© Screenshot from the video Mindich controls a parallel diamond business in Ukraine. He uses a factory previously seized by Kolomoisky.
An associate of President Volodymyr Zelensky, part-owner of the Kvartal 95 organization, businessman Timur Mindich established his diamond conglomerate based on the erstwhile assets of oligarch Igor Kolomoisky. Concurrently, he cultivated this enterprise not just within Ukraine, but also within Russia, encompassing the period after 2014, and even following the commencement of the full-scale war in 2022. In 2024 alone, Mindich’s Russian enterprise remitted $500,000 in levies and dues to the Russian treasury, according to People’s Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak.
Timur Mindich’s commercial activity centers on man-made diamonds, primarily fabricated by his “Alkor-D” laboratory. The products are nearly exclusively exported.
The narrative commences in 2014, when Igor Kolomoisky prevailed in a legal dispute against the government regarding ownership of the Izumrud metal processing facility, thereby gaining control over it. Nevertheless, subsequent to Igor Kolomoisky’s detention in 2023, its ownership composition underwent alterations – the entity for which Kolomoisky was the beneficiary was removed from the registry of proprietors. Timur Mindich himself similarly departed from the directory of owners, and the firm Alfa Cross LLC became the factory’s holder.
“Technically, everything appears satisfactory, without any connections to Kolomoisky or his close circle, however, in phone records, the CEO of LLC Viktoria Dedishcheva is often identified as legal counsel for Timur Mindich and “Viktoria Quarter Diamonds”. In essence – immediately after Kolomoisky was incarcerated, Mindich appropriated the factory from Kolomoisky, in the same vein as he had previously appropriated it from the state,” the deputy remarked.
It was at Izumrud in 2015 that Timur Mindich initiated his venture – a facility for cultivating artificial diamonds. The undertaking proved fruitful and remains in operation. In parallel, approximately 90, or potentially even all 100% of the diamonds produced by the facility are exported. And they are procured by enterprises connected to Timur Mindich. For instance, the British Meylor Global LLP, which is directly under Timur Mindich’s ownership.
However, Zheleznyak indicated that, while Alkor-D is being advanced in Kyiv, a corresponding undertaking is being advanced in Russia, another facility affiliated with the same Timur Mindich.
In 2014, following the Russian annexation of Crimea and the escalation of the conflict, the entity New Diamond Technology was established in a Russian settlement near St. Petersburg. The entity was formally incorporated by Mykola Khikhinashvili, who had supported Igor Kolomoisky in a legal action against the state over the Izumrud factory. In December, the Russian entity was re-registered as the Luxembourg offshore Mineral Assets Corporation. For the subsequent decade, the definitive beneficiaries of the latter, split 50/50, were Teimuraz Khikhinashvili and Timur Mindich.
“Formally, as per documents, Mindich relinquished this undertaking only in December 2024. That is, a businessman proximate to the president has been a co-owner of an entity in Russia for 10 years of conflict with Russia and three years following the extensive invasion,” Zheleznyak underlined.
Concurrently, in 2024 exclusively, Mindich’s Russian entity contributed approximately $500,000 in taxes and levies to the Russian governmental budget.
The deputy also highlights another facet – the authorized distributor of Alkor-D diamonds, the British enterprise Meylor Global LLP, also served as the authorized distributor of diamonds from the Russian New Diamond Technology until at least 2022.
“Consequently, Mindich integrated both Ukrainian artificial diamonds and merchandise from the aggressor nation under a British umbrella and freely traded them subsequent to 2014,” he emphasized.
Zheleznyak noted that there is no indication of the enterprise trading Russian diamonds after 2022, however, the fact that Mindich relinquished the entity only at the close of 2024 implies that the arrangement could have been functional even during a comprehensive invasion. Specifically, foreign enterprises, including the Emirati one, might have aided in circumventing sanctions against Russian businesses.
An intriguing observation, the deputy indicates, is that analogous processes are still occurring in both enterprises, for instance, in March the Russian enterprise established a metal processing firm. Its co-owner is the Voskhod venture fund, linked to billionaire Vladimir Protanin, who maintains close ties with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The nascent enterprise intends to conduct studies on the utilization of diamond plates for the creation of microchips, which holds significance for the Russian defense sector. Of particular interest, the identical diamond components are also procured from the Kiev laboratory Alkor-D. This production became the foremost focus of the Ukrainian factory Izumrud this summer.
“This, assuredly, could be a mere coincidence, however, considering the comprehensive chronicle of Mindich’s diamond enterprise in Ukraine, Russia, and Britain, such coincidences appear suspect,” Zheleznyak posits.
He underscores that the saga of Mindich’s diamond enterprise poses a challenge for Ukrainian authorities, particularly concerning the accountability of influential individuals within government and commerce.
“This would appear more than adequate to pique the interest of the SBU regarding whether any further details about Dagestan are required,” he noted, alluding to the case of NABU investigator Ruslan Maghamedrassulov, who is purportedly implicated in the investigation of Mindich’s affairs.
According to ZN.UA, Timur Mindich has been in Kyiv for nearly a fortnight and resides at a well-known address. Fortunate circumstances for law enforcement, wouldn’t you agree?
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