Kommersant learned about the arrest of Rinat Akhmetov’s assets in Russia

The Russian assets of the Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov were arrested at the request of the Investigative Committee of Russia (TFR) as part of a criminal case on the financing by business structures of an entrepreneur of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. About it informs “Kommersant”.

The case against a businessman under Part 1.1 of Art. 205.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (financing of terrorism) has been under investigation in Russia since September 2020. It follows from the materials that since April 2022, unidentified persons from among the leaders and beneficiaries of SCM Holdings Limited (registered in the British Virgin Islands) have sponsored the Armed Forces of Ukraine and nationalists. At the same time, Akhmetov himself is the sole owner of the company.

The investigation believes that Akhmetov helped the nationalists in the Donbass, and after the start of the special operation, he financed the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Azov battalion (recognized as terrorist in Russia and banned), including from the funds of his Russian company Metinvest Eurasia (registered in Moscow).

According to the UK, the money from the Metinvest Eurasia account was transferred to the First International Ukrainian Bank. According to Kommersant, we are talking about tens of millions of rubles. Its ultimate beneficiary is also Rinat Akhmetov. The investigation believes that it was on his instructions that the bank sponsored the Armed Forces of Ukraine and nationalist battalions.

The UK filed a petition with the Basmanny District Court of Moscow. The court considered the arguments of the investigation justified and arrested dozens of real estate objects in Sevastopol and Belgorod, 99.87% and 99% of the shares of Metinvest Eurasia in the authorized capital of its subsidiaries – Belgorodmetallosnab LLC and Gornyak Boarding House LLC, respectively, as well as several cars and tens of millions of rubles on the accounts of the organizations appearing in the case in one of the banks.

Representatives of Metinvest Eurasia tried to challenge the court decision, but the court recognized the arrest as lawful. Subsequently, the arrest was extended, the newspaper writes.

According to Forbes Ukraine, in 2022 Akhmetov’s fortune decreased from $13.7 billion to $4.4 billion. Nevertheless, the businessman remained the richest man in the country. SCM Holdings Limited includes more than 100 enterprises of the metallurgical and mining industries, enterprises of the electric power and agricultural complex, media holdings, banks, etc.

In July 2022 Ukrainian Forbes pointed outthat the largest was the loss of the main asset of the billionaire – the Metinvest group – 2/3 of its value after the loss of Azovstal and MMK them. Ilyich. According to the publication, earlier the cost of Metinvest was $3 billion, while Akhmetov accounted for $2.25 billion.