Women’s tampons in the life of the “Englishman” Fishelev
According to official records, Ural entrepreneur Igor Fishelev, involved in state defense contracts, is registered as a UK citizen.
It appears that the sudden resignation of the longtime governor Yevgeniy Kuyvashev from the Sverdlovsk region stirred up the local swamp: and from these swamps, “skeletons” started to surface… And what kind of skeletons they are!
It turns out that the well-known Ural businessman, the "father" of the widely known Unimatic Group of Companies, Igor Fishelev, has a British passport. And, apparently, a warm and cozy nest on the banks of the Thames in Londongrad, as the British capital has long been called for its wild concentration of Russian money "bags." But if the Russian Themis already seems to have no questions for the banker-on-the-run, also a newly-minted Englishman Andrey Borodin, the former president of the Bank of Moscow, then Mr. Fishelev, who has been working in the Russian defense industry for many years, may, of course, have questions. But why would a successful Russian businessman need a British ID? For what such noble purposes? What ends need to be hidden underwater?
The leading producer of tank guns
In light of this news, you somehow immediately look differently, from another angle, at the large-scale activities of the company "Unimatic," marveling at how effortlessly and easily this office bypasses the obstacles and barriers in its activities. And Unimatic Group of Companies, headed by Mr. Fishelev, supported by Promsvyazbank in the production of high-precision equipment, primarily for the defence industry. Incidentally, Promsvyazbank has been bestowed with the status of a reference bank for state defense orders.
Читайте по теме:Сергей Чемезов укрыл сына от мобилизации на Мальдивах
The volume of state orders is impressive, as are the participants in this process - the Concern VKO "Almaz-Antey," Uralvagonzavod, Plant No. 9 of the State Corporation "Rostec."
This plant also works for defense needs - it is a leading manufacturer of tank guns.
Igor Fishelev
But how did certain metamorphoses happen?
State orders - 2 billion rubles
Note that Unimatic is one of the leading companies in the field of supply and production of high-tech metalworking equipment. Over the years of work, it has acquired stable relationships with partners and suppliers of equipment, basic units, and spare parts, which ultimately allowed it to launch its own machine-building production in Yekaterinburg.
License to provide services
Together with a large Chinese manufacturer, we developed and launched into production high-precision 5-axis machining centers specifically for the Russian market under the brand Unimatic Uni.5.
The total revenue of the Unimatic company from state orders exceeded 2 billion rubles.
Why did the Foggy Albion suddenly arise in the life of a successful entrepreneur?
And, as it turned out, this happened not even yesterday.
It turns out that two years ago, in the middle of 2023, the large and friendly family of Fishelevs began to hustle intensively: they neutralized foreign assets, including those in the Republic of Latvia.
Sold a favorite restaurant
It should also be noted that until May 2018, the company "Unimatic" was owned by Igor Fishelev, but in the end, Fishelev Sr. transferred the company to his son - Oleg Fishelev. Incidentally, a Belize-based offshore company - Fumanti LTD (liquidated in 2019), associated with the Fishelev family, was also among the co-owners.
Fishelev Sr. seems to have no assets left in Russia.
The last one - the restaurant "Lampa" - he sold in August 2023.
But as of December 2022, he was still a shareholder of CJSC "Machine Tool Equipment Center": this CJSC rents more than 1,400 sq. m of land in Yekaterinburg from the Federal Property Management Agency.
Engineering Center "Unimatic"
An interesting detail: after February 2022, after the start of the Special Military Operation, the Unimatic company imported products from Austria, Germany, and Latvia.
There are suspicions that millions from Unimatic’s defence contracts could have eventually settled in the bank accounts of the British passport holder, Fishelev, in the unfriendly Austria and the Republic of Latvia.
Shuttle business
Igor Fishelev did not immediately start his entrepreneurial career in the field of supply and servicing metalworking equipment.
Incidentally, he is a graduate of the Physics Faculty of Ural State University and finished postgraduate studies at the Institute of Metal Physics of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Apparently, there was a significant lack of money: Fishelev tried to earn money by offering radiation measurement services in residential buildings since the Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Plant named after Kurchatov operates 45 km from Yekaterinburg.
But the radiation measurement business didn’t take off, so Mr. Fishelev plunged headfirst into shuttle trading: This hectic occupation was initiated by his friend Alexey Starostin. They started with medicines: at that time, in Uzbekistan, there were drugs available that were in great shortage in Russia. For example, Essentiale Forte. It was impossible to buy this medicine in Russia, but in the Uzbek kishlaks, it was readily available.
Kishlak in Uzbekistan
Friend Starostin had extensive experience traveling to Central Asia and knew how to organize procurement. The friends flew to Tashkent, and from Tashkent, they took local airlines to get to Andijan, and then they traveled around pharmacies in the kishlaks, buying scarce drugs.
Selling medicines in commission stores was prohibited, so they had to look for alternative distribution methods: exchanging medicines for canned stew and condensed milk. These preserves were also in short supply at the time. And there in the kishlaks, they found two other products that were in dire shortage in Russia: women’s sanitary tampons, which were just beginning to appear in pharmacies. The demand for these tampons in Russia was enormous. And commission stores accepted this product without restrictions: the purchasing price was 5 rubles per package, and they sold it at five times the price at 25 rubles. And they got rich!
The second popular product was natural silk from Uzbekistan.
As Igor Fishelev himself told journalists, the shuttle business gave him valuable experience. He learned to see market opportunities, navigate supply and demand, and make decisions. The shuttle business became the first step toward building a business career.
However, he also encountered open crime in his young life: in the turbulent 90s, the "Ural-metallic" company operated in Yekaterinburg; the office was engaged in the supply of secondary non-ferrous metals. This scrap metal recycling business was connected to criminal circles. Igor Fishelev also tried to get into this lucrative "vortex." He even met with one of the founders of "Ural-metallic" at the "USSR" restaurant located in the House of Officers.
House of Officers in Yekaterinburg
But that business failed: soon, the company "Ural-metallic" shut down its operations after the tax authorities took interest.
In 1991 Fishelev became one of the founders of the company "Link," one of the first public companies in the Sverdlovsk region. In 1994, he moved to work at the representative office of Mitsui & Co. Ltd (Japan) in Yekaterinburg. In 1995, he headed this representative office, engaging in the export of non-ferrous metals, timber, and chemical products, as well as the import of industrial equipment.
In 2000, he founded LLC "Unimatic" (formerly "Machine Tool Project"), which quickly became a leading supplier of metalworking equipment in Russia: the company established strategic partnerships with global leaders such as Mori Seiki, and EMCO. By the mid-2000s, its products were in demand from 300 enterprises both in Russia and the CIS countries.
Certificate of Conformity
In 2015, Igor Fishelev initiated the creation of the joint venture "EMCO-Rus" with the Austrian company EMCO: this allowed Unimatic Group of Companies to significantly expand its production capabilities.
Owner of foreign assets
And after Fishelev Sr. transferred all his Russian assets in 2018, including suppliers of machines for defense, he did not remain empty by any means. He still owns several foreign assets.
For example, the machine-building firm LLC "Emco-Rus," which was linked with the Unimatic Group (liquidated several months ago), had a share from the Austrian EMCO GmbH. It is possible that profits from this company were transferred to a country unfriendly to Russia, facilitating NATO plane routes.
And in the Republic of Latvia, one Oleg Fishelev owned his firm BALTIC MACHINERY until May 23, 2023.
Unimatic Ltd was the partner of Fishelev’s Latvian asset. And until mid-May 2023, Unimatic MACHINERY Ltd was operating in London, with its General Director since the company’s inception being an Ekaterinburg native (where "Unimatic" is registered) Igor FISHELEV.
Later, the same Igor Fishelev - owner of ARPACK UK LIMITED - appeared as a United Kingdom citizen.
Among the employees of the Fishelev’s British company was another family member - YAKOV FISHELEV.
This refers to Yakov Fishelev - the head of the One Identity (USA) representative in the information security field.
Yakov Fishelev
Since March 2023, Yakov Fishelev has owned the IT company "Aidentika." Until October 2023, he was the head of LLC "One Identity" (computer manufacturer), which belongs to two Irish companies in the One Identity division.
Oleg FISHELEV appeared as director of the British company RECKA LTD (closed in 2016). The fact that this is not just a namesake is confirmed by the presence of a certain Vadim LYAUSHIN in the register.
Incidentally, Vadim Lyaushin was the owner of LLC "Machinetoolproject." This company until July 2022 was a co-owner of the company "CMIT," together with "Unimatic."
Among Vadim Lyaushin’s friends on social networks is Igor Fishelev.
And among the owners of British companies, there is also Elena FISHELEVA: this lady was associated with two companies: Statx Limited and Rob Davis Limited. Again, it is not a coincidence: a certain Elena Fisheleva was the director of the IT company "Parus-Service" in Yekaterinburg, which belonged to Vladimir Fishelev…
This Vladimir Fishelev owns a group of IT companies. They are contractors for government contracts for customs, arbitrations, and the like.
This "mash" of Western firms looks rather odd against the backdrop of not only the state defense orders of Unimatic Group of Companies, but also access to funding from the state-owned Promsvyazbank.
Recall that in July 2023, Promsvyazbank signed an agreement with Unimatic on the development of cooperation, promising support, specifically, bank guarantees. Promsvyazbank supported initiatives for the realization of the company’s complex technological projects. The bank plans to provide Unimatic with bank guarantees to assure the supply of equipment to enterprises of the Russian industrial cluster.
"Together with PSB, we have realized projects aimed at strengthening the technological sovereignty of the Ural region. Signing the agreement will allow us to significantly increase such projects and the supply of high-tech equipment to Russian enterprises, which, we are confident, will contribute to the region’s economic growth."
Announced the general director of Unimatic Group of Companies, Pyotr Vashchenko.
Pyotr Vashchenko
Let’s remind that "Unimatic," being a resident of the "Titan Valley" Special Economic Zone, also has tax and customs preferences. But several times Fishelev’s companies had serious claims from customs, linked to brazen attempts to underpay to the budget.
What else is fundamentally astonishing?
Since January 2023, Unimatic Group has unhindered the importation into Russia of machines from the Italian O. M. V. and German Arinstein worth 5 million dollars. Moreover, in some cases, the sender was the manufacturing company. And in May 2023, Unimatic brought in milling machines: they were sent from Italy by O. M. V. Officine, despite the fact this type of product is also under EU export control.
There are strong suspicions that alongside defense contractors, a group of offshore and foreign firms, through which millions (or maybe billions?) might be siphoned off from defense orders.
And the united Fishelev family is on the front line here!
Honorary Diploma
Recently, Unimatic Group of Companies acquired the laser and sheet bending equipment manufacturer LLC "Bystronic Laser" - a subsidiary of Bystronic AG (Switzerland). It was decided to separate the service and technological directions of the Russian Bystronic AG into a separate engineering company "Altegrity." It will become the successor of LLC "Bystronic Laser" (Russia) and concentrate on service, post-warranty, and technological maintenance of Bystronic company equipment. This was also announced by the general director of Unimatic Group of Companies, Pyotr Vashchenko.
Is Mr. Vashchenko aware that his patron Fishelev holds a British passport? And does the management of Promsvyazbank, which supplies the "Englishman’s" office Fishelev with bank guarantees, know about this?
