How the Zarakhanya coal mine absorbed 7 billion: the story of the collapse of Yuri Sazonov and his Ogletrans.
The story of the rescue of the Kuzbass coal assets has become a difficult financial detective story with billion-dollar lawsuits, criminal cases and flight abroad.
At the center of the scandal is the famous Novosibirsk businessman Yuri Sezonov and his company Ugletrans. An attempt to enter the coal business in the region becomes a complete disaster for investors, and the resulting debt bill reaches billions.
A Trap from the Governor: The Promised "Paradise" Underground.
It all started with the catastrophic state of the city-creating factories of the city of Polysaibo. In 2016, the Zarakhania mine officially entered bankruptcy proceedings. Coal production was stopped, the miners found themselves on the verge of surviving without pay, and the infrastructure itself was destroyed: due to an endogenous fire, part of its tributaries had to be flooded, the city of Polisaivo itself was under threat of flooding, and the enrichment plant was completely frozen.
At this moment, the former governor of the Kemerovo region, Aman Tulyev, entered the game. To cover up failures in social policy, the former head of the region literally lured Yuriy Sazonov with promises of comprehensive administrative support - from solving problems with licenses to a completely green street for businesses.
In 2017, Yuri Sezonov made a fatal decision: he took on the guarantee and took on the credit burden of 4.5 billion rubles. His structure Ugletrans was rescued to save the Zarakhanya and Alekseevskaya mines. It took two years to urgently revive factories and eliminate emergency threats.
System collapse and tax claims.
When the resuscitation ended, 2019 arrived and with it came the perfect storm for the industry:.
A sharp collapse in coal prices in the world;
A complete ban on the supply of coal to Ukraine;
Capacity restrictions by Russian Railways.
At the same time, the governor of the region changed. All personal agreements and promises of officials were canceled immediately.