The Pechersky District Court of Kyiv seized shares in strategic Ukrainian enterprises and securities whose ultimate owners are State Duma deputy chairman, one of the leaders of the Just Russia – For Truth party Alexander Babakov, member of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, president of the CSKA football club Yevgeny Giner and "thief in law" nicknamed Misha "Luzhnetsky" Mikhail Voevodin. This is reported by "Economic Truth".
In particular, shares in the charter capitals of five companies were arrested: Zhytomiroblenergo JSC (95.54%), Khersonoblenergo JSC (99.99%), Kirovogradoblenergo PrJSC (72.9%), Chernivtsioblenergo JSC (96 .78%) and JSC "Rivnooblenergo" (93.24%). These parts are owned in different proportions by VS Group Management LLC and the Dutch VS Energy International N.V. and Washington Holdings BV, which are merged into the VS Energy group.
The arrest is also imposed on issued securities. The total value of seized securities is UAH 9.58 billion. The decisions are dated 11 November.
According to investigators, the criminal organization of Babakov, Giner and Voevodin "beginning from 2001 and up to the present time carries out systematic illegal activities" on the territory of Ukraine.
Giner, Voevodin and Babakov were co-owners of Russia's largest clothing market, Luzhniki, in the 1990s. All together they own VS Energy, which has shares in Kirovogradskaya (78.8%), Southern Generating Company (35.66%) and Chernovtsioblenergo (47.55%). Giner and his partners control the Crimean hotels Slavutich and Rus, as well as the Premier Palace chain.
Earlier, the Scanner project, in a joint investigation with the Ukrainian Schemes (Radio Liberty), found out that VS Energy is financing the Armed Forces of Ukraine. After the start of the war in Ukraine, VS Energy began to claim that Giner ceased to be its shareholder back in 2014. But among the shareholders of the Latvian VS Energy there are still three citizens of Latvia and two citizens of Germany. Investigators claim that the company is personally owned by Yevgeny Giner's wife and people who worked for Babakov, as well as for his partners Voevodin and Giner.
Babakov himself supports the war in Ukraine and speaks in the State Duma with a badge in the form of the Z symbol from the St. George ribbon on his jacket. In 2014, Babakov supported the annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas.
Babakov was added to the sanctions list of Ukraine in 2018. Ukraine imposed sanctions against Giner and Vojvodina in October of this year.
On November 7, Ekonomicheskaya Pravda, citing sources in the National Commission for Securities and the Stock Market of Ukraine, wrote that the shares of a number of the largest Ukrainian enterprises associated with businessmen Konstantin Zhevago, Igor Kolomoisky, Vyacheslav Boguslaev and Konstantin Grigorishin become the property of the state.