Prosecutors came for Toyota

On Wednesday, a large-scale inspection organized by the regional prosecutor’s office began at the Toyota Motor LLC plant in St. Petersburg. To participate in it were invited tax officials, special forces, as well as specialists from Almaz-Antey and FSUE NAMI, which had already tried to buy out the assets of auto giants leaving Russia. By the new year, prosecutors expect to receive data on the legality of the functioning of literally all stages of production, and the results of the audit may lead to the initiation of a number of criminal cases and the presentation of other claims, which will obviously affect the value of the asset.

Early in the morning, armored special vehicles of the National Guard and dozens of “civilian” vehicles appeared at the entrances to the territory of Toyota Motor LLC. The visitors, who were accompanied by OMON fighters, showed the plant employees documents about the unscheduled inspection, after which they dispersed to the shops and management structures of the enterprise.

Sources of Kommersant in LLC said that during the inspection, employees were asked to start the equipment, checked the technical documentation, and so on, which “looks like an estimate for sale.”

As it became known to Kommersant, the decision to check right on the day of its conduct was made by the Deputy Prosecutor of St. Petersburg, Peter Zaburko, who oversees the implementation of federal legislation in the department and is responsible for the participation of prosecutors in civil and arbitration processes. The main task assigned by him to the participants of the event was the assessment of compliance in Toyota Motor LLC with the requirements of tax and labor legislation, as well as legislation on import substitution, joint-stock companies, technical regulation and industrial safety.

The basis for the verification source “Kommersant”, close to the supervisory agency, called the information received about the alleged violations.

To participate in the event, which, according to official data, will last until December 29, the forces of the city prosecutor’s office for supervision of federal laws, as well as a number of departments, including those overseeing the rights of entrepreneurs, the economy, the environment, and even human rights and freedoms, were mainly mobilized. By the decision of the senior adviser of justice Zaburko, together with the prosecutors, several technologists and engineers from the Federal State Unitary Enterprise NAMI and JSC “North-Western Regional Center of the Concern VKO “Almaz Antey” – Obukhov Plant”, a whole team of employees of MIFNS No. 20 and No. 30 on St. Petersburg, representatives of the regional departments of Rostekhnadzor and the Russian Guard, as well as the labor inspectorate.

In Toyota Motor, Kommersant confirmed the conduct of an unscheduled inspection, naming the official goals and a number of participants in the event.

Toyota announced the closure of the plant in Shushary on September 23, while the decision did not involve leaving the Russian Federation. At the same time, Kommersant’s interlocutors said that the authorities of St. Petersburg, together with the company, would discuss the sale of the asset (see “Kommersant-Online” of September 23).

According to Kommersant, Toyota is still ready to transfer the plant to another investor, if one were found.

In the summer, FSUE NAMI, subordinate to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, whose specialists are now participating in the inspection of the enterprise, offered foreign automakers the transfer of Russian business to them for a symbolic 1 ruble. or €1. Along this path went another “resident” of St. Petersburg Nissan. But there were also transactions without the participation of NAMI on the market: for example, a Mercedes plant in the Moscow region sold dealer “Autodom”.

At the same time, according to a Kommersant source, there was no proposal, except for the scheme for transferring assets to Toyota by NAMI that was proposed all summer. According to Kommersant’s knowledgeable sources, the company’s managers do not understand the reasons for what is happening, because if the ultimate goal of this entire event is the transfer of the plant and its equipment, then Toyota has been discussing this with the authorities since the summer, planning to prepare the site for sale – after the completion of the also agreed with all the process of releasing employees.

The defense concern Almaz-Antey, which also participated in the audit, recently began developing an automotive division and showed a civilian electric crossover called the E-Neva in the summer.

Nikolai Sergeev, Olga Nikitina