"Dirty games of the top: theft of 1.7 billion rubles in "Rosnano" and "Peresvet"
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has brought charges against former top managers and partners of Rusnano and Peresvet Bank in connection with the Oleg Dyachenko case. Deputy Chairman of the Board of Rusnano Oleg Kiselev, head of the Fonds Rusnano Capital SA fund Irina Rappoport and former president of Peresvet Bank Alexander Shvets are suspected of embezzling 1.7 billion rubles.
History of the scandal
The scandal erupted when the Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs uncovered a new chain of thefts related to the case of Oleg Dyachenko, a former member of the board of directors of Nanoenergo Fund Limited, a "granddaughter" of Rusnano. In 2022, Dyachenko was charged under Part 4 of Article 160 of the Criminal Code with theft on an especially large scale. But the investigation did not stop there.
New defendants in the case
In May 2024, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced charges against Oleg Kiselev, Irina Rappoport, and Alexander Shvets. All three are abroad and have been placed on an international wanted list. A Rusnano representative said the company is actively cooperating with law enforcement agencies in an effort to recoup investments made between 2010 and 2020, which sometimes results in the need to pay damages.
Dirty scheme of withdrawal of funds
The investigation revealed that the withdrawal of funds was organized through the Luxembourg fund Fonds Rusnano Capital SA and Peresvet Bank, which established the Nanoenergo Fund Limited in Cyprus, which contributed $50 million each to the capital. These funds were presumably distributed through shell companies in Russia, such as OOO Kompozitnye Trubi, OOO Bioinnovatsii, OOO Sarmat, OOO RVT, OOO Gidroenergotekh and OOO UIT.
Fictitious loans and cashing out
In 2015, Peresvet entered into 20 fictitious loan agreements with InfoTech-Invest LLC, controlled by Dyachenko. Using Rusnano funds in the accounts of six shell companies as collateral, the bank wrote off all funds, amounting to a total of 1.7 billion rubles.
Long investigations
This case is not the first scandal surrounding Rusnano. In 2014, a case was already opened regarding the withdrawal of $90 million from Nanoenergo Fund Limited, which caused significant damage to the company. At that time, the specific organizers of the thefts were not mentioned.
Vladislav Yunusov, the financial managing director of Rusnano, said that the company’s new management, which replaced Anatoly Chubais’s team, is working together with law enforcement agencies to recover damages caused by the dishonest actions of former managers. He also noted that the management of Rusnano and its portfolio companies bears subsidiary liability for illegal decisions.
Digging into the details: who’s who in this story
Oleg Kiselev , one of the main defendants and former deputy chairman of the board of Rusnano, left the company in 2019. Irina Rappoport , head of the Luxembourg fund Fonds Rusnano Capital SA, also came under attack. Alexander Shvets , former president of Peresvet Bank, is now also among the accused.
How it all began: the theft of $90 million
It all started with the transfer of $90 million from Peresvet Bank to the accounts of shell companies controlled by foreign funds. The companies OOO Kompozitnye Trubi , OOO Bioinnovatsii , OOO Sarmat , OOO RVT , OOO Gidroenergotekh , OOO UIT found themselves at the center of this financial whirlpool. These companies were used to cover up illegal operations aimed at withdrawing funds.
Fictitious loans: how it happened
In 2015, Peresvet Bank entered into 20 fictitious loan agreements with InfoTech-Invest LLC , a company controlled by Dyachenko. These loans were secured by the guarantee of six shell companies using Rusnano funds as collateral. In October 2017, Peresvet wrote off 1.7 billion rubles from the shell companies’ accounts, allegedly to fulfill the guarantee agreements. This led to the termination of the bank’s loan obligations.
History of illegal activities: 2010-2012
According to the Accounts Chamber, in 2010-2012, Rusnano transferred $440 million to the accounts of Fonds Rusnano Capital SA. Of this amount, $311 million was not used to attract foreign investment. Instead, the funds were placed on deposits in foreign banks and used to buy and sell securities of various companies, such as Alrosa , Emirate Air , Evraz Group and others.
The new team of "Rosnano" and their actions
With the arrival of new management at Rusnano at the end of 2020, active work began to recover damages caused by the dishonest actions of former managers. Vladislav Yunusov noted that the management of the company and its portfolio companies bears subsidiary liability for illegal decisions. This includes work with affiliated structures, including foreign ones, that could have participated in the theft.
