To date, Andrei Igorevich Melnichenko is one of the most influential and wealthy entrepreneurs in Russia, and is also one of the hundred billionaires according to the world famous Forbes magazine. However, many years have passed from the moment of birth to obtaining such a state, many efforts have been made, enviable perseverance and patience have been shown.

Biography of a billionaire

The future oligarch was born on March 8, 1972 in the city of Gomel in a very intelligent and educated family. As expected, the boy followed in the footsteps of his father, a physicist. Either fate smiled at him, or Andrei Melnichenko absorbed knowledge like a sponge, but after the Olympiad in physics he was taken to the physics and mathematics boarding school of Moscow State University. At the end of this school, he enters the Faculty of Physics of Moscow State University, but after a certain time, Melnichenko begins to realize that he is more interested in material values, and not science, since it will not give him the desired financial independence and freedom, so Andrei transferred to the Academy of Economics, which the future businessman successfully graduated from.

Business: from the beginning to the present day

The beginning of the nineties is a rather difficult period in the life of many residents. former USSR, since at that time the salaries of workers and scholarships for students were not paid for several years. In order not to live paycheck to paycheck and have a stable income, Melnichenko, while still a student, develops his own business plan and in 1991 decides to open his own business together with E. Ishchenko and M. Kuznetsov - a travel company. They invest their profits in a new area of ​​business - in an exchange office, the services of which were most often used by people traveling abroad. The exchange of rubles for dollars at that time was a very profitable occupation, but in 1992 it will be missed new law prohibiting such activities to ordinary people. From that moment on, only banks had the right to carry out any financial manipulations.

In order to be able to continue their business further, in 1993 young entrepreneurs decide to open MDM Bank, Andrey Melnichenko becomes its co-founder and remains Chairman of the Board of Directors right up to 1997, until he buys all the shares from his partners. In the same year he graduated from the academy.

As soon as his business starts to go up, he becomes a co-founder of the MDM Group and its president, in addition, Andrei establishes with other members of TMK.

2004 is a rather turbulent year for the oligarch, because, firstly, he sells his stake in TMK, and, secondly, he begins to sell off the bank's shares and is fond of a completely different business. Melnichenko did not fail again, as the industry begins to bring good profits. Today, he receives the lion's share of his income from OAO Eurochem and OAO SUEK.

Family

As for Melnichenko's personal life, he is completely happy in his marriage with a smart and beautiful wife. His wife Alexandra is a singer, a former member of one of the most popular groups in Yugoslavia - Models. After the girl got married and abandoned her career, she devoted all her free time to her husband and tries to support him even in the most difficult moments.

Hobby

Melnichenko loves everything beautiful and noble, so he even chose a hobby for himself that he is not ashamed to tell his oligarch friends about. His yacht A is a masterpiece of art created by Phillip Stark, who has designed everything in it, down to the door handles. The yacht will differ not only in its huge size (119 by 18.87 meters), but also in its exquisite interior decoration all 14 bedrooms, corridors and other rooms.

Andrey Melnichenko is a billionaire, entrepreneur, businessman, investor, chairman of the board of directors and shareholder of the EuroChem mineral and chemical company, SUEK, Siberian Generating Company. According to Forbes magazine, according to the results of 2014, he was ranked ninth in the “Richest Businessmen of Russia” rating, and ranked 97th in the world rating of billionaires.

Biography of Andrey Melnichenko

The future businessman was born on March 8, 1972 in the city of Gomel, Belarus in the family of a physicist and teacher of Russian literature. Melnichenko was a capable student, followed in the footsteps of his father, participated in the Olympiads. After participating in the Republican Physics Olympiad, he received an invitation to study at the Physics and Mathematics boarding school of Moscow State University. He began to receive higher education at Moscow State University at the Faculty of Physics, but then transferred and graduated from the Russian Academy of Economics. G.V. Plekhanov with a degree in finance and credit.

Andrey Melnichenko made his first steps in business just in his student years. In 1991, together with Evgeny Ishchenko and Mikhail Kuznetsov, they organized the Sputnik travel company, after which they began to sell office equipment. But the multi-billion dollar business began with a currency exchange office, which he and his friends organized in the hostel where he lived during his studies at Moscow State University.

Soon a law was passed according to which only banks could carry out foreign exchange transactions. Then Melnichenko and his companions began to cooperate with Premier Bank, where they opened the first exchange office, and soon such offices began to open in other banks. So, a network of exchange offices resulted in the creation of the financial and credit company MDM - Moscow Business World, which in 1993 was issued a license by the Bank of Russia. Initially, the company specialized in foreign exchange transactions, and currency exchange offices began to open not only in Moscow, but also in other Russian cities. Thus, the company was transformed into a real bank, retaining its name MDM.

Business Milestones

In 1998, when the financial crisis broke out, MDM, unlike other banks, was able not only to stay afloat, but also to strengthen its position. The absence of serious competitors in this niche allowed MDM to gain strength and the owners to accumulate decent capital. It was during this period that Melnichenko bought out the shares of his partners in this bank and became the sole owner.

In 2000, MDM and Conversbank merged. Melnichenko acted as a co-founder of the MDM Group. The businessman took not only the post of manager of this bank, but also gained control over financial flows in the nuclear field. It was assumed that during the period of activity it would be possible to concentrate the main flow of the nuclear industry into Conversbank, after which it would be merged with MDM.

In addition, in 2000 Melnichenko got a new partner - Sergey Popov. It was to him that in 2003 Melnichenko sold a 50% stake in MDM. In 2004, a large and profitable transaction took place to sell a stake in TMK. This became possible after the placement of the company's shares on the London Stock Exchange. Over the course of several years, the billionaire gradually sells his shares in MDM, thereby liquidating the MDM Group. Sergei Popov, in turn, leaves EuroChem, after which Andrey Melnichenko becomes the sole owner of the world's largest mineral fertilizer company.

Since the beginning of 2001, the MDM Group has been actively buying shares in large Russian coal mining enterprises, uniting them under the control of SUEK (Siberian Coal Energy Company). At that time, SUEK's main competitor was Krasnoyarskugol. The absorption of a competitor under the control of SUEK would allow establishing a monopoly in this industry and taking control of more than 40% of the coal industry. Thanks to the right steps and confident actions, Krasnoyarskugol became part of SUEK (that is, MDM) in 2002. In the same year, Andrey Melnichenko holds the post of president of the MDM group, where he was until 2004. Thus, the MDM group included three large holdings: OAO SUEK, OAO Eurochem, and OAO Pipe Metallurgical Company.

It is also known that during 2001-2002 MDM-Bank bought up large numbers of regional banks throughout Russia. The number of acquired banks amounted to 10.

February 2005 - June 2006 - Member of the Board of Directors of OAO SUEK. In 2007, the billionaire was elected to the post of chairman of the board of directors of Eurochem.

In 2007, he also joined the Bureau of the Board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. As you know, he also works as a member of the Supervisory Board of the Higher School of Public Administration at Moscow State University.

In 2011, at the initiative of Melnichenko, Siberian Generating Company LLC was created thanks to energy assets that were spun off from SUEK.

Two years later, the entrepreneur buys shares from a business partner and becomes the main shareholder of SUEK and SGK.

In 2013, EuroChem announced that its plants would be built in the US and China, and there are already construction projects.

At the moment, Andrey Melnichenko's capital consists of the following assets:

• Evrokhim OJSC (92.2% of shares) - the largest producer of mineral fertilizers;
• OJSC SUEK (92.2%) is one of the leading coal companies not only in Russia, but also in the world;
• OOO SGK (92.2%) is the leading electric power company in Siberia.

Personal life and hobbies

Alexander Melnichenko has been married to Serb Sandra Nikolic since 2005, better known as Alexandra Melnichenko. The businessman's wife is a former Miss Yugoslavia, a former member of a popular group. The couple had a daughter in 2012. The apartment in the capital of Serbia - Belgrade - is a real work of art and a tribute to the wife's homeland. In general, it should be noted that the famous billionaire has houses all over the world.

He owns his own yacht, which has taken a leading place in the list of the most expensive and unusual yachts in the world, as well as a collection of impressionist paintings.

In 2012, the businessman transferred over $1 billion to charity. The main areas that Melnichenko encourages are sports, educational and healthcare institutions and the development of social initiatives. In 2013, the billionaire's companies allocated more than $1.3 billion to charitable and social projects.

Andrey Melnichenko himself evaluates his style of doing business as an investment one. He likes a clear system of work, when everyone in the company is busy doing what he does best. Of course, risks are inevitable, and at the same time, the main function of a manager in any period of the company's development is to encourage professionals and not allow idiots to work. Perhaps that is why the companies of one of the most influential businessmen in Russia are famous for their stability, growth and ability to take a hit in any crisis. Based on the past years and accumulated experience, Andrey Melnichenko considers himself a happy person. And not in vain.

Thanks to his perseverance and determination, Andrey Melnichenko managed to achieve considerable heights. Today this man is a big businessman. He owns the assets of SUEK, EuroChem, SGC. Due to his fortune, which totals more than 16 billion dollars, Melnichenko was able to become one of the richest businessmen in the world.

Biography

Andrei Melnichenko was born on March 8, 1972 in the Belarusian maternity hospital in the city of Gomel. The boy grew up in his father - a physicist, his mother - a teacher of literature. At school, Andrei was a capable boy. Physics was his favorite subject. Andrew devoted all his free time to her. After a while, the gifted boy was invited to study at the boarding school of Moscow State University in physics and mathematics. It was there that Andrei Melnichenko began to receive higher education. However, over time, his preferences changed. Without finishing his studies at Moscow State University, he is transferred to the Plekhanov Academy with a degree in finance and credit.

For the first time, the future entrepreneur got acquainted with business as a student. So, in 1991, three friends, led by Andrei Melnichenko, open a travel company. However, high profits began to come from the moment the currency exchange office was opened, which was organized by the guys in the dormitory at Moscow State University. After the law came out allowing only banks to carry out currency exchange operations, a new period begins in the biography of Andrei Melnichenko.

In order to somehow get out of the current situation associated with innovation, young businessmen began to cooperate with Premier Bank. It was there that they opened their first exchange point. Soon, such "points" began to appear in other banks. As a result, this led to the fact that the guys created their own financial and credit company MDM. In 1993 it was fully licensed.

What did it all lead to

In 1998, Melnichenko buys out the shares of his partners and becomes the sole owner of the bank.

At the beginning of the "zero" there is a merger of two organizations - MDM and Conversbank. Our hero acted as a co-founder of the MDM group. In the same period, Melnichenko gets a new partner - Sergei Popov, to whom in 2003 he sold half of the assets of his bank.

Also, at the beginning of the “zero”, the MDM group was actively buying up shares from Russian companies whose activities are aimed at coal mining. As a result, SUEK was formed. In addition, 2 more large industries were included in the MDM group: EuroChem and TMK.

In 2011, at the expense of energy shares, the Siberian Generating Company was created. After 2 years, Andrey Melnichenko acquires the shares of his business partner. Due to this, our hero becomes the main shareholder of SUEK and SGK. During the same period, EuroChem announced that its factories would soon appear in the United States and China.

Personal life

Family photos of Andrei Melnichenko and his wife Sandra Nikolic show that they live in a rather happy marriage. Their acquaintance took place at the very period when our hero's business was just beginning to develop. In 2005, the young people got married, and seven years later they had a beautiful daughter, in whom a loving father does not care.

K:Wikipedia:Articles without images (type: not specified)

Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko(born March 8, Gomel, Byelorussian SSR, USSR) - Russian businessman.

With a personal fortune of $ 10.1 billion, in 2016 he took 139th place in the Forbes world ranking of billionaires and 11th among Russian billionaires

Biography

Graduated from the boarding school of the Specialized Educational and Scientific Center of the Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, the Specialized Educational and Scientific Center of the Moscow State University (formerly the boarding school of the Kolmogorov Physics and Mathematics School No. 18). He began to receive higher education at the Faculty of Physics of Moscow State University, later transferred and graduated from the Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics.

• 1993 - co-founded MDM-Bank;
• 1993-1997 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of MDM Bank;
• 1997 - bought shares of MDM Bank from his partners, becoming the sole shareholder of the bank;
• 1997-2001 - Chairman of the Board of MDM Bank;
• 2000 - co-founder of the MDM Group (together with S. V. Popov and M. B. Khodorkovsky). The MDM Group formed three large industrial companies: OAO Evrokhim, OAO SUEK, and OAO Pipe Metallurgical Company;
• 2001-2004 - President of the MDM Group;
• 2004 - sold his stake in TMK in a transaction involving a public offering of the company's shares on the London Stock Exchange; liquidation of the MDM Group.
• 2007 - gradually sold all his shares in MDM Bank to a partner in the MDM Group, concentrating on the development of industrial assets; the partner withdrew from the capital of Evrokhim OJSC, and A. I. Melnichenko became the main owner of Evrokhim.

At various times, he was a member of the boards of directors of RAO UES of Russia and the Pipe Metallurgical Company.

Since 2007, he has been a member of the bureau of the board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP). A.I. Melnichenko - Chairman of the RSPP Commission on the Mining Complex.

2011 - creation on the basis of the energy assets of the SGK company allocated from OAO SUEK.

2013 - A.I. Melnichenko became the main shareholder of SUEK and SGC, having bought out the shares from his partner.

Awards

Business

Among the assets of Andrey Melnichenko:

Andrey Melnichenko is Chairman of the Boards of Directors of SUEK and SGK, a member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Strategy Committee of EuroChem.

According to Forbes Russia data for 2016, EuroChem, SUEK and SGC have invested $12 billion in Russia over the past 8 years. .

Investment style - building leading companies in relevant market segments and creating an environment within such companies that ensures long-term value creation. Risks are leveled by building a balanced corporate governance system. .

State

According to Forbes, in 2012, Melnichenko's companies transferred about 1.2 billion rubles to charity. According to Eurochem, SUEK and SGK, their total spending on social and charitable projects in 2013 is more than 1.3 billion rubles. The main areas of charity are the development of sports, healthcare support, educational programs, the development of social initiatives in the regions where the enterprise operates.

Personal life

Married to Alexandra Melnichenko (nee Nikolic).

Yacht "A" by Andrey Melnichenko was designed by Phillip Starck and built by Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems at the HDW shipyard (Kiel, Germany). She was launched in the summer of 2008 after four years of construction. The length of the yacht is 119 m, the width is 18.87 m, it has two engines of 12,000 hp each. with., on the yacht 14 beds.

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An excerpt characterizing Melnichenko, Andrey Igorevich

- Adieu, ma bonne, [Farewell, my dear,] - answered Prince Vasily, turning away from her.
“Ah, he is in a terrible position,” said the mother to her son, as they got back into the carriage. He barely recognizes anyone.
- I don’t understand, mother, what is his relationship with Pierre? the son asked.
“The testament will say everything, my friend; our destiny depends on it...
“But why do you think he would leave anything for us?”
- Ah, my friend! He is so rich and we are so poor!
“Well, that’s not enough reason, mother.
- Oh my god! My God! How bad he is! mother exclaimed.

When Anna Mikhailovna went with her son to Count Kirill Vladimirovich Bezukhy, Countess Rostova sat alone for a long time, putting a handkerchief to her eyes. Finally, she called.
“What are you, dear,” she said angrily to the girl, who kept herself waiting for several minutes. You don't want to serve, do you? So I will find a place for you.
The countess was upset by the grief and humiliating poverty of her friend and therefore was not in a good mood, which was always expressed in her by the name of the maid "dear" and "you".
“Guilty with,” said the maid.
“Ask the Count for me.
The count, waddling, approached his wife with a somewhat guilty look, as always.
- Well, Countess! What a saute au madere [saute in Madeira] of grouse will be, ma chere! I tried; I gave a thousand rubles for Taraska not for nothing. Costs!
He sat down beside his wife, valiantly leaning his hands on his knees and ruffling his gray hair.
- What do you want, countess?
- Here's what, my friend - what do you have dirty here? she said, pointing to the vest. "That's sauté, right," she added, smiling. - Here's the thing, Count: I need money.
Her face became sad.
- Oh, Countess! ...
And the count began to fuss, taking out his wallet.
- I need a lot, count, I need five hundred rubles.
And she, taking out a cambric handkerchief, rubbed her husband's waistcoat with it.
- Now. Hey, who's there? he shouted in a voice that only people shout, confident that those whom they call will rush headlong to their call. - Send Mitenka to me!
Mitenka, that noble son, brought up by the count, who was now in charge of all his affairs, entered the room with quiet steps.
“That’s what, my dear,” said the count to the respectful man who entered. young man. “Bring me…” he thought. - Yes, 700 rubles, yes. Yes, look, don’t bring such torn and dirty ones as that time, but good ones, for the countess.
“Yes, Mitenka, please, clean ones,” said the countess, sighing sadly.
“Your Excellency, when would you like me to deliver it?” Mitenka said. “If you please, don’t worry, don’t worry,” he added, noticing that the count had already begun to breathe heavily and quickly, which was always a sign of anger. - I was and forgot ... Will you order to deliver this minute?
- Yes, yes, then bring it. Give it to the Countess.
“What gold I have this Mitenka,” added the count, smiling, when the young man left. - There is no such thing as impossible. I can't stand it. Everything is possible.
“Ah, money, count, money, how much grief they cause in the world!” said the Countess. “I really need this money.
“You, countess, are a well-known winder,” said the count, and, kissing his wife’s hand, went back into the study.
When Anna Mikhailovna returned from Bezukhoy again, the countess already had money, all in brand new paper, under a handkerchief on the table, and Anna Mikhailovna noticed that the countess was somehow disturbed.
- Well, my friend? the countess asked.
Oh, what a terrible state he is in! You can't recognize him, he's so bad, so bad; I stayed for a minute and did not say two words ...
“Annette, for God’s sake, don’t refuse me,” the countess suddenly said, blushing, which was so strange with her middle-aged, thin and important face, taking out money from under her handkerchief.
Anna Mikhaylovna instantly understood what was the matter, and already bent down to deftly embrace the countess at the right time.
- Here's Boris from me, for sewing a uniform ...
Anna Mikhaylovna was already embracing her and crying. The Countess was crying too. They wept that they were friendly; and that they are kind; and that they, girlfriends of youth, are occupied with such a low subject - money; and that their youth had passed ... But the tears of both were pleasant ...

Countess Rostova was sitting with her daughters and already with a large number of guests in the drawing room. The count ushered the male guests into his study, offering them his hunter's collection of Turkish pipes. Occasionally he would come out and ask: has she come? They were waiting for Marya Dmitrievna Akhrosimova, nicknamed in society le terrible dragon, [a terrible dragon,] a lady famous not for wealth, not for honors, but for her directness of mind and frank simplicity of address. Marya Dmitrievna was known by the royal family, all of Moscow and all of St. Petersburg knew, and both cities, surprised at her, secretly laughed at her rudeness, told jokes about her; yet everyone, without exception, respected and feared her.
In an office full of smoke, there was a conversation about the war, which was declared by the manifesto, about recruitment. No one has yet read the Manifesto, but everyone knew about its appearance. The count was sitting on an ottoman between two smoking and talking neighbors. The count himself did not smoke or speak, but tilting his head, now to one side, then to the other, he looked with evident pleasure at the smokers and listened to the conversation of his two neighbors, whom he pitted against each other.
One of the speakers was a civilian, with a wrinkled, bilious, and shaven, thin face, a man already approaching old age, although he was dressed like the most fashionable young man; he sat with his feet on the ottoman with the air of a domestic man, and, sideways thrusting amber far into his mouth, impetuously drew in the smoke and screwed up his eyes. It was the old bachelor Shinshin, the cousin of the countess, an evil tongue, as they said about him in Moscow drawing rooms. He seemed to condescend to his interlocutor. Another, fresh, pink, officer of the Guards, impeccably washed, buttoned and combed, held amber near the middle of his mouth and with pink lips slightly pulled out the smoke, releasing it in ringlets from his beautiful mouth. It was that lieutenant Berg, an officer of the Semyonovsky regiment, with whom Boris went to the regiment together and with which Natasha teased Vera, the senior countess, calling Berg her fiancé. The Count sat between them and listened attentively. The most pleasant occupation for the count, with the exception of the game of boston, which he was very fond of, was the position of the listener, especially when he managed to play off two talkative interlocutors.
“Well, how about it, father, mon tres honorable [most respected] Alfons Karlych,” said Shinshin, chuckling and combining (which was the peculiarity of his speech) the most popular Russian expressions with exquisite French phrases. - Vous comptez vous faire des rentes sur l "etat, [Do you expect to have income from the treasury,] do you want to receive income from the company?
- No, Pyotr Nikolaevich, I only want to show that in the cavalry there are much fewer advantages against the infantry. Now consider, Pyotr Nikolaitch, my position...

Russian oligarch, co-owner of the financial group MDM and Converse Bank, whose fortune is estimated at $2.7 billion, how did the billionaire achieve such a fortune?

He studied at the Physics and Mathematics Boarding School of Moscow State University, where he ended up after the Republican Physics Olympiad. In 1989 entered the Faculty of Physics of Moscow State University. Lomonosov.He made his first steps in business at the end of 1991. While still a student, together with partners - now State Duma deputies Yevgeny Ishchenko and Mikhail Kuznetsov - he established the Sputnik travel company, later the partners sold office equipment.Then an exchange office was opened, whose clients were mostly "shuttle traders" who exchanged rubles for dollars. “So we quietly and peacefully existed until December 1992. Then came the legislation, according to which foreign exchange transactions only banks that had the appropriate licenses could be engaged, - says Andrey Melnichenko (Career magazine, 2000). - We started looking for a bank that would give us the opportunity to continue to conduct such operations. We were looking for a smaller bank that would be less expensive and would offer this service cheaper. The search was conducted through a thick telephone directory, the selection logic was simple, like the creation of the world: you need a bank registered in the apartment. Found."The partners began to work with Premier Bank, opened the first exchange office at the bank. Then the second, then it turned out that the volume of business significantly exceeds the volume of the bank's business as a whole, then it was decided to purchase something of our own or open a new business.March 1993 The Bank of Russia issued a license to the financial and credit company MDM (Moscow Business World, the company then specialized in foreign exchange transactions). Several “exchangers” appeared in Moscow, then in Novosibirsk, then in St. Petersburg.There are several versions in the press about the acquisition of initial capital for the creation of MDM, which later became the most powerful financial and industrial group.According to Andrey Melnichenko, the initial capital was earned on currency exchange, it was small - about $ 50 thousand (interview with the Vedomosti newspaper, 2001).According to the Volgograd newspaper Inter, the first money was received thanks to one of the founders of MDM, Yevgeny Ishchenko - a loan was taken from Premier Bank on the security of the apartment of the parents of one of his friends.Another version, actively discussed in the press, was based on the unwillingness of the MDM management to disclose the structure of the share capital. Numerous publications have credited Alexander Smolensky, founder of the Stolichny bank, with financing the creation of MDM Bank. So, for example, Novaya Gazeta writes: “It was Mr. Smolensky who was the founding father of such structures as MDM Bank and Sobin Bank.”Whatever it was, at the end of 1993. Melnichenko, Kuznetsov and Ishchenko received banking license, that is, the company was transformed into a real bank, retaining the name. Subsequently, Andrey Melnichenko received a specialized education, graduating from the Russian Academy of Economics. Plekhanov with a degree in finance and credit.In 1997 MDM Bank turned out to be involved in a criminal story with the Sherkhan company. This is how the Kommersant newspaper wrote about this (1997): “The Moscow police department filed charges of illegal banking 11 employees of the firm "Sherkhan". A few months ago, members of an Afghan group selling hashish, opium and heroin in Moscow came to the attention of employees of the Main Directorate for Illicit Drug Trafficking of the Russian Interior Ministry. Following the Afghans, the police noticed that one of them often visited the office of the Sherkhan company. This company was founded four years ago by an Afghan citizen, Mohammed Sherkhan. The company did not conduct operations - the balance was zero. Nevertheless, almost every day the guards brought huge bags of cash from Sherkhan to MDM Bank. The policemen decided that the company was engaged in some kind of illegal business.

August 1, 1997 law enforcement officials conducted a large-scale operation to detain people who could be associated with Sherkhan. In total, about 60 people were captured then. About 1 billion rubles were confiscated from them. Among the detainees were employees of banks MDM and Russian Financial Traditions. During interrogations, the detained Afghans spoke about how shadow incomes were legalized. Drug dealers handed over their proceeds to Sherkhan every day. Then the employees of the exchange office of the Russian Financial Traditions Bank, working in the same building, helped the Afghans count the proceeds and partially exchanged it for foreign currency, issuing the relevant certificates. The rest of the money was exchanged at the MDM Bank. Mohammed Sherkhan and 10 other employees of his firm were arrested. They were charged with illegal banking activities.

After the completion of the police operation, two State Duma deputies from the Liberal Democratic Party - Ishchenko and Kuznetsov, as well as the management of MDM Bank complained to the Moscow City Prosecutor's Office about the actions of law enforcement agencies. They argued that the police officers had exceeded their official powers (the operatives had not met the time allotted by law to identify the detainees).”In the second half of the 1990s. Andrei Melnichenko meets Alexander Mamut and, in his own words, recommends that Mamut be appointed to the Supervisory Board of MDM Bank. In an interview with Gazeta.ru (1999), Melnichenko says this about it: “We met him in 1997 or 1996. Where, how, who introduced us, I don’t remember. You see, I am quite a sociable person. I have a lot of friends. I don't remember how I met Abramovich, Deripaska. We have an insane amount of mutual friends. We personally had no business relations with Mamut before. He had his own KOPF bank, which is currently in trouble. financial position, but whose license has not yet been revoked. We worked with this bank, like with all the others. We gave loans, attracted funds from them.

I consider him a very strong professional. This is expressed in a fundamental education, a good understanding of the situation, in excellent contacts. All this can be of great help to the bank. He has already brought a number of clients to the bank. For example, Sibneft, which used to be serviced in KOPF. He has a large circle of acquaintances among the governors, which is essential for the bank.”By 1998 MDM has amassed enough influence to join the oligarch caste. But the financial crisis struck, and ambitious plans had to be postponed. The largest banking structures "SBS-Agro", "Inkombank" went bankrupt, but despite the default, MDM remained afloat, according to rumors, thanks to the connections of Alexander Mamut.MDM Bank, taking advantage of the absence of serious competitors in the banking market, quickly gained strength. Accounts in MDM were held by Russian Aluminum, and many enterprises of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, and the chemical industry. It was at this time that Melnichenko became the sole owner of his offspring, having bought out the shares of Ishchenko and Kuznetsov.In the middle of 2000 MDM and Conversbank merged. Together with the post of manager of Converse, Melnichenko gained control over the financial flows of the nuclear industry, which, according to experts, amounted to about $3 billion a year.Andrey Melnichenko, chairman of the board and owner of a 76% stake in MDM Bank, and former Minister of Atomic Energy Yevgeny Adamov planned to concentrate up to 80% of the financial flows of the nuclear industry in Conversbank, after which they would merge it with MDM.At the end of 2000 Melnichenko was appointed Chairman of the Board of Converse Bank, one of the largest and most successful industry banks.After gaining control over Conversbank, Andrey Melnichenko managed to lure a significant number of top managers who previously worked for Alfa Group into his team. According to the head of the press service of Alfa-Bank Vadim Yurko, all these people were offered higher salaries and promotions.But in 2002 a whole wave of dismissals of these managers from MDM structures swept:
- Andrei Sokolov was fired from the post of Deputy Chairman of the Board of Converse Bank. Prior to that, he served as deputy chairman of the board of Alfa-Bank, where he oversaw work with large clients. In particular, his main work was connected with the enterprises of Minatom;
- Kirill Strukov, who previously worked at Alfa-Bank as Deputy Chief Accountant, was dismissed from the post of Chief Accountant of Converse Bank;
- Anton Belobzhebsky was dismissed from the post of head of the department of MDM-Bank for work with state bodies, to which he moved from a similar position in Alfa-Bank;
- Vadim Boyko, who previously held the position of Vice President at Alfa Bank - Curator of Relations with federal authorities authorities (he left Alfa in May 2002), was dismissed from the post of deputy chairman of the board of directors of the MDM group;According to Vadim Yurko, Andrey Melnichenko thus very clearly demonstrated his attitude to human resources, when he easily parted with all those people who were involved in the struggle.From February 2001 MDM Group began to actively buy shares of the country's large coal mining enterprises (Vostsibugol, Chitaugol, Khakasugol, Sakhalin Corporation, Dalvostugol and a number of others), uniting Baikal-ugol under the control of the Siberian Coal Energy Company. It was headed by Oleg Misevra, the former manager of the Kuznetsk Ferroalloys plant (Kemerovo), also owned by MDM.SUEK's main competitor was the Krasnoyarsk Coal Company (KUK) - its products were much cheaper, and its reserves and production volumes were the largest in the country. KUK's pricing policy did not suit MDM at all. The takeover of Krasnoyarskugol would allow SUEK (ie MDM) to take control of about 40% of the entire coal industry in Russia and become a "natural" monopoly in Siberia and the Far East (SATCOR.ru, 2002). KUK became part of SUEK in the second half of 2002.October 2001 Andrey Melnichenko was appointed to the post of Chairman of the Board of Directors of MDM Bank.

Since May 2002 Melnichenko is the President of the MDM Group.

What owns

Andrey Melnichenko is the owner of 50% of the MDM group.
The MDM industrial group includes three industry holdings:
- Siberian Coal Energy Company (SUEK) (includes Vostsibugol, Chita and Krasnoyarsk coal companies, as well as a number of coal assets in Khakassia);
- EuroChem Company (Kovdorsky GOK, Phosphorit, Nevinnomyssky Azot, Lithuanian Lifosa);
- Investment company Rinako (manages controlling stakes in OJSC Taganrog Metallurgical Plant, OJSC Kuznetsk Ferroalloys, OJSC Volgograd Tractor Plant, OJSC Volgograd Motor Plant, OJSC Vek Information Publishing House).Previously, the group also included the Pipe Metallurgical Company (TMK), which unites the Volzhsky, Seversky, Sinarsky pipe plants and the Taganrog Metallurgical Plant, at the end of 2002. it was sold to TMK President Dmitry Pumpyansky.By the beginning of 2002 participants financial group MDM were MDM Bank, Petrovsky People's Bank, Komisotsbank, Vyborg Bank and Murmansksotskombank, as well as the Latvian Trade Bank. In 2002 The group included Uralsibsotsbank, Inkasbank and Konversbank.As of June 30, 2002 The capital of the MDM group according to IFRS was $330 million, total assets - $2.33 billion.

Partners

The most "old" partners of Andrey Melnichenko were Evgeny Ishchenko and Mikhail Kuznetsov.Evgeny Ishchenko, a native of Volgograd, is known as one of the founders of MDM Bank and a former partner of Andrei Melnichenko (in the 1980s, Ishchenko and Melnichenko studied together at the physics and mathematics boarding school at Moscow State University). At MDM, Evgeny was involved in organizing lending to industrial enterprises, developing investment projects. He worked with the enterprises of the Siberian Aluminum group, as well as with Severstal, the Nizhny Tagil Iron and Steel Works, and enterprises of the bus industry. With his participation, a number of successful investment projects have been implemented, for example, a plant for the production of aluminum cans near Moscow on the basis of the Dmitrovsky experimental plant for aluminum canning tape, the Rostar plant has been rebuilt. In 1995 Ishchenko was elected to the State Duma on the list of the Liberal Democratic Party. Three years later, Ishchenko sold his stake in the bank and devoted himself entirely to public politics. In 1999 he won the elections in a single-mandate constituency in Volgograd and soon joined the "People's Deputy" group. However, in the spring of 2001 Ishchenko was expelled from the "people's deputies" (STRINGER, 2002)According to the Volgograd newspaper Inter, despite the sale of his stake in MDM, Ishchenko keeps in touch with Andrey Melnichenko - supposedly the Volga Pipe and Volgograd Tractor Plants went to MDM not without the help of the deputy. He is called the plenipotentiary of MDM in the Volgograd region. “Besides, recently the presidential administration has also made serious bets on him: Yevgeny Petrovich is named among the possible leaders of a new left-wing party, designed to balance the excessively heavy center. Every Ishchenko's initiative, like the recent bill to limit the activities of offshore companies, is instantly picked up by the media. So he has more than enough influence now. Therefore, the MDM will show itself in the Volgograd region” (Volgograd newspaper “Inter”).About Mikhail Kuznetsov in the pre-election book “The road will be mastered by the walking one” it is written: “In 1993. together with a group of the same energetic and talented people with whom Mikhail Kuznetsov previously studied together at a boarding school, he starts an independent business - he creates MDM Bank. In a short time, this bank is one of the largest financial institutions in Russia. How was this achieved? Very simple - everyday work without days off and without a limited working day, as well as strict observance of all the rules determined by law.Mikhail Kuznetsov was born in 1968, in 1992. Graduated from the Faculty of Physics of Moscow State University. Lomonosov. In 1993-1995. served as Deputy Chairman of the Board, Chairman of the Board of MDM Bank. In 1995 was elected to the State Duma, worked as deputy chairman of the Committee on Budget, Taxes, Banks and Finance. In 1999 was elected to the State Duma in the Pskov single-mandate constituency No. 141. In 2000 participated in the election of the governor of the Pskov region.In 2000 Andrey Melnichenko has a new partner - Sergey Popov. “Popov amassed capital in the sale of pipes, as well as non-ferrous and ferrous metals - he was engaged in this business in the mid-1990s. Melnichenko and Popov started working together around 2000,” says one of Andrey Melnichenko's acquaintances to the Vedomosti newspaper (2002). Cooperation between the two businessmen began with a deal to acquire the Volga Pipe Plant. “Popov offered Melnichenko to buy this plant from the Rosprom group. The deal went well, and then they decided to work together, ”says the interlocutor of Vedomosti. In two years, the partners managed to create the MDM industrial group.Nikolai Levitsky, after graduating from the St. Petersburg University of Economics and Finance, managed to be at the helm of a number of major Russian companies. Since 1994 headed Komibank, in 1996-1997. worked in "KomiTEK" and the bank "Imperial", and in 1998-2000. He was Vice President of Slavneft. Since 2000 the manager's career coincided with the strengthening of the MDM group in the country's economy: from September 18, 2000. Levitsky became CEO Kovdorsky GOK, and since 2001. headed EuroChem and managed to include large fertilizer producers in Russia and Lithuania into the holding, producing a total of 4.5 million fertilizers per year. Since February 10, 2003 Levitsky - First Deputy Head of the Komi Republic Vladimir Torlopov.In December 2002 Dmitry Pumpyansky bought a 34% stake in TMK from the owners of the MDM group for $300 million, increasing his stake in the company to 67%. The owners of the MDM group, Sergei Popov and Andrey Melnichenko, retained a 33% stake in TMK.According to the Vedomosti newspaper, structures controlled by TMK own 91% of the shares of the Seversky Pipe Plant, 95% of the shares of the Taganrog Metallurgical Plant, and 100% of the shares of the Volzhsky and Sinarsky Pipe Plants each. In the total volume of Russian pipe production, TMK's share is 41%, in the total volume of pipe exports - 60%.For quite a long time, Alexander Mamut was called among the closest partners of Andrey Melnichenko. Melnichenko himself has repeatedly told the media that Mamut's connections are very useful for the bank. But after Alexander Mamut began to actively promote his concept of banking reform in Russia, Andrei Melnichenko reacted negatively to this, and Mamut left MDM Bank.Andrey Melnichenko has partnership relations with Oleg Deripaska and Roman Abramovich. Both companies are clients of MDM Bank.

Opponents

According to media reports, for a whole year Alfa-Bank waged an uncompromising struggle with MDM-Bank. The head and co-owner of MDM Bank Andrei Melnichenko, with the support of the former Minister for Nuclear Energy Yevgeny Rumyantsev, in December 2000. headed the sectoral Konversbank and announced plans to merge the banks, concentrating up to 80% of the financial flows of Minatom enterprises. After the resignation of Rumyantsev in the spring of 2001. Atomic scientists, with the support of Alfa-Bank, began to fight for the return of control over Converse. The war went on with varying success, but in July 2002. representatives of the MDM group said that "the conflict is settled", MDM managed to bring its stake in "Converse" to 85% and become the winner. However, Andrei Melnichenko, in an interview with Vedomosti, said: “I heard the word “Alpha” in the context of Converse Bank from journalists.”The interests of MDM and Severstal clashed over the acquisition of control over the Kovdorsky GOK. In 2000 Severstal, which uses GOK's iron ore concentrate in steel production, fought alongside MDM for control of GOK. However, MDM quickly managed to form a controlling stake. Until 2000 KUGI of the Murmansk region owned 21.1% of the shares of GOK. Severstal sought to put this package up for sale, but instead, in March 2000. the regional authorities contributed 14.6% of GOK's shares to the authorized capital of several thermal power companies (GUP Kandalaksha Teploset, State Energy Enterprise TEKOS), which shortly thereafter resold MDM's shares. Thanks to this, MDM managed to increase its stake in GOK to a controlling stake. Therefore, MDM turned out to be the only contender for the federal stake in GOK (24.8%), which was sold to him in June 2000.

Lobby

Andrey Melnichenko is considered by the media to be part of the so-called "Family".

Where are interests directed?

Acquisition of regional banks

During 2001-2002 MDM Bank actively bought up regional banks. The number of his "trophies" exceeded 10. MDM is especially active in the North-West: in 2001. he acquired one of the leading retail banks in St. Petersburg - Petrovsky People's Bank, St. Petersburg's Inkasbank and Vyborg Bank, as well as Komisotsbank and Murmansk Sotskombank. MDM structures own Narbank (Kazakhstan), Uralsibsotsbank (Yekaterinburg). In June 2002 MDM confirmed that structures close to it bought a 60% stake in Uraltrustbank. According to the newspaper Vedomosti (2002), structures related to MDM-Bank were negotiating the acquisition of 49.1% of the shares of the Baltic Bank from three companies associated with the St. Petersburg businessman Alexander Sabadash.

Acquisition of coal assets

In December 2002 Oleg Misevra, president of the Siberian Coal Energy Company, told Komsomolskaya Pravda: “Most recently, we signed an agreement to establish a joint venture with the government of the Republic of Komi, the Pechorogol company. In the authorized capital, the government contributed blocks of shares of two large enterprises- Vorkutaugol and Intaugol. As far as I know, a privatization auction is to be held in January to sell federal blocks of shares in these enterprises. We intend to participate in it."The auction was postponed to a later date (during 2003), but the company, which is part of the MDM group, did not abandon its intention to participate in it.

Acquisition of energy assets

According to some reports, MDM structures have concentrated in their hands more than 6% of the shares of RAO UES of Russia. Perhaps in the future a vertically integrated structure will be created, uniting energy companies, coal mining and chemical enterprises. In February 2003 it became known that Andrey Melnichenko, Chairman of the Board of Directors of MDM Bank, and Sergey Popov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of MDM Group, were nominated as candidates for the Board of Directors of RAO UES of Russia.