Putin’s Friends’ Businesses Monitoring

6. Boris Rotenberg (Part 2)

The Flying Laplander

Boris Rotenberg Finnish companies: trade in fuel and gas condensate, hotel business and construction for Gazprom

By Roman Shleynov, Novaya Gazeta # 13 February 8, 2010

Supported by SCOOP project of Danish Association of Investigative Journalism (FUJ)

We continue to investigate businesses of friends of the Russian prime minister. The family of Boris Rotenberg – a younger brother of Arkady Rotenberg, the judo sparring partner of Vladimir Putin, controls several companies in Finland. They invested 20 million euro into hotel and congress hall located in the Finnish province Kirkkonummi, acquired a plot of land of about 40 hectares for cottage construction in Lapland and plan to build in St. Petersburg region of Russia a fish farm the cost of which is 5 million euro. Old relations with Gazprom are also detected. One of the Finnish companies of Rotenberg participated at the end of the 90’s in barter deals: construction in exchange of gas condensate, sometimes it supplied equipment and later it contracted within the charitable program Gazprom to Children.

Gazprom to Friends and Children

According to data of the Finnish Commercial Register, Boris Rotenberg was a chairman of the board of Anirina OY. His son Roman Rotenberg was also a member of the company management. This small company is established in 1996 located in Helsinki. Two years ago it had six employers only. Las year its net profit amounted to 24 thousand euro by the turn over of under 3 million. As informed before, it supplies consumer commodities and equipment for oil and gas complex to Russia. But the history of company turned to be interesting than statistics.

The general director of Anirina Irina Haranen, a former wife of Boris Rotenberg, told to “Novaya” that the company started its activity with barter contracts: in particular, it built a house of culture and hothouses for Urengoygazprom (at present Gazprom Dobycha Urengoy). Sometimes it supplied equipment for them. In exchange thereof, upon agreement with the local authorities, the company received gas condensate which it exported from the Kaliningrad port. At the sunset of barter deals such cooperation terminated.

As Irina Haranen said, she maintains good relations with Boris Rotenberg, but 8 years ago he left the company after having been divorced and they do not cross in business. The fact that Rotenberg is still registered as a manager and that according to the Finnish register he is connected with Anirina, Haranen named “a purely technical mistake”. Roman Rotenberg who works now at Gazprom Export told us that he related to the company but it is now a thing of the past. Boris Rotenberg did not comment the situation.

But old relations of the company with Gazprom are not broken. The Finnish Anirina participated in the construction of a children sport complex in Anapa which was created within the charitable program “Gazprom to Children”. The sport complex of Gazprom Dobycha Urengoy attached to the children center Kubanskaya Niva was opened in March 2007 in the presence of Dmitry Medvedev who was in that period the first vice-premier and a chairman of the board of directors of Gazprom. He personally tested the back trainer.

- We are very proud of this project, -- Haranen noted.

Gazprom did not answer the questions of “Novaya” concerning money which was invested into the construction within the charitable program and concerning cooperation with the Finnish Anirina. The Kubanskaya Niva informed that even an approximate amount will be hardly named. The total cost of the program “Gazprom to Children” only is known: from 2007 to 2009, according to official data, Gazprom invested over 6.7 billion roubles.

Note of “Novaya”

Arkady and Boris Rotenberg are the main owners of the bank “Severny Morskoy Put” (North Sea Way). In 2008 Gazprom sold to organizations of Arkady Rotenberg five companies some of which are construction contractors of Gazprom (as “Kommersant” reported). Baza-Torg and Postavka, founded by Boris Rotenberg, controlled intermediate companies through which pipes and equipment for Gazprom were supplied (see “Novaya Gazeta”, No. 88 as of 2009). Baza-Torg is registered as a founder of Gaztaged. Till 2008 75% of that company were controlled by the Gazprom subsidiary company Gazkomplektimpex which supplied materials and equipment for Gazprom. In 2003 the general director of Gaztaged was Yaroslav Golko, who became later a member of the board of Gazprom. Before having been dissolved Postavka owned one-fourth of the intermediate company Sibgazimpex which was controlled by the same Gazkomplektimpex owned by Gazprom. Sibgazimpex concluded contracts for equipment supply for Gazprom enterprises.

Real Estate and Fish

On the website Anirina (marketing brand Scandia Plus) mentioned works implemented mainly in the Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous region, the Krasnoyarskregion and the Moscow Region. But it is also engaged in house-building, supply of Finnish materials, prefabricated buildings and constructions. In the Moscow region, for example, there were built skiing tunnels and the covered ski slope. The company has offices in Helsinki and Saint Petersburg. The St. Petersburg company Nikol, the managing director of which is also Irina Kharanen, offers journeys, seminars and consultation with regard to purchase and sale of real estate in Russia, Latvia, Finland, United Kingdom and France.

The profile of Anirina is quite wide. It plans to build a factory of young fish production for commercial fish-breeding in St Petersburg region with the use of European experience. The investments will amount to 5 million euro. It is already known to the local government. How will the company with the net profit of 24 thousand euro start that project? Irina Haranen assured “Novaya” that there are no problems with investors: banks call her and offer their financing services. As an example she named the state bank Rosselkhozbank. According to her words, Vneshtorgbank under the state control also showed interest. In the opinion of the general director of Anirina this happens because the Russian government cares of development of internal market and many people understand the necessity of new technologies in fish farming.

Whether the close relations of Boris Rotenberg with the prime minister Vladimir Putin affect the success of projects? Irina Haranen gives the answer that not only Arkady and Boris Rotenberg but also many people are acquainted with the prime minister:

- I know that they are youth friends. They maintain communication.

Irina Kharanen noted that she in person is not acquainted with Putin.

- If I was acquainted perhaps the volume of my sales would be higher, -- she joked.

Wrestling, hotels and petroleum chemicals

Ju-jutsu is an old Japanese wrestling which implies not a resistance to force but directing it as necessary. The founder of ju-jutsu in FinlandMr. Auvo Niiniketo went in for boxing since 8 years old and was a boxing champion in Finland and Scandinavia. He studied also professionally karate and judo. Must it be wondered that his ju-jutsu club in Helsinki is registered at the same address with Rinimex, the chairman of the board of which, Boris Rotenberg, liked to go in for judo together with his brother and Vladimir Putin.

The sportsmen could not help notice each other. And the master Auvo Niiniketo became a general director of Rinimex. The register shows that this Finnish company trades, in particular, in petroleum chemicals, fuel and equipment. Its turnover of 2008 was just more than 3 million euro, the net profit was 130 thousand, and the number of employers is two to three persons only.

Whose oil and fuel was sold by Rinimex, which united the amateurs of martial arts, is not unknown to us yet. Boris Rotenberg keeps silent. Auvo Niiniketo did not explained such fact and is not reachable for comments. (Later he wrote to “Novaya” that the company never traded oil or fuel, but was trading children’s toys and furniture to Russia, but even that business is in the past). But it is known that Rinimex acquired a plot of land of 40 hectares in Lapland in the district of ski resort near the holy mountain Puhatunturi. They plan to build there cottages, counting also on Russian clients.

Finnish projects are not limited by Lapland. The Rotenberg family invested 20 million euro into Langvik Congress Wellness Hotel. This was informed to “Novaya”by the hotel managing director Petri Alanko. The complex is located in Kirkkonummi near Helsinki. The works were started in 2008 and within two years, in spite of a financial crisis, the buildings which were owned before by a Finnish bank, turned into a complex consisting of a restaurant, a SPA salon, a hotel with 100 rooms and conference halls. The complex was opened recently – on 11th January.

As the managing director stated, Boris Rotenberg makes impression of an European businessman and a very friendly person: he lived a lot of years in Finland and speaks Finnish a little. The director of the project, as the managing director said, is Roman Rotenberg, he comes more often than his father, talks with the managing director and speaks the language very well.

Why did the crisis not affect strongly the friends of Vladimir Putin and even projects of the former wife of Boris Rotenberg find a support among Russian organizations under the governmental control?

-- Petersburgers try to live friendly with each other <…>. And I am glad that Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin] accents his attention on this, -- the general director of the Finnish Anirina Irina Kharanen said. – Muscovites are a little jealous but in fact, I do not know, perhaps it is good that all happen in a so friendly manner. We will hope that this will bring good results for the country as a whole.