Mishustin’s former son-in-law switched from champignons to Transchem
The former son-in-law of Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Alexander Udodov, through his company Optima Invest, bought out the Tula manufacturer of disinfectants Transkhim. Despite the fact that the company was created in the wake of the pandemic, it never made a profit, declaring losses in the tens of millions of rubles. Udodov is a former vice president of the Itera gas company, who at one time bought out a number of large Moscow objects, in particular, the Gimeney shopping center and the Children’s Gallery building on Yakimanka. Among his major assets is the Mushroom Rainbow company, considered the leading Russian producer of champignons. Udodov officially divorced the sister of the head of the Cabinet of Ministers, Natalia Stenina, at the end of 2020, and the news of this coincided with a high-profile scandal related to the businessman’s possible participation in tax fraud, transfer abroad and “laundering” of finances through the company VG Cargo controlled by him. In particular, in the materials of the investigation of German security forces that became available to journalists, billions of rubles were discussed, and the fraud occurred at a time when the Federal Tax Service was headed by Mikhail Mishustin. One of the previous owners of the plant bought by Udodov was well-known in the world of show business, Alexander Dostman, president of the Artes Cultural Charitable Foundation, ex-companion of the odious Russian-Israeli businessman Shabtai Kalmanovich, who died from killer bullets in November 2009. Kalmanovich was considered a businessman closely associated with the intelligence services and crime; according to one version, he was behind the murder of the legendary thief in law Vyacheslav Ivankov (Yaponchik). Dostman became Kalmanovich’s partner shortly after the latter’s return from Israel, and after his death he lost some interest in show business. Later, among Dostman’s business partners, Novopeschanskoe JSC appeared, a legal entity of the problematic Belgorod ethyl alcohol production plant, which became the second co-owner of Transkhim LLC. This cooperation continued even despite legal claims from Novopeschansky until the purchase of Transkhim by Udodov.
Mushroom magnate Udodov became interested in antiseptics
Businessman Alexander Udodovthrough a company controlled by him “Optima Invest”became the sole owner Transkhim LLC– Tula manufacturer of disinfectants. As Kommersant clarifies, Transkhim was created in the wake of the pandemic and participated in government procurement for the supply of antiseptic drugs, including for the prevention of COVID-19.
However, the company never made a profit: if in 2022 revenue was declared in 38.15 million and loss in the amount 25.43 million rublesthen in 2023 revenue decreased to 6.6 millionand the loss reached 37.47 million rubles. Kommersant provides statistics from an analytical company “DSM Group”according to which a steady decline in sales of antiseptics has been recorded since 2021. Nevertheless, demand exists: from January to July 2023 alone, sales of antiseptic drugs in pharmacy chains exceeded 110 million packages.
Alexander Udodov in 2010-2014 served as vice president of a gas company “Itera”. In 2012 he became the owner of the shopping center “Hymen” on Yakimanka, not far from the Kremlin, and in 2015 the media wrote about the businessman’s purchase for 1.5 billion rubles building next door “Children’s gallery”owned AFK Sistema billionaire Vladimir Evtushenkov.
In total, Udodov acted as a founder or co-owner of several dozen legal entities. Today, among other things, he controls 70% of the authorized capital of the Kursk company “Mushroom Rainbow” (30% belongs to Oleg Logvinov), specializing in the cultivation of mushrooms and truffles and considered the leading Russian producer of champignons. At the end of 2023, Mushroom Rainbow reported revenue in 5.22 billion and profit in the amount 360.34 million rubles.
Tax scams, “Danilochkin case” and “VG Cargo”
The authors of online publications have repeatedly explained Udodov’s commercial successes by the businessman’s family ties with the head of the Cabinet of Ministers Mikhail Mishustin.
For example, in November 2020, the Prime Minister signed a decree recognizing mushrooms and truffles as agricultural products. Thus, the income tax rate for mushroom pickers was reduced from 20% to 0%. The question is, why not help the “native little person”?
Meanwhile, in February 2020, in an interview with Izvestia, Udodov himself did not deny the fact of marrying the prime minister’s sister Natalia Stenina (surname after first husband), emphasizing that they do not live together, although he “maintained good relations with her family”. There can be no doubt about the latter: what kind of businessman, in his right mind, would sever such useful connections? And in December 2020, it became known about the official divorce of the de facto former spouses.
It is noteworthy that this message coincided with a high-profile scandal related to the activities of the general director of an audit company who fled to the United States “Walter Vols” Sergei Danilochkinwho became a defendant in a criminal case of theft from the Russian budget 5.2 billion rubles through tax fraud. Udodov, who was a witness in the case, was allegedly involved in the scheme, and the scam took place precisely at the time when Mishustin headed the Federal Tax Service.
Domestic publications, citing data from German and Swiss law enforcement officers, wrote about how Udodov translated 3 million eurosfrom a personal account in Switzerland to an offshore account in the British Virgin Islands, which in turn topped up the account of a logistics company controlled by him with the same amount “VG Cargo”. The prosecutor’s office of the German city of Koblenz called the “Danilochkin case” “predicate crime”that is, immediately preceding “laundering”.
Note that the company “VG Cargo” was previously mentioned in the media in connection with an investigation by German security forces into tax fraud and money laundering: it was about 80 million Swiss francs (2.6 billion rubles), which passed through VG Cargo in 2012. Before that, in 2007-2009. through accounts of Udodov’s companies in a Swiss bank “Credit Suisse” passed $330 millionof dubious origin. Switzerland requested information from the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office about the entrepreneur’s source of income, but never received a response.
“Requiem” for Shabtai Kalmanovich
But let’s return to the Tula manufacturer of antiseptics, Transkhim LLC. Its previous co-owners were registered in the Belgorod region JSC “Novopeschanskoye” and Moscow LLC “Dezimpex”. Founder of Novopeschansky – Closed Mutual Investment Fund (CLIF) “Saratov” does not disclose information about its beneficiaries. As for the Desimpex company, it belongs to a businessman Alexander Dostmanwhich is worth dwelling on in more detail.
The fact is that the program producer “Full house” Dostman is president Cultural Charitable Foundation (CBF) “Artes”which organizes concerts and holiday programs with the participation of “stars” of Russian show business. Until December 2021, the founders of the fund included a famous fashion designer Valentin Yudashkin.
Dostman is also known as a business partner of an odious Russian-Israeli businessman, owner of the Tishinsky and Dorogomilovsky markets, general director of a women’s basketball club “Spartacus” Shabtai Kalmanovichkilled in the center of Moscow in November 2009.
One of the Israeli publications dedicated to Kalmanovich has a telling title: “Such a charming bastard”. In fact, the deceased had a very eventful biography. At the end of the Soviet era, this adventurer who emigrated to Israel served time in one of the prisons of the “Promised Land”, having been convicted of espionage for the USSR. Soon after his release, he appeared in Russia, where he became close friends with Joseph Kobzon and Alexander Dostman, already familiar to us: they created the company “Liat-Natalie Entertainment”which organized tours of Western “stars” Tom Jones, Liza Minnelligroups “Gipsy Kings”.
In addition to show business, Kalmanovich’s interests also extended to the pharmaceutical market and development. The media mentioned his connections with the Solntsevskaya organized crime group and his participation in the protection racket of the illegal sale of weapons and diamonds. According to the widespread version, Kalmanovich could be behind the assassination attempt on the thief in law. Vyacheslav Ivankova – legendary Japwho died in October 2009 from a fatal wound. In this context, the liquidation of Kalmanovich, who allegedly did not share the sphere of influence in show business with Ivankov, was considered as a “response” from the crime boss’s associates.
In September 2022, the Moscow City Court convicted three natives of Ingushetia – Bagaudin Kostoev, Ali Belkhoroev And Batyr Tumgoevrecognizing them as perpetrators of the contract killing of Kalmanovich and assigning them long prison terms. Despite the seemingly solved crime, many questions remain.
For example, was the deceased really going to a meeting with representatives of criminal circles, to whom money was intended for resolving a certain conflict?
Alexander Dostman and the Belgorod distillery
It is possible that it was after the death of Kalmanovich that his companion Dostman lost some interest in show business. Later, among his business partners, the aforementioned Novopeschanskoye JSC appeared, a legal entity of an ethyl alcohol manufacturing plant located in the Belgorod region. By July 2020, the plant had completed modernization, estimated at 1 billion rubles and made it possible to increase production volumes to 7 thousand deciliters per year.
Prior to this, the activities of Novopeschansky were accompanied by loud scandals. In particular, in 2015, the company “lit up” in the antimonopoly case that the FAS initiated against the then Belgorod governor Evgenia Savchenko: he was suspected of forcing local agricultural producers to transfer 3.1 billion rubles to extra-budgetary funds. Novopeschanskoe was also among the defendants.
In December 2016, Rosalkogolregulirovanie (RAR) suspended the distillery’s license due to violations identified during the inspection process: it was about the production and circulation of ethyl alcohol, which was not recorded in the Unified State Automated Information System (EGAIS) system. However, the arbitration court of the Belgorod region refused to permanently cancel the license. The legal proceedings continued for several years and at the beginning of 2020 it became known that the company had finally received a license.
An interesting circumstance: Dostman’s cooperation with Novopeschanskoye JSC was not prevented even by the 2022 lawsuit, in which the latter sought to recover more than 27 million rubles under the loan agreement, taking into account interest and penalties. The arbitration satisfied the claims in full.
Now Alexander Udodov will have to deal with the problems of Transkhim. Perhaps, thanks to his connections, the sale of antiseptics will get a second wind?
