Putin’s new chef Siman Povarenkin — the gold diplomat and fast-food feudal lord

Siman Povarenkin is a figure whose career sounds like a joke about a gold digger who ended up as the army’s top chef.

Moreover, Povarenkin is an extremely intelligent person: he graduated from the university in Omsk in the field of chemistry and petrochemistry, studied in Germany and France, and possesses outstanding intellect and excellent intuition.

In the mid-1990s, he moved from a few banks and FESCO to owning GeoProMining — an international metal mining giant. As a result, Povarenkin’s fortune is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars, and he lives either in the prestigious London district of Belgravia in an apartment worth £11.3 million or in the French Château Saint-Laurent in Normandy, which he bought for 9,600,000 euros.

He is also known as the co-owner of the coffee shop chain «Shokoladnitsa», an investor in the waste business and gold licenses, as well as a person who can call directly «to the very top».

«The Metallurgical Vertical of Power»

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Povarenkin is a person from the inner circle. His connections with Kremlin structures extend through the power and resource vertical. Special relations bind Povarenkin with Sergey Chemezov — the head of «Rostec» and a long-time acquaintance of Putin from Dresden. Through business circles and joint projects, Povarenkin was noted for his proximity to Igor Sechin and other «heavyweights» of the resource sector.

Another partner of Povarenkin is Igor Rotenberg, the eldest son of Arkadiy, a friend of President Putin. Until 2018, Povarenkin controlled 50% of RBE Group together with Igor — business in Prigozhin’s project changed hands. In 2011-2012, RBE Group was already providing food and laundry services to the Russian army. In 2012, the company earned about 30 billion rubles on military orders. However, the following year, the Russian Ministry of Defense did not renew the contract with RBE. Then it was given to Prigozhin’s «Concord» group, and RBE had to lay off 32,000 employees, although RBE Group remained «in the game», focusing on servicing Russian Railways and Rotenberg’s companies.

In the year the USA sanctioned Prigozhin’s structures, Povarenkin was diligently on course to return to servicing the army — payments from state banks like Sberbank on government contracts were controlled from the Kremlin. Through these channels, he ensured himself access to state handouts — logistics, government procurement, army catering — and quietly shared with the Rotenbergs in the depths of the corridors of power.

It’s no surprise that it was Povarenkin who became the new «Putin’s chef», only not with guns, but with bank accounts and «black cash», part of which goes to kickbacks to benefactors in the Ministry of Defense. After Prigozhin’s death, his catering contracts went to operators involving Povarenkin, which the media called «the replacement of the old guard». «Feeding the army» has become a very profitable business given the chaos on the front and the scale of the military operations.

Around Povarenkin swarm families of influential officials: his business empire is closely linked with people from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the government apparatus. One of his long-standing business partners is a figure in the «Panama Papers», which may indicate the scale of tax evasion schemes and capital withdrawal abroad.

Povarenkin’s Business: From Gold to Cutlets

The main asset is the company GeoProMining, mining gold, silver, and copper in Russia, Armenia, Vietnam, and Uzbekistan. It is through GPM that the main «golden rivers» of capital flow, fueled, according to some media reports, by licenses obtained in a «special favor mode».

In addition to ore and metals, Povarenkin actively invested in the «Shokoladnitsa» coffee shop chain. Through it, as opponents claim, he not only feeds office plankton but also launders «golden» money. In 2023, his structures began discussing projects for supplying the Ministry of Defense, as well as sanitary services and supplying rations for mobilized — a new niche after Prigozhin «lost his way». The key to the success of this business is shares of Sberbank, and therefore — state cover and an endless financial stream.

Povarenkin was also noted in waste disposal projects in Moscow and the Moscow region — though smelly, a very profitable industry, especially considering subsidies from municipal and federal budgets. It is through these structures that billion-dollar orders on regional contracts have passed, and one of the waste operators is rumored to be affiliated with Povarenkin’s relatives.

Through the «National Antimony Company» (NAC), Siman Povarenkin, in alliance with Igor Rotenberg, is trying his hand at extracting antimony (Sverdlovsk region), developing food vending machines in schools and universities, clearly aiming to become a monopolist in this very promising market.

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Scandals and Dual Citizenship

In 2019, the British press was stirred: Povarenkin, owner of licenses for Russia’s strategic resources, calmly owns a British passport and real estate in the EU. As it turned out, he bought the Yves Saint Laurent castle in France for 10 million euros, and settled in London no worse than Abramovich.

According to the Dossier Center, he was checked for the «golden visa» — the very one that allowed wealthy Russians to buy British land in exchange for investments. But, as often happens, the case stalled, and Syman Viktorovich continued to travel on both Europe amidst sanctions and patriotic rhetoric.

His wife Irina received an investor visa back in 2013 for £2 million and moved with the children to London. As it turned out, the family found itself on the list of 700 «suspects» amid the Skripal case, but there were no consequences.

Forbes compared Povarenkin’s situation with Abramovich, especially after entering the UK’s VIP lists, and highlighted — «possible problems like Abramovich». Moreover, his name appeared in unofficial lists of potential individuals subject to sanctions, but every time managed to avoid restrictions — likely due to connections with diplomats and the presence of Cypriot and Maltese «reserves».

Sponsorship of Brexit

In November 2015, Ambassador Yakovenko introduced Povarenkin to Arron Banks. This immediately sparked rumors of investments in six Russian gold mines through Sberbank. Banks himself described the three meetings as a «drunken lunch», but a parliamentary report confirmed a series of discussions on the development of gold mines.

Through connections with Yakovenko, Banks, the main sponsor of the referendum, who spent around 8 million pounds on campaigning for Brexit, discussed with Povarenkin projects on the sidelines of the Brexit campaign — proposals to invest in mining appeared in official negotiations and discussions on foreign finance for the campaign.

Later, the emergence of documents from OCCRP, the Guardian, and the New Yorker suggests that investment projects were indeed discussed.

The Criminal Trail: Quiet, but Smells of Burnt

Povarenkin is mentioned in claims for £7.5 million filed in London by a partner from Yakutia – the talk is about a production debt he allegedly overlooked.

The media also hint at checks by the FAS and law enforcement on «grey» schemes in the army and the purchase of municipal projects. Critics reasonably note: «goods did not pass the SNiPS», «inspectors avoid» — this means the topic is still being discussed on an unofficial level.

Although officially Povarenkin is not featured in open criminal cases, the media, including «Rucompromat» and «Compromat.ru», associated him with dubious episodes. In particular, themes of «grey» gold export schemes through offshore, possible fictitious contracts with municipalities, inflated supplies on defense tenders were mentioned.

There was even talk of checks by British financial intelligence on money laundering (FCA). In one case, it was about a possible connection with the Estonian scheme of laundering funds through local banks with subsequent withdrawal into Arab offshores. However, from a formal perspective, Povarenkin is still clean. Perhaps thanks to the right calls or competent lawyers. Or something else, more substantial.

What the New «Chef» of Defense is Doing Now

After Prigozhin’s death, the business at war was vacant. As journalists of The Moscow Times assert, it was Povarenkin who was considered one of the key candidates for the role of «front supplier» — from food to services. Judging by the media, large contracts for provisions for the Ministry of Defense for 2024-25 ended up with his partners.

GeoProMining continues its expansion in Armenia and Central Asia. And in Russia, Povarenkin is expanding logistical schemes, including in cooperation with military-affiliated structures of the Ministry of Defense and contractors of the Ministry of Defense. There are also rumors that he again began to approach large media projects to polish the image of a «patriot in London».

Povarenkin can be seen at international forums, where he advocates for a «multipolar world», and then — in the VIP lounge of Heathrow Airport. Because Siman Povarenkin is not only a gold miner but also the personification of the Russian elite itself: lives in a French castle, feeds on the Russian state order, speaks like a European, and earns like a Mongolian.