There is no indication that these transactions brought any profit to her personally. Katerina is working on the implementation of the Moscow State University reconstruction plan, which is estimated at $1.7 billion.
Putin's eldest daughter, Maria, is also associated with Moscow University. She is a graduate of the Faculty of Fundamental Medicine of Moscow State University, a specialist in the field of endocrinology. Both Putin's daughters and Kirill Shamalov declined to provide any comment to Reuters. Gennady Timchenko's representative also did not agree to answer the question about the villa in Biarritz, saying that he was “not ready to comment on personal issues.”
Katerina and her 33-year-old husband belong to the younger generation of the Russian elite, who acquired a lot of money and high social status thanks to the connections of their high-ranking parents. This is somewhat reminiscent of the so-called “princes” in China - the children and grandchildren of senior Communist Party functionaries, who gradually also occupy high positions and acquire large fortunes.
According to sociologist Olga Kryshtanovskaya, who was at one time a member of the pro-Putin United Russia party, a “new aristocracy” is being formed in politics and large Russian business associated with the state, within which the younger generation will inherit the status of people from Putin’s inner circle. “Many in Russian society believe that these young people do not deserve such a position, and wonder who they actually are,” notes Kryshtanovskaya.
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in an interview with Reuters, describes the current system as “neo-feudal” and notes that it is crushing both the state apparatus and big business. “In today’s Russia, it is considered completely normal for the boards of directors of state banks to be headed by children of senior state security officials. Many of these children were not even 30 years old at the time of their appointment. This is not just dynastic succession. Children not only inherit the positions of their parents, but also the right in general take the post they want. The danger is that soon all the main resources of Russia will end up in the hands of five to seven families," says Navalny.
Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, when asked by Reuters whether Katerina Tikhonova is Putin’s daughter and whether she is married to Kirill Shamalov, replied: “We have no information about personal life, marital status, family ties, scientific and educational activities, participation "in any specific projects of Mrs. Tikhonova and other persons mentioned in your letter. Recently, many rumors have been circulating regarding the family connections of Vladimir Putin and, in particular, his daughters. The share of truthful information in publications of this kind is ridiculously small."
After her father became president of Russia in 2000, Katerina managed to remain in the shadows for a long time. In 2011, Vladimir Putin said in an interview on Russian television that she studied oriental studies at St. Petersburg University, specializing in Japanese language and history. Little was known about her adult life until journalist and popular blogger Oleg Kashin published information in January of this year that the president’s daughter works at Moscow State University under the name Tikhonov. This surname supposedly comes from the name of her maternal great-grandfather (Katerina’s grandmother’s name was Ekaterina Tikhonovna Shkrebneva). In addition to the above-mentioned Andrei Akimov from Gazprombank, two academic sources associated with Moscow State University confirmed that Tikhonova is the daughter of Vladimir Putin.
According to information on the official website of Moscow University, Katerina Tikhonova is “attached” to the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow State University. Since 2011, she has been listed as a member of the authorship team of one mathematics textbook and at least six scientific papers. The topics of these works relate, in particular, to space medicine and the reaction of the human body to the state of weightlessness. Among the co-authors of most of these works is the rector of the university, Viktor Sadovnichy. He declined to answer questions from Reuters, but the university issued a statement describing Tikhonova as a “talented researcher” whose work “has been presented numerous times at scientific seminars and conferences.” As noted in the statement, “we do not provide information about the private lives of employees.”
In May 2013, Tikhonova became the director of the non-profit foundation National Intellectual Development associated with Moscow State University, and a little later also the head of the Center for National Intellectual Reserve. Both organizations are implementing the Innopraktika project, which supports young scientists. Among the project's collaborators and advisers are Sergei Chemezov and Nikolai Tokarev, former KGB officers close to Putin from his days in the GDR. In Dresden they lived next door to Putin and his family. Now Chemezov heads the state corporation Rostec, and Tokarev heads the Transneft concern. In addition, the board of trustees of Innopraktika includes the head of Rosneft, Igor Sechin, and the chairman of the board of Gazprombank, Andrei Akimov. According to Akimov, “I knew that Tikhonova is Putin’s daughter. But, of course, we decided to support the innovative projects of Moscow State University, regardless of anyone’s family connections.” According to the banker, Tikhonov does not enjoy any special advantages, and he himself supports the plan for the reconstruction of Moscow State University, regardless of the participation of the daughter of the Russian president in it. Tikhonova herself recently spoke about her role and responsibilities in Innopraktika in an interview with Interfax.
According to Russian official sources, the National Intellectual Development Foundation, headed by Tikhonova, has entered into agreements with state companies Rosneft, Rosatom and Transneft for a total amount of 182 million rubles since 2013. Of the 10 contracts reviewed by Reuters correspondents, 8 were concluded without a tender. The contracts relate mainly to research work within the framework of Moscow State University. A representative of Rosneft confirmed that this company is collaborating with the university on 17 projects, the total cost of which is 530 million rubles.
In March of this year, Katerina Tikhonova was appointed deputy vice-rector of Moscow State University. It is unclear whether she is paid for this position. The corresponding order from Rector Sadovnichy was published on the university website, but Tikhonova’s name is not on the official list of employees - although she appears as a member of the scientific council of Moscow State University.
Katerina Tikhonova’s activities are connected not only with Moscow University. She has been practicing acrobatic rock and roll for several years now. In 2013, she and her partner took fifth place at the World Championships in Switzerland. Now Tikhonova is the head of two organizing committees of the All-Russian Federation of Acrobatic Rock and Roll. Among the sponsors of the federation are the companies Sibur, Novatek and Gazprombank. All of them are fully or partially controlled by people from the “inner circle” of the Russian President. Among them are Gennady Timchenko, Kirill Shamalov and his older brother Yuri. All of the listed companies are also listed on the Innopraktika website as its partners. A representative of Sibur says that the company actively sponsors various sports, including a number of Russian hockey and football clubs, a Formula 1 team and a basketball federation.
Information about a possible connection between Katerina Tikhonova and Kirill Shamalov appeared at the beginning of this year - in messages from RBC TV and Oleg Kashin’s blog. According to them, the couple visited Switzerland. As Reuters managed to find out, during this trip Tikhonova introduced herself as Shamalov’s “wife”.
In France, this young businessman owns a house on Avenue General McCroskey in Biarritz with an area of about 300 square meters. meters with an adjacent land plot (garden) of 2000 sq. m. The house was built in the 1950s, its current price is about 3.5 million euros, says Pierre Fourreau, the architect who carried out the reconstruction of the building seven years ago. According to publicly available documents, the previous owner of the villa was Gennady Timchenko. In September 2007, Timchenko and his wife Elena Ermakova registered the SCI Atlantic company for the purpose of purchasing real estate. On November 15, 2012, the shares of the capital of this company belonging to Timchenko and his wife were transferred to the name of Kirill Shamalov. The transaction price was not disclosed. Neighbors say they have not seen the young couple in Biarritz. A representative of Gennady Timchenko declined to comment on the property in Biarritz, saying only that the purchase and sale was carried out “at the market price.”
This house is just a small part of Shamalov's growing assets. In 2008, he joined the board of the Sibur holding, which operates in the gas and petrochemical industries. Shamalov acquired 4.3 percent of Sibur shares, and in 2014 another 17 percent, again from Timchenko. Last year, Sibur announced current revenues of 361 billion rubles and profits of 25 billion. The price of 21 percent of Sibur shares owned by Kirill Shamalov is, according to financial analysts, approximately $2 billion. The price for which Shamalov acquired this share of the company’s capital is also not disclosed. A Sibur spokesman told Reuters that the company "does not comment on the personal lives of our managers and board members."
Compared to the younger generation of the Russian elite, Vladimir Putin, judging by his declaration of income and assets, remains a man of the middle class. One of the apartments he owns is located in Moscow, the other in St. Petersburg. Any property abroad is not included in the declaration. The president's press secretary has repeatedly denied information about a huge villa built on the Black Sea coast and nicknamed by the media "Putin's palace." Last year, Reuters reported that the construction of the facility was partly financed by Nikolai Shamalov, the father of Kirill, the alleged husband of Putin's daughter.
Putin's other daughter. Biomedical Specialist
Vladimir Putin's eldest daughter Maria keeps an even lower profile than her sister. Reuters could not find any recent confirmed photographs of Maria.
Born on April 28, 1985, Maria studied biology at St. Petersburg University and medicine at Moscow State University.
According to Russian and Western press reports, she married a Dutch businessman named Joritt Joost Faassen. According to some reports, she lived in the Netherlands for some time, but this cannot be verified.
This year, Putin said both of his daughters live in Moscow, but gave no details.
Maria's last name is now Faassen, and under this name she is pursuing a career in biomedicine, specializing in endocrine system research, according to scientific publications.
Her name is listed on the Truth website, which collects data about Moscow State University employees and their work, among several authors of the work “The state of the antioxidant system of the blood in patients with acromegaly.”
Maria is a candidate of science and collaborates with the Endocrinological Research Center in Moscow, which runs a charity project to help children with diseases of the endocrine system “Alpha-Endo”.
In an email to Reuters, Maria responded that all requests for information regarding the center should be addressed to its management. She did not answer questions about when she got married or whether her father's position affects her career.
Alfa-Endo is financed by Alfa-Bank, a large Russian bank with branches in the US, UK and Cyprus. The largest shareholder is Mikhail Fridman, a billionaire with interests in banking, energy and telecommunications businesses. A bank spokesman told Reuters: Alfa Bank, and more broadly Alfa Group, is the financial sponsor of the project, and that's all. We don't know who else is involved in the project."
Maria's husband worked at Gazprombank, a large bank with strong ties to Putin's circle. At least until August of this year, Joritt Joost Faassen was listed on the website of the Russian consulting group MEF Audit as deputy chairman. He is no longer listed on the site and did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Rising stars of the second generation of the Russian elite
Born in 1977, the son of Yuri Kovalchuk, the founder and largest shareholder of Bank Russia, as well as co-founder, together with Vladimir Putin, of the Ozero dacha cooperative. Boris is the general director of the holding company InterRAO. He did not respond to Reuters' request for comment.
Yuri Shamalov. Brother of Kirill Shamalov, eldest son of Putin's old friend Nikolai Shamalov. Yuri Shamalov is deputy chairman of the board of directors of Gazprombank, president of Gazfond, the largest pension fund in Russia. At the same time, Gazfond is the largest shareholder of Gazprombank. He also did not respond to Reuters' request for comment.
Igor Rotenberg. 42 years. He was given significant assets of his father, Arkady Rotenberg, who practiced judo with Putin. Rotenberg Sr. became a billionaire at a time when Putin was building a “vertical of power.” The assets sold to Igor Rotenberg include 79 percent of the shares of the Gazprom-Burenie company, 28 percent of the shares of the construction company Mostotrest, and 33 percent of the TPS holding company, which is engaged in real estate transactions. In a written statement to Reuters, Igor Rotenberg notes: “Of course, thanks to my father, I had a very good starting position. Now I am an independent businessman and am increasing my assets in the competitive market.”
Igor's younger brother, born in 1981, likes Putin to play hockey. He was involved in the development of hockey in Finland, vice-president of the St. Petersburg hockey club SKA, whose president is Timchenko. Since 2010 – Vice President of Gazprombank.
Ivan Sechin. Son of Igor Sechin, head of the state-owned Rosneft company. In January, Putin was awarded a state award “for his contribution to the development of the country’s oil and gas sector” over a “long period of time.” According to media reports, Ivan Sechin is about 25 years old. He received the award less than a year after starting work as deputy head of one of the Rosneft divisions. He did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Born in 1970. The son of former KGB general Yevgeny Murov, head since 2001 of the Federal Security Service, which protects Putin, other senior government officials, and government buildings. Chairman of the Board of the state company "Federal Grid Company of the Unified Energy System", the main supplier of electricity in Russia. The company's shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange. He did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Sergei Ivanov Jr. The son of a former KGB general, head of the presidential administration Sergei Ivanov. 35-year-old Ivanov is the director of Gazprombank, chairman of the board of Sogaz, one of the largest insurers on the Russian market. Last year, Ivanov Jr. told Reuters that his father’s position “only makes it more difficult for him to work at Gazprombank.” He declined to comment further.
38 years old. Son of Nikolai Patrushev, head of the Russian Security Council. Since 2010, he has been the head of one of the largest state-owned banks in Russia, Agricultural Bank. It also did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Gleb Frank. Son of former Minister of Transport Sergei Frank. In 2010, he married the daughter of Putin’s old friend Gennady Timchenko, Ksenia. A year later, 32-year-old Frank was included in the board of directors of the large construction company Stroytransgaz, co-owned by Timchenko. At the same time, Frank increased his stake in the Russian Aquaculture company, which is engaged in fish breeding, by purchasing Timchenko's shares. In June of this year, the company was valued at $26 million. According to sources from Frank’s circle, the shares were purchased at the market price, but the source does not specify where Gleb Frank obtained the funds to conclude the deal.
P.S. The press service of Gazprombank issued a statement in which it denied that Andrei Akimov confirmed to Reuters the information that Katerina Tikhonova is Putin’s daughter. “Mr. Akimov did not make such statements. Akimov was very surprised that the journalists of such a reputable publication allowed not just a distortion of what was said, but direct fraud,” the bank’s press service indicated in its message.
Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov, as reported by RIA Novosti, said the following: “I can refute the information that was presented in Reuters, so I can refute it, and with a reliable statement from Akimov. Because Reuters stated that Akimov said "that some citizen is Putin's daughter. This I can refute, based on his own refutation." “And as for the daughters? I can’t tell you who Putin’s daughters are, because I don’t have such information and shouldn’t have it, because it’s not part of my official duties,” Peskov said.
As a representative of Reuters told the RBC agency, the agency rules out a mistake in its publication. It has a recording of a conversation with Akimov, who confirmed that Katerina Tikhonova is the youngest daughter of the Russian President.
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