Disclaimer: Togliattiazot and its management consider that this article contains inaccurate and
misleading information relating to Togliattiazot and its management. Togliattiazot does not support
the publication of this article and considers it to be defamatory
An interesting twist has just happened in the story of Russian chemical combine Togliattiazot and its fugitive CEO Evgheny Korolev, which was covered a lot recently on our blog.
Seems like ToAZ minority shareholders not the only party concerned with the fate of runaway executive who fled to London after been charged with major fraud and put on a wanted list.
A group of Togliatti residents looks far more emphatic towards Korolev than distressed minorities who sustained millions of dollars in damages as a result of his tricky scheme designed to understate combine’s profits. Local citizen wrote a petition to Korolev asking him to return. They acknowledge many violations committed under Korolev, but just think a bad executive is by a long shot better than one huge chemical juggernaut left completely unattended.
“You’ve managed the plant for more than 10 years already, and many good things were done under you not only to the enterprise, but to the city as well”, the letter says. “As to the crimes and violations you are charged with, we think the ToAZ owners just made you a scapegoat for their wrongdoing. Being a high-ranking executive, you’re still but a salaried employee bound to carry out their will. We know who they are: former ToAZ CEO Vladimir Maklhai with his sons Andrei and Serghei, and their long-time Swiss partner Andreas Zivy. They secretly drain money from the plant concerned only with their own well-being, staying abroad to remain beyond the reach of the Russian law, leaving you behind to bear the blame for their scam”.
Finally, citizen of Togliatti ask Korolev to return to Russia and start to cooperate with law-enforcement agencies. “We believe that you should come back to Russia and give up those who made you commit crimes you didn’t want to and tell everything you know about every other crime participant. We’re sure the court will take into consideration your honest confession”. Furthermore, the locals are willing to go bail for Korolev and even hold a mass-meeting to support him if needed.
Sounds like a huge turn in the story, indeed. It appears everybody wants that Korolev back to Russia – shareholders, local population and law-enforcement officers. The urge to bring Korolev back is so intense that he may start feeling a little homesick as time goes by.
Let us recall that ToAZ minority shareholders, namely Gelber Enterprises Limited and Lorsten Investments Limited petitioned to the UK’s Minister of State for Crime Prevention Jeremy Browne asking to extradite Korolev back to Russia as a fraud suspect and persistent violator of shareholders’ and investors’ rights.
Early in April Korolev was put on a wanted list by the Investigative Committee of RF on the charges of a large scale fraud after law-enforcement officers failed to identify his location. According to shareholders, Korolev currently resides in London, staying at Vladimir Maklhai’s. Maklhai himself is hiding from Russian justice since 2005.