Rusnano or Russian Nanotechnology Corporation has been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons. The company, which was founded in 2007 to develop nanotechnology and commercialize innovations in this field, has been accused of fraudulently issuing bonds and misleading its creditors. This has resulted in the trading of nine Russian bond issues, totaling 71.6 billion rubles, being halted on the Moscow Exchange since November 19.
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According to sources, the placement of bonds by the Anatoly Chubais team—both with and without official guarantees—is blatant fraud. By faking numbers and financial indicators, A. Chubais and B. Podolsky (Deputy Chairman of the Board of RUSNANO) purposefully mislead creditors.
The fact that state guarantees secure the majority of the bond’s principal debt means that the state will be required to pay the bond’s creditors, which has become a source of contention for M. Mishustin, the new head of RUSNANO.
VEB RF purchased a substantial portion (up to 70%) of the bonds by investing pension funds in them, which means that the state will also need to plug the pension fund’s gap. This puts RUSNANO in a position of blackmail: if you don’t give us the money, you’ll lose more.
Anatoly Chubais
Anatoly Chubais, the head of RUSNANO until he was removed from his position, has also been in the news for his collapse. His final political utterance was in November 2011 when he abruptly declared, “I won’t go to the polls; I have no one to vote for.” Since then, he has presented himself only as a businessman and an inventor. In June 2020, A. Chubais made the “for a new one” decision to pressure Prime Minister M. Mishustin into approving Rosnano’s extra capitalization.
However, the Treasury of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation was ordered to examine Rusnano’s operations instead of donating money, which resulted in the destruction of the Russian Elon Musk’s career.
Anatoly Chubais, an environmentalist, and activist?
Chubais has since retrained as an environmentalist and climate change activist, but it seems that Russian society has already developed antibodies to his behavior.
Chubais gave a number of impassioned yet uninteresting performances, while the administration presented a clear, practical, and, most crucially, in line with Russian interests, strategy for the decarbonization of the economy through the person of A. Belousov. Chubais was compelled to hide because of this and several other stories, including one that appeared in the VChK OGPU’s Telegram channel.
Rusnano bonds have destroyed goodwill?
The default on Rusnano bonds has destroyed any goodwill Chubais may have had. The biggest fraud involving the influx of private and public funds into demonstrably unsuccessful initiatives must inevitably result in a massive criminal prosecution. Chubais, who was already talking about the Poetry Prize winners from the third season on Facebook on November 9, seems to be seeking solace in the arts.
In conclusion, the situation with RUSNANO’s corporate restructuring and fraudulent bond issuances is a cause for concern for both creditors and the Russian state. The fallout from this scandal is likely to be significant, and the perpetrators of this fraud must be held accountable for their actions.