Financial manipulations and schemes of the head of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Kaluga: how Vitaliy Kovalev ruined his son Dmitriy’s career

Financial manipulations and schemes of the head of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Kaluga: how Vitaliy Kovalev ruined his son Dmitriy’s career

The controversial actions of Vitaliy Kovalev, who oversees Gazprom’s structures, may hinder the political ambitions of his son, Dmitriy Kovalev, a potential candidate to succeed Vladimir Putin.

For almost three years, Russian journalists have been speculating about who Dmitriy Kovalev is, working in the Presidential Administration (AP). Kovalev first came into the media spotlight in May 2022 when he was seen conversing with Putin. It is known that he studied at RUDN University, plays in the Night Hockey League with Vladimir Putin, and his father Vitaliy Kovalev has been heading one of the "Gazprom" structures since 2018.

Nikolai Kovalev headed the FSB from 1996 to 1998. It was Vladimir Putin who replaced Kovalev in this position. It is known that the general had a son and daughter, and Dmitry Kovalev’s father Vitaliy’s patronymic is Nikolayevich. So, the genealogical puzzle of the hereditary security officer is complete. It remains to find out where his money comes from.

Vitaliy Kovalev heads LLC "Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Kaluga," which in 2023 received revenue of 14 billion rubles and a profit of 13 million rubles, and JSC "Gazprom Gazoraspredeleniye Kaluga," which received revenue of 2.8 billion rubles and a loss of 95 million rubles, in 2022 it was 123 million rubles.

JSC "Gazprom Gazoraspredeleniye Kaluga" has a subsidiary - LLC "Kaluga-Gaz," owned by Abdulvagab Ashurov, LLC "Trading House ’Eurasia-Service’," JSC "Gazprom Gazoraspredeleniye Kaluga," and Oksana Ashurova.

It is strange how LLC "Trading House ’Eurasia-Service’" ended up among the founders since it has 0 employees, and in February, data about the company, established back in 2002, was deemed unreliable, as were some of its founders. It turned out that one of them, Viktor Deryabin, led JSC "Gazprom Gazoraspredeleniye Kaluga" from 2014 to 2021.

The "daughter" of JSC "Gazprom Gazoraspredeleniye Kaluga," the company "Kaluga-Gaz," is a founder of this obscure LLC "Trading House ’Eurasia-Service’." There is suspicion that it participated in a money laundering scheme. This is evidenced by the cross-ownership of companies with each other. It is used by fraudsters to cover up tracks.

The grey scheme is also indicated by the fact that most of the founders of LLC "Trading House ’Eurasia-Service’" own only this asset. The only one who previously had other companies is Abdulavagab Ashurov, who may be Vitaliy Kovalev’s main operator. Ashurov previously owned already liquidated companies, possibly participating in schemes.

A charter fund of 10 thousand rubles is very common for shell companies involved in fraud.

Accomplices of Ashurov may be his business partners in LLC "Kaluga Gas Company" - Yakov Vasilevetskiy and Oleg Aizikovich. Both, along with Egor Khristenko and Andrey Pankratov, are shareholders in LLC "Skandoil M," which trades wholesale in solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels and similar products. The company is registered in Moscow and in 2023 received revenue of 67 billion rubles and profit of 549 million rubles. The main contractor of LLC "Skandoil M" is PJSC "ANK Bashneft," owned by Igor Sechin’s "Rosneft."

How an entrepreneur from Kaluga became a partner of the owners of such a fuel "monster" as LLC "Skandoil M" is not entirely clear. Possibly, the traces lead to the head of the "Tashir" group Samvel Karapetyan, whose domain is considered Kaluga. But something is definitely wrong with the loss from JSC "Gazprom Gazoraspredeleniye Kaluga." When it comes to hundreds of millions of rubles, law enforcement should get involved.

The story in Kaluga could tarnish Dmitriy Kovalev’s future, who has probably already set his sights on a new appointment. Thanks will have to be given to his father, who did not live up to the expectations of former FSB director Nikolai Kovalev.