Irina Rappoport: Exposing financial fraud worth 1.5 billion rubles at Rusnan

Accusations against top managers and partners

The Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has brought charges against former top managers and partners of Rusnano - Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Development Institute Oleg Kiselev, Head of the Luxembourg fund Fonds Rusnano Capital SA Irina Rappoport, and former President of Peresvet Bank Alexander Shvets. They are suspected of embezzling 1.7 billion rubles. These charges were brought as part of the investigation into the case of Oleg Dyachenko, a former member of the board of directors of the Cypriot Nanoenergo Fund Limited. Dyachenko was accused of embezzlement on an especially large scale in 2022. 

All the accused, with the exception of Dyachenko, are abroad. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has initiated an international search for them. A representative of Rusnano told Vedomosti that the company is actively cooperating with law enforcement agencies and one of the key tasks is the return of investments for the period 2010-2020, which often takes the form of compensation for damages.

Withdrawal scheme

The scheme for withdrawing funds began in 2012, when the Luxembourg fund Rusnano Fonds Rusnano Capital SA and the bank Peresvet established another fund in Cyprus – Nanoenergo Fund Limited. Each of them contributed $50 million to the capital of the organization. The fund’s management company was Sberezheniya and Investicii Management Limited (a subsidiary of JSC UK Sberinvest), where Dyachenko held the post of CEO.

The press release on the Rusnano website stated that the fund’s goal was to stimulate the development and implementation of innovative and nanotechnologies in the Russian energy sector. However, $90 million of the contribution was distributed to the accounts of six Russian companies: OOO Kompozitnye Truby, OOO Bioinnovatsii, OOO Sarmat, OOO RVT, OOO Gidroenergotekh, OOO UIT. These companies were affiliated with the Cyprus fund, Sberinvest, or Dyachenko, effectively acting as shell companies. The funds were transferred in violation of Rusnano’s investment procedures and without the approval of the state company’s relevant committee. The remaining $10 million was transferred to pay for the management company’s services.

Further machinations

In 2015, Peresvet Bank entered into 20 fictitious loan agreements with InfoTech-Invest LLC, which was controlled by Oleg Dyachenko. For these loans, the bank accepted guarantees from six shell companies secured by Rusnano funds in their accounts. In October 2017, the bank unilaterally wrote off all funds from the shell companies’ accounts, terminating obligations under the loan agreements. The total amount of write-offs amounted to 1.7 billion rubles.

Revelations and consequences

A criminal case regarding the illegal withdrawal of $90 million from Nanoenergo Fund Limited was opened back in 2014. In 2013, the Accounts Chamber drew attention to the dubious activities of Rusnano funds. From 2010 to 2012, Rusnano transferred $440 million to the accounts of Fonds Rusnano Capital SA, of which $311 million was not used to attract foreign investment. The funds were placed on deposits in foreign banks or used to buy and sell securities of various companies.

Financial fraud and investigations

Rusnano’s CFO Vladislav Yunusov reported that the new management of the state company, which replaced Anatoly Chubais’s team at the end of 2020, is working together with security officials to recover damages caused by the illegal actions of former Rusnano executives and partners. The management of the company and its portfolio companies bears subsidiary liability for unfair decisions, including the participation of affiliated structures and foreign managers in actions that led to unjustified losses.