Prague is finding out how to end the lease of the Slavonic House. He benefits from an oligarch linked to Putin’s elite iROZHLAS
- The Prague City Hall is examining whether it is possible to terminate the lease of the Slavonic House.
- As Radiožurnál recently pointed out, the Russian lucrative Mikhail Arustamov, who is connected with the surroundings of President Vladimir Putin, also leases the lucrative city building.
- The town rented Slovanský dům in 1997 for 77 years.
- According to councilor Hana Kordová Marvanová for the STAN movement, the preliminary opinion of the legislative department should be ready within a week.
Share on Facebook
Share on LinkedIn
Print
Copy url address
Abbreviated address
Close
In the past, the contract that Prague concluded for the lease of the Slavonic House became the target of criticism. In 1997, the capital entrusted the house at the lucrative address Na Příkopě to the Prague Communication and Social Center for rent for 77 years. But now, paradoxically, the length of the contract could help the municipality to terminate the contract.
The tenant of the Slavonic House is also the ex-manager of Transneft Arustamov, an oligarch with contacts to Putin’s elite
Read the article
“There are court findings according to which a contract concluded for such a long period can be regarded as a contract of indefinite duration,” described councilor Hana Kordová Marvanová (for STAN). Czech Television was the first to point this out.
The Marvans are upset that the companies of the Russian oligarch Mikhail Arustamov, connected to the immediate vicinity of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, have had a Cypriot share in the Prague Communication and Social Center since 2020, as Radiožurnál pointed out last week.
The preliminary opinion of the Legislative Department should be ready within a week. “Economically, as the Czech Republic and individual cities should be separated from the Russian regime and its supporters,” the politician explains his motivation.
Radiožurnál tried to obtain the opinion of Arustam or the Czech representatives of the Prague Communication and Social Center, but they have not yet responded to the current position of the municipality.
Man from a Russian pipe
Experts who have previously addressed Radiozurnal agree that Arustamov has long maintained relations with the Russian elite. Ilja Shumanov, director of the local branch of the anti-corruption organization Transparency International, described to Radiožurnál that Arustamov is well known in Russia. “He is very rich, we can talk about him as an oligarch,” Sumanov said.
Does the Slavonic House rent a Russian oligarch? In fact, he may be hiding someone else, reporters warn
Read the article
He continued: “He is one of the top managers with contacts to the Russian government, who earned his wealth at a time when he held key positions in state-owned companies.”
Shumanov support that Arustamov has on influential figures from Putin’s inner circle. Also keep in touch with a big player in the oil and pipeline business. He acquired them while serving as vice president of the Russian state-owned company Transneft, which operates oil pipelines in Russia.
Transneft’s longtime leader Nikolai Tokarev is one of Arustamov’s close allies. Tokarev has been at the helm of the state-owned company for fifteen years and is also a close associate of Russian President Putin. In the past, he was – like Putin – a member of the KGB. They even met while performing tasks in Dresden. Even with regard to the proximity of the Kremlin, Tokarev got on the EU sanctions lists.
“Arustamov is definitely among the people who are connected to him,” describes their relationship Karel Svoboda from the Institute of International Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University.
Billionaire Yevtushenko and Moscow City Hall. We mapped luxury hotels of owners from Russia
Read the article
Tokarev also played a key role in Arustam’s career. At the beginning of the millennium, they worked together in the state oil company Zarubežněft. In 2007, however, Tokarev moved up one level when he was appointed head of Transneft. And he brought with him Arustamov, who later even served as the first vice president of the state-owned company, and the Russian media wrote about him as an important adviser to Tokarev. Arustamov left Transneft in 2012.
Her close relationship and at the same time historical connection with the Czechia is well illustrated by the fact that between 2005 and 2012 Arustamov had a stake in a Czech company together with Tokareva’s wife Galina. Arustamov continues to do business in the Czech Republic. Owns a stake in 3ton, which operates a virtual mobile operator of the same name. It was through this company that Radiožurnál tried to contact Arustamov, but without success.
Opaque structure
But Arustam’s engagement is not the only moment that is worth noting in the case of the Slavonic House. In addition, another Cypriot company has a stake in the Prague Communication Center. However, the real owner cannot be traced to her.
Deputy Foreign Minister: I can’t imagine that we could expropriate Russia’s real estate
Read the article
According to Milan Eibl, chief analyst at the Czech branch of Transparency International, the current property structure of Slovanský dům tenants may be potentially risky. “Public property, which is part of the business of an opaque group using Russian capital, poses an increased risk not only today,” Eibl told Radiožurnál.
According to analysts, the current setting of the ownership structure makes it possible to hide some of the real owner. “Logically, the question arises as to whether such a hidden person is not on the sanctions list, for example,” Eibl said. And he adds that Prague should make sure who is currently benefiting from renting the Slavonic House.
According to Svoboda of the Institute of International Studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, involvement in complex structures is common among the Russian elite. “It works in such a way that if you want to be a part of it, you have to be soaked in strange schemes to be portrayable,” explains the Russian expert, noting that Arustamov also appeared in the Panama Papers case.
Share on Facebook
Share on LinkedIn
Print
Copy url address
Abbreviated address
Close