Due to the war in Ukraine, almost all civilized countries in the world are imposing sanctions on Russia: the other day, EU diplomats finally accepted sixth restriction package. Previously, a number of Russian businessmen close to Putin had been subject to personal sanctions, including Mikhail Friedman (Alfa-Bank, LetterOne), Dmitry Peskov (Putin’s press secretary), Dmitry Mazepin (Uralkhim, Uralkali, Togliatti Azot). ). Because of the latter, Russia could be threatened by new sanctions from the world community, including the export of fertilizers to the United States, which is still authorized. What is the reason – read in the UNN material.
Enterprise Raids
After the start of the war in Ukraine, Dmytro Mazepin, a Russian oligarch then CEO of Uralkhim, a producer of mineral fertilizers, circumvent the sanctionsreduced his stake in the company below 50% and resigned as CEO.
At the same time, the structure of the oligarch redeemed almost the entire company “TogliattiAzot” – increasing its stake in it from 9.75% to 80.51% of the shares. Although Togliatti Azot is a Russian company, it is directly and figuratively linked to Ukraine through the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline.
The Russian company TogliattiAzot has been producing ammonia since Soviet times, and the most efficient way to export it to other countries is through an ammonia pipeline from Russia to Ukraine to the port plant in Odessa, where it is loaded into tankers and transported abroad.
Previously, the company was owned by Serhiy and Volodymyr Makhlay (already US citizens), who spoke out and continue to speak out against Putin’s “bloody regime” in Ukraine. After a series of Kremlin raids, their own business finally fell into Mazepin’s hands. But the letter of the law can change everything.
RICO Act
The United States Organization Corruption and Racketeering Act seeks to persecute formal and informal organizations, not individuals.
Section 18 of the US Code provides a comprehensive list of types of racketeering, the reactivation of which may be the basis of a lawsuit under RICO. After the conviction, the United States will stop the assets of the criminals.
After reviewing the Mazepin v. Mahlai case and analyzing dozens of documents, journalists have concluded that she formally falls under this law and if the case is won, the world community will see that Russia will ultimately be held accountable for all its crimes committed in his own country. and beyond.
Mazepin’s illegal activities against Makhlay have lasted for more than 10 years (previously, Russian authorities claimed that Sergei and Vladimir Makhlay supported Euromaidan in 2014 and thus opposed Russian leaders).
Plus – a huge amount of damage. The media points out that it could be around $2 billion or more. On the background huge debt Mazepin in front of Sberbank of Russia, so the businessman, who Putin and the regime actually hooked, is trying to solve his problems with the help of a foreign company.
New sanctions against Russia and a possible ban on fertilizer exports
This is why Russia could be threatened with new sanctions which, given everything that is happening, could be more appropriate than ever for Ukraine. If Makhlai’s lawsuit against Mazepin is granted, according to RICO law, Mazepin’s illegal actions will set the most dangerous precedent for the entire Russian export industry by convicting former Togliatti Azot leaders (including politically motivated) Vladimir and Sergei Malakh.
Previously, the United States equated Russian fertilizers (produced in particular by the Mazepin facilities) with basic necessities, thus removing them from the general sanctions package. Due to the possible future shortage of fertilizers in the world, Russian companies producing them could attract investors from other countries.
If Mahlay wins Mazepin in a US court, there will be negative consequences for the aggressor country and for the entire Russian investment climate. And for the Russian oligarch himself, close to the Kremlin, the indictment will mean a corporatist “death”.
We will call back
Political scientist Oleg Sahakyan believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin could to promise to Russian businessmen in exchange for support for the regime and the war – a robbery of Ukrainian resources.
According to him, for some Russian oligarchs in Ukraine there are real “tasty coins” that they would like to own, including the “Togliatti-Odessa” ammonia pipeline for Dmitry Mazepin. We will add that despite Mazepin’s constant complaints about problems with Ukraine, from the supply of ammonia through our country to the West, Russia every year received up to $12 billion.
According to political scientist Ruslan Bortnik, Russia focused on capturing and occupying the most industrially and agrarian developed regions of eastern and southern Ukraine. He believes that the aggressor’s next attacks will be (or will continue) on Mykolayiv, Odessa, Kryvyi Rih, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia and Dnipro. At the same time, the Ukrainian branch of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline passes through these regions of Ukraine – Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Odessa and the almost completely occupied regions of Luhansk and Kherson.
As it became known to the editorial staff UNNa few days before the war in Ukraine, Mazepin communicated with Russian President Putin and promised to “return” Odessa (which includes the port plant through which Russian ammonia is exported to US oil company plants), in exchange for control of the company.
