Why Chichvarkin is on the run (the real story). Euroset is going down in history Is it true that Euroset is being closed?

07/12/2017, Wed, 10:34, Moscow time , Text: Igor Korolev

Megafon and Beeline divided Euroset

The Veon group (its Russian subsidiary VimpelCom operates under the Beeline brand) and Megafon announced that they had reached an agreement on the division of the Euroset retail network. Until now, Euroset belonged on a parity basis to the two indicated cellular operators.

Now Euroset will completely become the property of Megafon, and at the same time, Euroset will transfer half of its showrooms to VimpelCom. Euroset will remain operating as a separate operating company.

As the general director of VimpelCom explained Shell Morten Johnsen, now the focus of mobile operators is shifting from selling SIM cards towards retaining existing subscribers. Therefore, operators must develop their own high-quality retail networks.

The deal with Euroset will double VimpelCom's monobrand network, Johnsen added. CEO of Megafon Sergey Soldatenkov also noted that the deal with Euroset will help mobile operators concentrate on developing their own independent retail networks and optimizing distribution networks.

What is known about the deal structure

Now Euroset has 4.2 thousand showrooms, of which VimpelCom will receive 2.1 thousand.

The deal for the Euroset section has been discussed since the beginning of 2017. Earlier, the Vedomosti and Kommersant newspapers reported that as part of the deal, VimpelCom would pay Megafon 1 billion rubles. against Euroset's debt.

Euroset will be fully owned by Megafon, but half of the 4.2 thousand stores will be taken over by Beeline

The press services of Megafon and VimpelCom did not comment this question. A CNews source familiar with the details of the deal says that VimpelCom will indeed pay Megafon 1.25 billion rubles.

Euroset has been heading the company since 2009 Alexander Malis. A CNews source reported that Malis will retain his post.

The merger with Svyaznoy is just around the corner

Earlier, the Kommersant newspaper wrote that after the division of Euroset, the company would also absorb its competitor, Svyaznoy. Since 2015, Svyaznoy has been under control Oleg Malis, brother of Alexander Malis. A CNews interlocutor says that such a deal is indeed being planned.

At the end of 2016, MTS had 6.2 thousand communication stores, and the company was going to reduce the number of stores to 5.7 thousand. At the end of 2016, Megafon had 4.5 thousand stores (of which 2.5 thousand . by franchise), VimpelCom has 3.7 thousand (of which 2.3 thousand work under a franchise).

“The division of Euroset was a matter of time,” states the general director of the analytical agency Rustelecom. Yuri Bryukvin. - If an asset belongs to two competing operators, then sooner or later one of them will be dissatisfied. A previous example of this was Sky Link. In addition, cellular retail is unprofitable, and it is only needed by the cellular operators themselves, because they compete with each other through sales.”

Brief history of Euroset

Let us remember that Euroset was founded in the late 1990s. Evgeny Chichvarkin And Timur Artemyev. For a long time Euroset was the largest retail network in Russia selling cell phones.

After the 2008 crisis, Euroset was acquired by an entrepreneur Alexander Mamut, who soon resold 49.9% of the company's shares to VimpelCom. VimpelCom had an option to establish control over Euroset, but the operator did not use it.

In 2012, Mamut left the capital of Euroset. 50% of the company began to be owned by Vimpelcom, and the remaining 50% by Megafon and the Garsdale holding, owned by the controlling shareholder of Megafon. Alisher Usmanov. Later, Megafon bought out Garsdale’s share and the company became owned on a parity basis by Megafon and Euroset.

The owners of one of the largest mobile retailers in Russia, Euroset, are going to divide the assets among themselves, including stores and debts. This will allow Megafon to become the leader in the number of sales points in the country. Experts say mobile operators and retailers are still dependent on each other, but the former are increasingly seeking to sell phones on their own to attract subscribers additional services. Euroset itself categorically denies the future division and liquidation of the company.

The Vedomosti newspaper, citing sources in both mobile operators writes that VimpelCom (owns the Beeline brand) has already sent a corresponding proposal to Megafon. If it is accepted, the parties will sign all the necessary documents on December 24. According to the publication, a preliminary plan for the division of salons has already been prepared, but in this form it most likely will not suit Megafon.

Rumors about the upcoming division of Euroset between shareholders have been circulating since spring. It was reported that both operators, who owned the retailer on a parity basis, were going to take over half of its stores (about two thousand each) and join them to their own retail network. At the same time, information about Megafon’s plans during the division varied. According to some sources, he was not averse to buying out the Euroset brand, but Beeline actively opposed this, which was only satisfied with the liquidation of the retailer. According to another version, Megafon is not ready to take on new obligations in the form of Euroset’s debt (according to some sources, it amounts to 15 billion rubles and should go to the new owner of the brand along with the trademark) - the company believes that even without They overpaid for their share.

Meanwhile, the Euroset section (despite the fact that it was allegedly initiated by Beeline) is more beneficial to Megafon. Having received new stores, he will be able to increase their total number to 6,000 and take first place among Russian mobile retailers. Beeline, in turn, will take second place with 5,700 branded outlets. Now (as of the end of 2015) the largest seller of phones in Russia is MTS - the company has 5,166 stores across the country (3,485 of its own and 1,681 franchised). Megafon and Beeline are in third and fourth places, behind Euroset, but ahead of the only independent retailer Svyaznoy, which has 2,900 stores. Telecom Daily analyst Ilya Shatilov believes that the current number of retail outlets is excessive. “The operators themselves, including Megafon, have repeatedly spoken about this. Therefore, many Euroset stores will probably be closed after the division,” he told Profile.

Back in May, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) became interested in the possible deal. The head of the department, Igor Artemyev, feared that the deal could limit competition in the mobile retail market. “Given that the founders are two companies in adjacent markets related to the sale of phones, SIM cards, and so on, competition may be limited. So I think we'll be watching this very closely. Because restrictions occur not only when a merger occurs, but also when companies are destroyed,” the official said, without specifying from whose side the restriction might arise.

Shatilov believes that the transition to mono-brand retail trade is logical for both operators: “Since Beeline and Megafon own Euroset on a parity basis, some conflict of interests arises. Despite the fact that the operators have common owners, everyone is still interested in selling their contracts within Euroset. It turns out there is internal competition between Beeline and Megafon. Of course, it’s wiser to separate.”

Last year, Euroset already took part in a price war with its competitor, MTS. Shortly before this, she stopped cooperating with an independent retailer - the Svyaznoy chain of stores - and, in pursuit of new customers (to whom it was planned to sell contracts at the same time), she reduced the prices of phones almost to cost. After this, Euroset stopped selling Samsung phones, followed by both of its shareholders and Svyaznoy. As a result, the monopoly on Samsung devices moved to MTS, and Euroset's revenue fell by 15%.

The Euroset section, if it takes place, will fit into the situation that Lately is taking shape in the market, says managing partner of TMT-Consulting Konstantin Ankilov. “This trend has been observed since the time of Evgeny Chichvarkin (former owner of Euroset, who emigrated from Russia due to problems with justice in the mid-2000s and sold the company to businessman Alexander Mamut). We are moving from independent retail to dependent retail. Of the largest players, only Svyaznoy and Euroset are still left; this, of course, is a strange situation, and it is clear that sooner or later it must be resolved, Ankilov noted in an interview with Profile. - From a model when operators almost did not have their own retail (and this was just a few years ago), we have come to the conclusion that the majority of sales are carried out at our own retail outlet. And all market leaders have their own retail outlets in the thousands. The scale of operators is comparable to that of retailers.”

The main reason lies in the fact that operators are trying to sell as many contracts as possible and increase their subscriber base, while retailers are focused on selling phones. These differences in the business model pushed Beeline and Megafon to get rid of their own conditionally independent seller. “Independent retailers were relevant in the old days, when there was a growth in subscriber bases, when it was possible to sell contracts through any channels. Now operators can attract consumers to their showrooms to purchase equipment and additionally sell them some services. And he will earn much more from these services than from selling a phone,” Daily Telecom analyst Ilya Shatilov told Profile.

Experts interviewed by Profile agree that Russian realities are forcing operators to concentrate the sale of phones in their own hands. “In America, you can buy an iPhone for three kopecks, but you must be on an operator for two years and you won’t be able to change it. In this case, the operator does not care who will sell the phone. With us, the buyer remains independent of the operator. Therefore, operators are trying to sell phones themselves - they hope to sell devices with 3G, 4G, so that the subscriber will then pay for the Internet. The sale of devices is called a driver for promoting services, primarily the Internet. Plus, they are trying to attract those who need a phone,” says Ankilov.

Shatilov adds that a mono-brand retail network is also more convenient for the buyer: he views it as a one-stop service in which he resolves all communication issues. “In one place they will select a smartphone that will definitely work in the operator’s network and a convenient tariff. And if something happens, they will not drive from one place to another, nodding either to the operator or to the retailer. This is a more civilized approach."

Even though the operators mobile communications They strive to impose as many services as possible on subscribers, but they cannot make much money from this. As, indeed, with the sale of phones. “It turns out to be a vicious circle. Services are currently stagnating or even experiencing negative dynamics. But operators make almost no money from the devices either. This is generally a low-margin business,” says Konstantin Ankilov. An ambiguous situation is also developing in the relations between operators and retailers. On the one hand, operators are not interested in paying remuneration to sellers for attracting new subscribers. On the other hand, they still remain dependent on retailers and are forced to cooperate with them. “If one operator refuses retail, it means that the retailer will sell to other operators, and you will lose your subscriber base and money. Everyone is forced to participate in this. Previously, this was a good thing, but now it is no longer clear whether it is a good thing or not,” concludes the managing partner of TMT Consulting.

He believes that the way out of the situation is the development of a network of communication stores under a franchise from the operator. This way you can reduce costs and not have to negotiate with large retailers on favorable terms every time. Perhaps this is the main argument in favor of the fact that operators will still refuse to cooperate with retailers, says Konstantin Ankilov: “It seems to me that this is still the trend.”

Meanwhile, the president of Euroset, Alexander Malis, has already denied rumors about the division of his company. “I can say that Vedomosti may cease to exist next year. We have worked and are going to work, despite this nonsense that we read in the press today,” he said.

Over the past ten years, Euroset has changed owners more than once. In 2008, Evgeny Chichvarkin, accused in Russia of kidnapping a company freight forwarder and smuggling phones, moved to London and then sold the entire asset to Alexander Mamut. In the same year, 49.9% of the retailer was acquired by VimpelCom. Four years later, the operator bought another 0.1% stake. The remaining 50% went in equal shares to Megafon and the Garsdale company of Alisher Usmanov, who in 2014 sold his share to the same Megafon.

PRO business real

Yes, says the new general director of Euroset, Alexander Malis, Evgeny Chichvarkin has lost his business, political prospects, lost many friends, and Russian prosecutors are seeking his extradition, but he “lives in a good area of ​​a good city.” This is Malis about London. Perhaps the director of Euroset is right, and we need to sympathize with him and his brother: Oleg Malis, vice president of Altimo, is suspected of obstructing the investigation into the Chichvarkin case, tax evasion, possession and use of narcotic drugs, and his phone is tapped Directorate "K" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.

It was Oleg Malis, according to Directorate K, who on December 22 last year helped Chichvarkin, who was under surveillance, to get out of the Altimo office unnoticed, get to Domodedovo and escape to London. That day, in the office of Altimo, the largest shareholder of VimpelCom, which bought Euroset, Chichvarkin was probably discussing payment terms or something like that. "They just missed me," Chichvarkin told Newsweek. While Department K operatives from a car parked at the Altimo office were monitoring Chichvarkin’s car and his security guard, he drove away, lying on the floor of the back seat of another car.

Many details of this thriller are already well known. It is known that on September 22, MTS’s option to purchase Euroset expired, and until it expired, Chichvarkin could not negotiate with other buyers. It is known that on September 3, the vice-president of Euroset, Boris Levin, the second most important participant in the deal on the company’s side, was arrested, and Chichvarkin himself and his assistants began to be dragged for interrogation. It is known that Chichvarkin held out until the right moment and on the night of September 23 finally sold the company to the structures of Alexander Mamut, and those to VimpelCom.

And during the interrogation on December 17, recalls Chichvarkin’s lawyer Yuri Gervis, it became clear that the businessman would be reclassified as an accused. Now Chichvarkin is awaiting a decision from the London High Court on his extradition. It used to be a symbol of success. Now his case symbolizes the relationship between the state and business. Newsweek figured out in detail how Chichvarkin, from a semi-legal smuggler, became a successful businessman and quarreled with the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

BROKER LEFT, ROOF LEAKED

They say that in the spring of 2005, a man arrived at Sheremetyevo customs, introducing himself as an envoy of Directorate “K” of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. His area of ​​responsibility is crimes in the field of high technology. Sheremetyevo customs was the main import channel to Russia mobile phones: approximately two-thirds of the devices entered the country through it. The messenger outlined the parameters of cooperation: “$1 from each device.” This meant about $20 million a year.

Not a single mobile phone sold in Russia before the fall of 2005 was imported legally, cell phone dealers say. Since the beginning of the 2000s, to determine the customs value of imported goods, there was an order from the customs management, which allowed customs clearance of phones according to “risk profiles.” The order was called a “grid”. He allowed customs officers, Chichvarkin recalls, to value phones worth up to $100 at $20, those worth from $100 to $200 at $30, and so on.

Theoretically, the order applied to all market participants. In practice - to a narrow circle of intermediaries. The cost of their services for telephone dealers was 3-7% of the real price of the devices. According to research company IDC, the size of the mobile phone market in 2004 was $4.5 billion. Consequently, traders paid customs brokers from $150 million to $300 million a year for “gray” customs clearance. Approximately two-thirds of the devices were imported through Sheremetyevo customs, the rest “traveled by land” - mainly through the North-West Customs Administration.

The wholesale company Teleko in St. Petersburg and structures associated with Yakov Ardashnikov in Moscow dominated the import market for mobile phones for most large networks at the beginning of 2005. It is unknown whether Ardashnikov was the real beneficiary of these structures or their nominal owner. But the income of his structures exceeded $20 million a year. It was he - or those who stood behind him - who allegedly refused to pay a dollar from the phone in the spring of 2005.

After this, the prosecutor's office began an investigation into abuses at Sheremetyevo. It immediately became clear that the “grid” scheme was categorically illegal. Ardashnikov was put on the wanted list on charges of smuggling, and he fled to Israel. Deputy head of Sheremetyevo customs Valery Kuzmin was sentenced to nine years in prison.

In addition, the police arrested several shipments of phones totaling approximately $100 million as contraband. Criminal cases were also initiated against the traders. “Your broker has left, the roof [at customs] is leaking,” traders allegedly heard approximately these words from representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs cell phones. “Of course, we were scared half to death,” recalls one of them.

DEAL WITH GREF

The police have confiscated phones before. Market participants even suspected customs brokers of handing over to the authorities the logistics of the movement of “gray” pipes. Authorities came to the warehouse for inspections and discovered smuggled goods. “The phones were simply taken away without any paperwork, and no one complained,” recalls one of the market participants. What was there to complain about? These telephone numbers were not included in the papers. Then the police sold them to professional dealers - often the same ones from whom these pipes had just been confiscated. The asking price is 30% of the cost of the phone according to the “risk profile”, that is, fortunately for the dealer, greatly underestimated. Nevertheless, market participants estimated the volume of these fees to be at least $50 million per year.

But the arrests that took place in August 2005 went beyond the usual: at one point, almost a month’s worth of devices were confiscated. Many small traders were left without working capital. There was no money to import a new batch. And it is not clear how - the intermediary left for Israel, the scheme did not work. Initiated criminal cases added to the fear. “As a result, there were practically no deliveries of phones to Russia for several months,” says Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at Mobile Research Group. Euroset employees bought phones from other stores just to have something to put on the shelf, recalls Denis Kuskov, head of the St. Petersburg agency Telecom Daily.

Why the security forces suddenly seized such a large shipment is not entirely clear. According to one version, work was underway to create a single customs broker, which, instead of the Ardashnikov and Teleko structures, would deal with customs clearance of phones throughout Russia. According to another, Ardashnikov himself crossed someone’s road. But no one expected that such a scandal would come out of this story, and especially with such consequences.

The story made it into the newspapers, and the Minister of Economic Development German Gref, who was assigned to oversee the work of customs by Vladimir Putin in 2004, learned about it. The minister summoned major market players and had a tough conversation with them. “We talked for more than two hours until Gref understood in detail how and why this business works,” says one of the meeting participants. As a result, Gref offered the traders a deal: they refuse the services of all intermediaries, honestly pay all taxes and fees at the border, and he personally guarantees that their cargo will be cleared at customs accurately and on time. “If there is a delay of even two days, call me at the reception immediately,” the traders allegedly left the meeting with such parting words.

Euroset was the first to switch to direct contracts with suppliers, followed by others. Gref’s scheme was more expensive for the market - 24% of the cost of imports, that is, at least $600-700 million per year. In Ardashnikov’s scheme, taking into account market growth, businessmen would lose only $300-400 million a year. But “white” customs clearance had obvious advantages. Banks began to give cheaper loans against it. Income has become more predictable and transparent from the investors' point of view. And most importantly, the risk of criminal prosecution has dropped sharply. At the end of 2005, Chichvarkin started talking about an IPO: from a small, semi-criminal businessman, a mobile phone seller was turning before our eyes into a respected businessman who could no longer be approached so easily.

FUCK YOU, NOT IPO

In March 2006, customs officers discovered that the temporary storage warehouse in the Sheremetyevo-Cargo terminal was being monitored by Department K employees. This means that they had reason to believe that there was some kind of disorder with high-tech cargo, customs officers reasoned. The last visit of the “kushniks” to Sheremetyevo ended in arrests and a high-profile criminal case. With this in mind, the head of the post ordered a complete check of the cargo arriving at the warehouse.

The cargo represented 167,500 Motorola phones, imported by Euroset. “What we were most afraid of then was misgrading; with such large quantities it is almost inevitable,” recalls one of the former Euroset consultants. Misgrading is when the actual number of models does not coincide with that stated in the declaration.

For ten days, customs officers opened all the phone boxes, one by one, and checked the contents. There is a fine for misgrading, and Euroset has already prepared the money. But Motorola did a fantastic job, says the same consultant, and the number of models exactly matched what was stated. The check ended, the cargo left the territory of the customs warehouse and on the night of March 29 was arrested by the “kushniks”.

“FUCK you, not the IPO,” one of the arresting officers allegedly said. According to some sources, an intermediary came to Euroset, who first offered to solve the problem for $10 million. Then it was as if they negotiated down to $5 million. It seemed that everything was returning to normal: there are security forces, there are businessmen whom they milk.

In fact, a lot has changed. Previously, traders carried the money themselves because they knew that their goods were imported illegally. Now the owners of Euroset have realized that buying back the devices is no longer the only option.

With the transition to legal status, deliveries began to be carried out on DDU terms - delivery duty unpaid. Roughly speaking, if previously the insurer’s responsibility ended at the moment unloading began in Moscow, now it ends at the recipient’s warehouse. And getting insurance turned out to be more profitable than buying goods from intermediaries.

By that time, the Ministry of Internal Affairs already had an expert opinion that phones pose a health hazard. On April 27, Vladimir Knyazev, an employee of Directorate K, signed an act on the destruction of almost 50,000 devices. Journalists were invited to this procedure. And the destroyed devices themselves soon appeared for sale on the Tsaritsyn market. According to former Euroset employees, up to 30,000 Motorola phones were sold there.

In order to obtain compensation from the insurance company Atradius, it was necessary to prove to it that the phones had been properly cleared through customs (under the terms of DDU, duty payment is the responsibility of the buyer). And also that the phones really did not reach the buyer and the devices from the insured lot that ended up on the shelves have nothing to do with him.

Proving this was not so easy. At first the phones were declared contraband. Customs did not confirm this. Then - counterfeit: allegedly Motorola did not give permission for supplies. The Americans confirmed in an official letter that the phones were delivered to Russia with their knowledge and consent.

At the same time, Motorola, says a source close to Euroset, complained to the State Department. And in July 2006, before the G8 summit in St. Petersburg, meeting with Vladimir Putin, George Bush, according to some sources, casually mentioned the story with Motorola. The source says that an enraged Putin called the Minister of Internal Affairs Rashid Nurgaliev, the head of the Ministry of Economic Development German Gref and ordered both to investigate and report.

Less than two months have passed since Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov was suddenly removed from his post and the investigation into the “Three Whales” case - a furniture smuggling case supervised by FSB officers - was resumed. After listening to Gref and Nurgaliev, Putin unexpectedly sided with the businessmen.

It turned out that the examination report was false. The act of destruction of the devices also turned out to be fake. Vice President of Euroset Boris Levin proved to the insurance company Atradius that the phones were stolen. Atradius paid the refund and walked away with Russian market. A criminal case was initiated against the policemen. Four low-ranking law enforcement officers were convicted; investigator Dmitry Latysh, who gave the order to destroy the phones, is still on the run. Boris Levin became enemy number one for the police.

ANDREY, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

Businessmen suspect that just a few years ago the police had informants at customs who reported to them about the routes of “gray” phones. And businessmen had sources who warned about these checks. Having received a warning, traders sent forwarders to the warehouses, and they removed as many phones as they could before the inspections began.

Dmitry Kanunnikov worked at Euroset as an auditor. His job was to monitor whether the company's employees were stealing. By the time Kanunnikov caught freight forwarder Andrei Vlaskin stealing goods worth about a million dollars, he had already bought a BMW X5 and Mercedes ML 320, began building a cottage near Moscow and paid his driver Dmitry Smurgin $2,000 a month, although he himself received it from Euroset. $1200.

On May 15, 2003, a banner with an offensive hand grenade (RGN) was hung on the door of the Kanunnikovs’ apartment. A few days later, he himself was beaten by unknown assailants and stabbed several times. Nevertheless, Kanunnikov set the matter in motion. On July 21, manager Victoria Nakhshunova, the boss of the forwarder Vlaskin, called him with the question: “Andrey, what have you done?” Two hours later, Nakhshunova called back again: Smurgin, Vlaskin’s partner, had already been taken and was going after him.

Prepared for such a development of the situation, Vlaskin and his family left for a village in the Tambov region in his BMW X5. They searched for him for almost six months. On December 27 in Tambov, after going out to get a drink from a party, forwarder Vlaskin asked a random passerby for a light. He presented his identification as an employee of the Investigative Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the city of Moscow and tried to handcuff Vlaskin. A fight ensued. The forwarder was forced into a car and taken to Moscow.

The arrest warrant was issued by Major Denis Evsyukov. The forwarder brought to Moscow was first interrogated by the police. Then the operatives released him on his own recognizance and handed him over to the vice-president of Euroset Levin and his people. Levin personally handcuffed him. Vlaskin was kept in rented apartments and, he claims, was severely beaten at least once.

In January, freight forwarder Vlaskin, dressed in a woman’s wig and dressed in a woman’s fur coat and hat, ran away from a rented apartment in Moscow’s Brateev. However, then within a year he re-registered his property to one of the Euroset employees. When the value of the transferred property exceeded half the value of the stolen property, the company abandoned its material claims, and the case against Vlaskin was closed, says lawyer Marat Faizulin. He admits that the Euroset security service exceeded its powers: the police should have done all this, but they did nothing.

WINDOW ON THE BORDER

By last summer, Euroset had been reporting according to international standards for three years. This is a necessary condition for an IPO. Chichvarkin was looking for a strategic investor - he claims that he wanted to sell the company because he foresaw a crisis. Cellular companies They could no longer grow due to a general increase in the number of subscribers - everyone who could had already connected - and began to lure clients away from each other. Large pipe traders are the ideal instrument for such a fight, and Euroset was an attractive asset in the market.

Chichvarkin almost reached an agreement with MTS when, at the end of July, Boris Levin allegedly came to his office and said that there would be no deal: “A raider takeover is being prepared, they want to take everything for nothing.” “This can't happen. Borya, you’ve worked too much, you’re tired, it’s time for you to go on vacation,” Chichvarkin allegedly replied. Sistema OJSC, which owns MTS, has since repeatedly publicly denied its involvement in these events.

Levin returned from vacation and was soon arrested - on his desk they found a folder with materials on the development of the forwarder Vlaskin, who at the end of July began to actively testify to Euroset. The standard procedure for a raider takeover is as follows: a criminal case is opened against the head of the company, he ends up in a pre-trial detention center and does not prevent the new owners from taking over the business.

Chichvarkin considered himself inviolable: he was a public figure, a member of the Kremlin, and was Dmitry Medvedev’s confidant in the presidential elections. A week after Levin’s arrest, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov called him and congratulated him on his birthday, says the businessman’s lawyer, Yuri Gervis. Chichvarkin decided that this was a sign: despite the arrests, criminal case and threats, he had not yet been written off. The company was sold to VimpelCom.

At the same time, Chichvarkin was offered to head the Moscow branch of the Right Cause party - this was also a sign of support from the Kremlin. A source close to the Kremlin makes it clear that everyone in the Kremlin supported Chichvarkin, in particular because he was ready to invest his own resources in promoting the “Right Cause”. The entrepreneur clearly felt safe.

Why the persecution of Chichvarkin himself then began is not entirely clear. One version - political - is that after the “March of Dissent” was brutally suppressed in Moscow on December 14, Chichvarkin spoke out on his party activists in the spirit that “Right Cause”, a party of entrepreneurs, should fight police brutality . This version is doubtful. According to another version, the most general, feeling support from officials, the businessman overestimated his capabilities in the fight against the security forces: as the story of the freight forwarder Vlaskin surfaced, Kremlin employees wanted to help him less and less.

One way or another, the green light turned on in the Chichvarkin case. The head of the Investigative Committee, Bastrykin, was given the command to “dig up on him in two days,” says a source close to the Kremlin. According to him, the maximum that they could do for Chichvarkin was to warn him that it was time to leave. The pressure was growing. Chichvarkin’s summons was carried by the same employee of Directorate “K”, Vladimir Knyazev, who in the spring signed an act on the destruction of confiscated Motorola phones. On December 22, Chichvarkin drove his car, accompanied by a security guard, to the Altimo office.

Retailers Svyaznoy and Euroset are merging. Such a statement was made by the owner of Solvers (the controlling shareholder of this retailer) Oleg Malis at a meeting with Svyaznoy managers, Vedomosti writes, citing sources.

According to the publication, the merger with Svyaznoy is an issue resolved back in 2016. The companies' business processes, their pricing policies and back office will be merged - so that the merged company will single-handedly work with suppliers. Kommersant previously reported.

The merger with Svyaznoy will be preceded by ". Now it is equally owned by VimpelCom and MegaFon, but in mid-July the operators announced that the largest Russian multi-brand network would come under the sole management of MegaFon. At the same time, it will remain an autonomous operating company and retain its brand. VimpelCom will receive half of Euroset's 4,200 showrooms, paying an additional 1.25 billion rubles for them. The deal should be closed in the fourth quarter of 2017, operators expect.

VimpelCom and MegaFon agreed on the terms of the division of Euroset

VimpelCom (Beeline brand) will receive half of Euroset's stores. In return mobile operator will transfer 50% of the retailer's shares to MegaFon and assume part of its debt

MegaFon may add its mono-brand retail network to the new merged company. The operator is going to receive a minority stake in the joint venture with Svyaznoy, one of the newspaper’s sources reported.

Operators have repeatedly admitted that cellular retail in Russia is redundant and the costs of its development ultimately put pressure on business margins. According to UBS analysts, Russian operators spend 8-9% (2 percentage points more than two years ago) of their revenue on sales and marketing. In the event of the merger of Svyaznoy stores with Euroset stores, which were transferred to MegaFon, their number will approach 5 thousand. Only MTS has more - by April there were 5,725 communication stores. Analysts from Citi and VTB Capital call the division of Euroset the beginning of further rationalization of this retail market, and the merger of the asset with Svyaznoy is its logical continuation.

Against this background, there should be a change in the head of Svyaznoy. The current president of the company is Evgeniy, the bank previously reported. Vice-President of Euroset Viktor Lukanin may become the new president. A person familiar with the top managers of Svyaznoy and Euroset confirms that Lukanin’s candidacy is being considered. But there are other options, he says.

A MegaFon representative said that the company is considering different options for the development of Euroset, subject to the completion of the deal to divide it.