Arrest Order Given for Gutseriev
Agreeing to sell Russneft to Oleg Deripaska's Basic Element seems not to have helped Mikhail Gutseriev solve his problems with the Russian authorities. The Tverskaya Court in Moscow has sanctioned Gutseriev's arrest for violating his oath not to leave the area. According to unofficial information, Gutseriev is already in London, along with the $3 billion Deripaska paid him for Russneft.
Representatives of the Investigative Committee informed the court as they petitioned to have Gutseriev arrested that he is accused of crimes of medium severity: tax evasion and “illegal entrepreneurship by a large group of especially large scale.” In addition, investigators say, Gutseriev has violated his agreement not to leave the area, does not live at his home address and has not responded to investigators' summonses. A nationwide search for him was declared on August 6, and an international search was declared later.
Moscow's Lefortovo Court froze all the stock in Russneft in response to a petition by investigators on July 31. The Moscow Municipal Court will hear an appeal of the freezing of the stock on September 5. Gutseriev's lawyers will also appeal his arrest order.
Gutseriev's wanted status complicated his participation in the funeral of his son, Chingis, who, according to Russneft spokesmen, died of injuries received in a car accident on August 22. Chingis Gutseriev's body was flown to Baku, where his loved ones, including his father, paid their final respects at the Blue Mosque. It was only at the last minute that Mikhail Gutseriev as able to come to an agreement with the Investigative Committee to allow him to return to his homeland for the burial of his son in the family graveyard in the village of Chermen, Prigorodny District, North Ossetia. Then Mikhail Gutseriev left the country again. Those close to the businessman say that they do not know where he is.
The order for Gutseriev's arrest is the first step in his extradition. The Investigative Committee can now turn to Interpol for an international arrest warrant and, if he is in a country that has an extradition treaty with Russia, such as Azerbaijan, where he was recently seen, it will be hard for him to avoid extradition.
The arrest order calls into question the sale of Russneft to Deripaska's Basic Element holding. They reached an agreement on the sale at the end of June, after authorities had pressed numerous charges against the company and its owner. The value of the deal has been estimated at $3.3 billion, although Gutseriev stated shortly before that the company was worth $8 billion. There are tax claims of 20 billion rubles against the company, and the Federal Tax Service has disputed deals among companies that owned Russneft stock, demanding that the deals be declared illegal and the stock be transferred to state ownership.
Yesterday, after it was revealed that there is an arrest order for Gutseriev, the company's securities lost more than 6 percent of their value. The last deal was made at 85.1 percent of the nominal value, which corresponds to 24.5 percent income by buyback (December 2008). Gutseriev gave up the presidency of the company at the end of July, and associates reported that he intended to sell other assets as well.
Basic Element stated yesterday that it is still interested in acquiring Russneft and intends to continue with the deal. The company has yet to file documents with the Federal Antimonopoly Service, but spokesmen say that the documents are being prepared. Sources close to the negotiations say that “a third force” has intervened in the deal, however. One Kommersant source said that Deripaska reached an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin personally and with “part of the presidential administration” on the deal, “but events are not developing as planned.” Another source said that deputy chief of the presidential executive staff Igor Sechin is also interested in Russneft. That source thought that Sechin was the “third factor.”
A Kommersant source close to the Kremlin thinks that Sechin will not interfere with the deal. Two others who are familiar with the situation say that the deal is practically completed. “The money – $3 billion – was paid to him by Oleg Deripaska's structures two weeks ago,” one said. Another source said that Gutseriev is now in London. At Basic Element, they deny that the deal has been completed. Experts see the possibility that the arrest order for Gutseriev is a way to pressure the businessman. “It is extra protection to force the businessman to sell his assets,” BrokerCreditService analyst Ekaterina Kravchenko suggested.
A source close to the presidential administration added that Gutseriev does not consider the death of his son an accident and will not “leave it the way it is.” The international arrest warrant is another form of pressure to complicate Gutseriev's life and isolate him further from Russia.
Maxim Fedorov, Elena Kiseleva, Denis Rebrov, Igor Orlov
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 29, 2007
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