by Kommersant Special Correspondent Nataliya Gevorkyan
Gazeta.ru, 2 May 2006
[translation posted on Johnson's Russia List, 3 May 2006, hat tip Ukraine List]

I would like to congratulate my colleagues from with a simple investigation, as they put it, into the owners of the Ukrainian half of Rosukrenergo, but this "investigation" has as much to do with journalism as Mr. Mamontov's "investigation" of the "philosopher's stone".

This sad story (where journalism is concerned, of course) will be rich in quotations, so please forgive me in advance. First take one straight from : "Before recalling shortly, whom journalists have taken to be owners of Rosukrenergo, let us rejoice for US lawyers: they clearly have long since resolved their own country's domestic problems (it was enough to punish the terrorist called Mussawi) and now they have the time and the desire to poke their noses into other people's business. However, what do they think is their own business... "Clearly the investigation is unpleasant for Moscow", the writes. "It is aiming to make use of the current chairmanship of the G8 for propaganda about energy security, and will strengthen Europe's fears over the attempts by Gazprom to purchase energy assets there. The prospects for unpleasantness even against the background of the G8, of course, are enough to get on Moscow's nerves. The US will not miss such an opportunity".

We will stay with the intonation and turns of phrase with which the self-respecting journalists attempted not to sin even during the time of the Cold War. Why, exactly, should a Russian newspaper be so offended by an American newspaper's investigation of Ukrainian property? It would appear that if there is something to get twitchy about, it is Ukraine and not the owner of the newspaper, who is as transparent as crystal. And why did US professionals draw the attention of the author's "personal investigation" rather than his own professionalism? If it were not for those bloody Yanks, who poke their nose everywhere, the author of the 'investigation" would not have taken an interest in the answer to a question, which is arousing the interest of half the world, namely who is hiding behind 50 percent of a company with billions in turnover, which is the partner of Gazprom, the owners of the newspaper? It was when the Americans got involved "in somebody else's business" that the author suddenly found the matter interesting. And what do you think, it has turned out to be as simple as spitting for the newspaper owned by Gazprom, which at the same time owns the other 50 percent of Rosukrenergo, to find a couple of documents on the Internet or elsewhere, to show the names of the owners of this mysterious Ukrainian half of the company.

The Americans did not manage to name anything, take note, not a single name. But the real authors of the newspaper's "investigation" understood what could be found out and named, especially given that the "cover" for the second half of the company (Reiffeisen Investment) had promised to reveal the names of the owners in the very near future. This was the catalyst, and through its newspaper Gazprom took the high ground and named a couple of names. It has two aims for doing this. One was named with the directness worthy of one of the world's largest companies, and I quote: "Alas, Moscow had nothing to do with it, and the investigators' work was not so difficult after all. has carried out its own investigation to show that 50 percent of Rosukrenergo belongs to Gazprom (which everyone knew about anyway). The person behind the Ukrainian half of the company is not the "citizen of many countries, Semen Mogilevich, who is being sought by Interpol, and certainly not Leonid Kuchma, as the Orange revolutionaries have hinted".

All clear? Gazprom does not do business with criminals and the overturned leaders of foreign countries. There is no need to tie us in with those. There is no need to tie Gazprom in. We are clean and fluffy exactly by half, but the Ukrainian half, oh dear, oh dear, now that is the second aim of the investigation's authors: "Two surnames are mentioned in the audit report on the company's financial activities between July 22 2004 and December 31 2005: D. Firtash (who owns 90 percent of the shares) and I. Fursin (who owns the other 10 percent). It is these two citizens who are not the most well known people among the broad Ukrainian reading public, who are the beneficiaries of the company. There are no grounds to disbelieve this evidence. The audit was carried out by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and its report is what we have cited. It remains only to guess, why the truth has been kept under wraps for so long. We will recall that back on Maydan demands were raised to make public the whole list of the owners of Rosukrenergo. But when Yushchenko and Tymoshenko came to power these demands were silenced immediately, from which we might suppose that Messrs. Firtash and Fursin suited the Orange revolutionaries completely".

It is also clear that first of all, two sort of dubious personages own the Ukrainian half of the company, and secondly, they are Ukrainian citizens, as the publication asserts, although Yushchenko has said that there are no Ukrainians in the company. Thirdly, for some reason they suit the Orange revolutionaries. Is the hint clear? If you do not get it, they will explain briefly how these gentlemen, who suit the Orange revolutionaries are connected with that same Mogilevich, and how (I hope that you have already guessed) they are linked with the intimate entourage of the Orange president, Yushchenko. In addition the figures illustrating this proximity, are given with reference to the Ukrainian press. An independent conclusion from all this is that Yushchenko had personal motives for hiding the real co-owners of the company on the Ukrainian side.

Now you will recall the meeting back in February between President Putin and Spanish journalists. They asked him about the real owners of Rosukrenergo. The answer (and I quote from the newspaper) was this: "This is a joint Russian-Ukrainian enterprise, in which the Russian partner owns 50 percent. This partner is Gazprom. Like you, I do not know who owns the other 50 percent".

--- Viktor Yushchenko says that there is not a single Ukrainian in the company.

--- (Putin) So go ask Viktor Yushchenko. Gazprom owns fifty percent of the company and the Ukrainian side owns the other fifty percent. What I said to Viktor Yushchenko is this: 'Please, we would welcome it if your 50 percent were to be sent directly to Naftogaz Ukrainy', but we did not do this. The Ukrainian side did. Like you, I do not know to whom they transferred this fifty percent via Raiffeisenbank. Gazprom does not know either. Believe me, I am telling you the 100-percent truth! This is the Ukrainian part! Ask them about it... They proposed to us that Rosukrenergo supply natural gas to Ukraine instead of Gazprom. We have agreed with this".

What do you think, why did Vladimir Putin send the journalists off to Yushchenko so insistently? He simply sent the hapless Spaniards packing: "Take yourselves off to Hohol-land (Ukraine)". This he did because in one of his files he had what journalists had to find out sooner or later, namely compromising material. Part of this material has appeared now in the Gazprom publication. I think that 's irritation at the American investigation could be explained by two things. Firstly, all compromising material has its day, especially if it is a serious political-financial instrument. I suppose that Gazprom has been forced to leak information ahead of time because of the Americans and thus the effectiveness of the use of this instrument turned out to be not so great. However, we will wait and see. There is another possible reason: Gazprom has no interest in the West's digging seriously into this story because it could turn out by accident that not everything is so wonderful, clean and transparent on the Russian side as is imagined. I recall that everything to do with the Russian half of Rosukrenergo was limited to the phrase: "Everything about us is understood. Our country has Gazprom". Of course, the journalists did not touch upon this half and the documents referring to Russia's fifty percent on the Internet did not drop into their hands. The shots were fired at the other half, which looks, on the basis of the "investigation", somehow unpleasant and even unsightly. It remains only to explain why white and fluffy Gazprom is having a partnership relationship with these unwholesome guys. If, of course, they are really the ones. In general it looks somehow rotten. Gazprom is Gazprom, whatever you say, but these Firtash and Fursin are something else.

The same official report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers, to which refers, was posted by someone on the Internet with premeditation. The report is dated to March of this year. However, the company's audit, as has been mentioned above, was made for the period between July 2004 and December 2005. It referred to the whole company, not just the Ukrainian half. The report states: "the company is owned jointly by two Austrian companies, namely Arosgaz Holding AG, and Centrosgaz Holding AG. The one real de facto owner of Arosgaz Holding AG is the stock company Gazprom and the real de facto owners of Centrosgaz Holding AG are Messrs. D. Firtash (90 percent) and I. Fursin (10 percent)".

This is an account of a joint company, if I understand correctly. All the figures and data in this report are about a joint company, that is a 100-percent entity, not the 50 percent Ukrainian part. Sorry, I mean, Austrian. That is, in 2004 and 2005 Gazprom already knew perfectly well, who its partners were. Even before Yushchenko cam to power, if we take the 2004 months.

I suppose that the professionals have been investing for a long time in the game called Rosukrenergo. Remember what Putin said: Ukraine proposed that we make use of Rosukrenergo. Now add to these words "investigation", "by " with a hint at Yushchenko's link with the owners of Ukraine's 50 percent. Understood? Wily Yushchenko himself suggested the proposal that was not the most advantageous for Ukraine with a specific intermediary because these were his guys (see above).

Who said that Ukraine put forward Rosukrenergo? Putin, of course. Try finding a single piece of evidence, apart from his words, that this was really so. Aha, there is no other evidence. And according to the rules of the said game, it could not be otherwise. Otherwise would mean if Moscow had selected namely this intermediary and insisted upon it, then all the balance of the compromising material would collapse, don't you think?

asked the deputy head of the Gazprom management, Aleksandr Medvedyev who it was that put Rosukrenergo forward. Then he was seized unexpectedly by signs of amnesia: "The proposal to make use of Rosukrenergo in order to avoid conflict was made during negotiations. The negotiating process is a complex matter and I cannot even recall who specifically made this proposal". Then the Ukrainian premier, Yuriy Yekhanurov, remembered. Immediately after the hundred-percent truthful answers from Vladimir Putin to the Spanish journalists he announced that the government of Ukraine was prepared to substitute the company, "taking into account the statement from the Russian side concerning definite remarks referring to the, the Rosukrenergo company".

Now let us rewind the film further back to the beginning of this January. The French publication,, famous in Russia for having been the first to report that Russian individuals were buying up Nogi debts, also issues a bulletin called. quote: "But what is even more troubling is that on January 3, Rosukrenergo sent two bank transfers through the Raiffeisen Zentralbank in Vienna. The first of these - uncovered by Ukraine Intelligence, (a facsimile of the transactions can be seen on our web site) - is for $53 million paid to the order of the Petrogaz company in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. The second, for $12.3 million was to the order of the Refin Commercial Company, registered in Portland, Oregon, which has an account in Hansabank in Estonia. Who owns these two companies? The legal representative for Petrogas is Ramses Kok, and Nestor Shalai is the representative for Refin. But according to informed banking sources close to the Ukrainian security services, Petrogaz is linked to Petr Yushchenko, the president's brother, and Refin is a part of the galaxy of Gazprom's off-shore interests. Why did Rosukrenergo make those transfers, hours before being handed the monopoly on gas supplies to Ukraine? We may well ask the question".

So, as the publication asserts, the day before the contract between Russiaand Ukraine was signed, that is, on January 3, Rosukrenergo made tow bank transfers via Raiffeisenbank: $53 million to Dubai (recipient - the Petrogaz Company), and $12.3 million to Estonia (recipient - the Refin Company). According to data from the publication's news sources, Petrogaz is linked with the brother of the Ukrainian president, Petr Yushchenko, while Refin figures among the off-shore interests of Gazprom. We can only guess why Rosukrenergo made these transfers only a fews hours in total before it became a gas monopoly company in Ukraine.

This remark was made in January before Putin's meeting with the Spanish journalists. When during the meeting the Russian president began insistently to send the journalists off to Yushchenko and swear blind that neither he nor Gazprom knew who the Ukrainian beneficiaries were, I remembered this French remark. Well, of course, I thought, the compromising material has most likely already be drafted and is waiting for its time to come. I do not know, how the French journalist got hold of the information and the documents. There are several ways it could have happened, including via a leak. The editor-in-chief of is a very professional journalist, whom I know very well, so he, as you have noticed, was interested in the other side too, namely Gazprom. In addition to what was mentioned above in the note, there is something pro-Russian in the negotiation: "It is reckoned that certain Gazprom top managers are shareholders in Arosgaz, including Aleksandr Medvedyev and Aleksandr Ryazanov in addition to Semen Mogilevich, who was offered 15 percent, which he decisively refused, however".

Is this not why Aleksandr Medvedyev could not in any way remember, that it was he who proposed Rosukrenergo? In general, such forgetfulness when the tracks of a very large agreement that has only just been signed are fresh, as a rule is not typical of top managers of top companies. Indeed, there is a quotation in this note from the French publication, which allows us once more to doubt that the Russian president was telling the journalists the truth and nothing but the truth. Prime Minister Yekhanurov, as the publication writes, said during a television interview on January 12 this year that Russia had not left Ukraine any choice and had in the final run foisted Rosukrenergo upon it.

When all is said and done, this is a murky story. But it is murky as a whole, not just in its Ukrainian half, as the "investigative journalism" has tried to portray it.

I have a feeling that the current authorities are involved in business in the way they learned in the KGB's higher school. They make contracts in the same way as they force people to collaborate. First you have to frighten the client witless, then you get him a girl or boy, depending on his passions, next you take this down on film, then you scare him again and force him to since the agreement to collaborate. Then you remind him about this piece of paper so that he will not chicken out. If need be, you can use this piece of paper to help you "bump him off". The Kremlin has just not forgiven Yushchenko for the personal shame it he caused during the elections two years ago. Nor will it forgive him. All that has been mentioned above does not mean that President Yushchenko is an angel. There are two real sides to this story, and in the best scenario neither side is an angel, while in the worst, one side has made a giant frame up for the other.