As it turned out, not only trade obstacles from Russia have their interests here, but also oligarchs from the close circle of Vladimir Putin. As part of a joint investigation by the Journalists Network of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which was attended by 25 editorial offices, frontstory.pl describes the links of oligarch Oleg Deripaska with Poland.
His name recently appeared in the world media. It is his £25 million home in London which was recently taken over by squatters.
Squatters at Deripaska Palace
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Thabo Jaiyesimi / SOPA Images / LightRocket / Getty Images
However, in the Maldives, his yacht is moored, which can be quickly confiscated in Europe.
Oleg Deripaska Queen K.’s yacht
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Alireza Aker/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
In November 2021, Forbes estimated Deripaska’s fortune at $4.1 billion. At that time, the 775th richest person in the world was. Before the 2007-2008 financial crisis, he was the richest person in Russia.
Shares in a construction company and a hotel
According to frontstory.pl, Russian The oligarchy is the real beneficiary of 31 companies registered in Poland. as we read, Most of them are indirectly related to the Austrian construction giant StrabagWith an annual turnover of around 15 billion euros.
However, this is not the end, because The name of the oligarch also appears in the context of the Polonia Palace, located opposite the Palace of Culture and Science. According to frontstory.pl, links with Strabag are also important here.
As we read more, In 2020, Strabag paid Deripaska-controlled Rasperia for 2017 and 2018 a total of €53.7 million.
“The Board of Directors of Strabag SE decided to stop paying dividends to prevent the flow of profits to the Russian shareholder, and to terminate the activity of the Strabag Group in Russia,” Maciej Tomashowski, a spokesman for the Polish branch of Strabag, told the authors of the investigation.
A spokeswoman for Deripaska responded to inquiries from the authors of the investigation that he had never been involved in any illegal activities, that his assets had been fairly acquired, and that he was the victim of a witch stalking purely for political reasons.
Strabag leaves Russia
On Tuesday, March 15, the press office of Strabag SE sent a letter informing about the end of operations in Russia. The statement stated that “The concerned Board of Directors welcomes the decision of the main shareholder – Haselsteiner Familien-Privatstiftung to create transparency by terminating the union agreement“.
HFP notified the company’s management that it had decided “to terminate its joint agreement with UNIQA Raiffeisen and Rasperia Trading Ltd. after all efforts to acquire Russian shares had failed.”
The statement explained that “the union agreement has been in effect since 2007, and in addition to appointing members of the supervisory board, it also included coordinating the results of voting during the general assembly meeting.”
The company announced thatAs a board of directors, we are willing to take all legally permissible steps to protect the company from any harm. With regard to the sanctions currently imposed by Great Britain and Canada, this applies in particular to the payment of dividends“.
He explained that the decision to stop operations in Russia was not only related to sanctions: “As for the activity of Strabag in Russia, which with a share of 0.3% of the company’s production, is now of secondary importance, the management decided to terminate its activity there.”
Moreover, it was added that “according to the Code of Goodwill,” “this company has undertaken and financed large-scale aid activities, particularly in the regions of the countries concerned most affected by this crisis: in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Republic of Moldova.” These initiatives will continue.
Earlier on March 1, the company announced that “the majority of Strabag SE shares are owned by the main Austrian shareholders: the Haselsteiner family and Uniqa / Raiffeisen companies. The Russian joint stock company MKAO Rasperia Trading Limited owns 27.8 percent. Oleg Deripaska owns less than 50 percent. Posts in Rasperia. Pursuant to Austrian law on joint stock companies, it is the board of directors that carries out the operating activity alone, and not the shareholders or members of the supervisory board.”
In turn, on March 3, “in response to content related to the ownership structure appearing in the media,” the company specified that “72.2 percent of the shares are owned by Austrian capital: the Haselsteiner family and the Uniqua/Raiffeisen Group. The remaining 27.8 percent. Rasperia since 2007.”
Strabag SE is an Austrian construction company headquartered in Spittal an der Drau, Austria, and headquartered in Vienna. It is the largest construction company in Austria and one of the largest construction companies in Europe. The company operates in its home markets of Austria and Germany as well as in all countries of Central, Eastern and Southeast Europe.