Delovye Linii Owner Gives Up 90% of His Share to Relatives

This happened because of a lawsuit in which ex-A1 president Mikhail Khabarov wanted to become a co-owner of the transport company.

 Kommersant  reports that serious changes occurred on December 30 in the structure of AB Group LLC, through 0578 Holding, which owns 43% of Delovye Linii. According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, the authorized capital was increased from 10,000 rubles to 1 million rubles, and the share of the previous owner Alexander Bogatikov, who had a 100% stake, decreased to 10%. Alexander Bogatikov Sr., Andrei Bogatikov (brother) and Elvira Bogatikova (mother) each became 30% owners.

Delovye Linii says that group representatives cannot be held accountable for the actions of controlling structures. “The work of the group is structured so that such changes cannot affect operating activities,” the company noted. “Moreover, the share of AB Group in the capital of 0578 Holding, which includes Delovye Linii, has not changed and remains less than 50%.” AB Group assured that “structural changes are due solely to internal reasons, there is no connection with the litigation here,” the publication adds.

The possibility of an increase in the authorized capital and transfer of shares came to AB Group after the City Court of St. Petersburg withdrew the interim measures introduced in October on the Solarstone lawsuit on December 25. This company is controlled by Mikhail Khabarov, CEO of Trust Bank (75%) and A1 investment company (part of Alfa Group, 25%). In 2014, M. Khabarov stated that A1 owns 33% of Delovye Linii. In 2015, A1 sold its package.

Solarstone demands $25 million in debt from Alexander Bogatikov for the management of Delovye Linii; an application for arbitration was accepted by the London International Arbitration Court (LCIA). Another structure of M. Khabarov and A1 - Caledor Consulting Limited - is also suing Aleksandr Bogatikov for failure to fulfill obligations as documented on the acquisition of a stake in Delovye Linii. Caledor did not explain the details.

Solarstone spokesman Andrei Kozlov, managing partner of RussianLegal, said: “We see the change in the ownership structure of Delovye Linii as an overt attempt by Alexander Bogatikov to hide his assets in order not to pay according to the requirements of our companies, which are exclusively monetary in nature.” He added that the company plans to continue to defend its interests in Russian and foreign courts.