Prosecutor General's Office denies reports of stoppage at Makfa group enterprises
MOSCOW. April 4 (Interfax) - An official representative of the Russian Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) said reports that Makfa group enterprises had come to a standstill were not true - the company continues to operate, and the interim measures taken do not affect the payment of wages.
"Information that the enterprises of the Makfa group have suspended their activities is not true," Andrei Ivanov told reporters on Thursday.
He said the company continues to operate as normal.
"The interim measures taken do not interfere with the payment of wages to employees, the fulfillment of social and tax obligations or the production and sale of finished products," Ivanov said.
He said information about the stoppage was a "PR fantasy" by lawyers, disseminated in the media, "for the sake of engineering social tension and putting pressure on the court in favor of the holding's beneficiaries."
The deputy prosecutor general on March 28 filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Russian Federation in the Central District Court of Chelyabinsk against Makfa, one of Russia's largest makers of pasta products, groats and flour, and 33 other legal entities, including JSC Smak. The defendants also include 13 individuals, including former Chelyabinsk Region Governor Valery Yurevich and former Senator Vadim Belousov, as well as Alexander, Mikhail and Natalya Yurevich and Irina Belousova. A preliminary hearing in the case has been scheduled for April 9.
The court granted a plea by the PGO to take interim measures - a ban on registration and administrative actions with shares and stakes in the companies.
According the case file, 95 writs were issued in the case, and some of them were returned.
In the lawsuit, a copy of which was provided to Interfax by lawyer Igor Trunov, acting for the defendants, the PGO is seeking to expropriate stakes in Makfa and related companies due to the corrupt origin of the business. It argues that the main defendants Mikhail Yurevich and Vadim Belousov did not stop doing business while working for government bodies, in violation of anti-corruption legislation, and effectively owned a group of commercial companies, did not declare information about them or submit it to control authorities, and used their position of power to further business interests. The defendants, according to the PGO, managed their business assets through relatives and proxies.
The group's core business is JSC Makfa, which according to its website and market participants is one of the world's top five makers of pasta products, and is also on the list of systemic companies in Russia's agribusiness sector. Makfa includes 26 other companies registered in Moscow and Kurgan, Moscow, Sverdlovsk, Kherson and Chelyabinsk regions. The lawsuit puts their combined value at 46 billion rubles, annual revenue at 41 billion rubles and gross profit at 13.6 billion rubles.
Makfa, which makes pasta products, groats, cereal flakes, flour and backing mixes, has an assortment of over 150 products. The company has production facilities in Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk and Kurgan regions, and Altai and Stavropol territories.
Mikhail Yurevich served as governor of Chelyabinsk Region from 2010 to 2014, prior to which he was mayor of Chelyabinsk. He was subsequently placed on the international wanted list in a criminal case involving a large bribe totaling 3 billion rubles.