First there was Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book, then Qaddafi the Leader’s Little Green Book, and now, from the witness box of the UK High Court, in testimony given over four days, October 5-8, 2009, comes…

by John Helmer - Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow Sovcomflot chief executive Sergey Frank (left, centre figure) testified in the UK High Court last week that as Russia’s Minister of Transport he opposed the privatisation and IPO sale of Sovcomflot shares, despite company board and other ministry approvals starting in 2002. Under cross-examination by counsel for former CEO Dmitry […]

by John Helmer - Sunday, October 11th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow The board of Vnesheconombank (VEB), the state bailout bank chaired by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, agreed yesterday to extend for a year a $1.8 billion loan to the Evraz group, controlled by Roman Abramovich’s Millhouse holding. The loan was first issued in mid-November 2008, and is the largest single government […]

by John Helmer - Friday, October 9th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow Sergey Frank, the chief executive of state owned Sovcomflot (SCF), one of the top-5 tanker companies in the world, is now into his fourth straight day of cross-examination in the UK High Court for what is turning out to be an unexpectedly dramatic examination of the way high Kremlin officials […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, October 8th, 2009
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By John Helmer On July 31, the UK Court of Appeal upheld the ruling of High Court Justice Christopher Clarke that the administration of law in Russia is liable to be manipulated by powerful Russian businessmen and politically influential individuals pursuing vendettas for their financial gain. “Improper interference by State actors” was the phrase accepted […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
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By John Helmer Sergey Frank, Sovcomflot’s chief executive, has testified in the High Court that he knew nothing about an illegal information- gathering operation, targeted against his rival and former CEO, Dmitry Skarga, but that the figure in charge, who is referred to in the court evidence, may have been Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Igor […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow On Thursday, the Russian state shipping company Sovcomflot (SCF) opened its three-year old, $800 million claim in the UK High Court; Justice Andrew Smith is presiding. Preliminary applications were heard on the first day, along with a presentation by the barrister representing Sovcomflot. Presentations for the defence commence today. Next […]

by John Helmer - Friday, October 2nd, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow Russia’s Economic Development Minister, Elvira Nabiullina (pictured left), has confirmed the government’s intention to privatize the shares of the oil tanker group, Sovcomflot (SCF), which is currently 100% owned by the state. Nabiullina, speaking at an investment conference in Moscow, said that in order to increase state budget revenues, the […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow The state-owned tanker company Sovcomflot will try to sell up to 20% of its shares in a public offering, the former board chairman Igor Shuvalov (pictured right) said yesterday. But the timing may be delayed if a UK High Court trial, focusing on the company’s internal affairs, goes against the […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow Steady as she goes — that isn’t exactly the message from Sovcomflot, Russia’s largest shipping company, and one of the five largest energy shipping, oil and gas tanker fleets in the world. Analysts at Moody’s Investors Service have issued a rating downgrade for the state-owned shipping company Sovcomflot, with a […]

by John Helmer - Monday, May 4th, 2009
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