The leaders of "NTpharma" were suspected of wasting money from "Rusnano"

On November 16, the Main Investigative Directorate of the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against Rustam Ataullakhanov, founder of NTpharma LLC, former company CEO Yevgeny Sultanov, and Denis Koshurnikov, mayor of Pereslavl-Zalessky, according to an official statement from the Investigative Committee. The criminal case was initiated on suspicion of embezzling more than 1 billion rubles that Rosnano allocated to NTpharma for the construction of a plant in the Yaroslavl region. Until November 2014, Rustam Ataullakhanov held the position of Deputy General Director for Science at the state-owned company Nacimbio.

Rustam Ataullakhanov and Yevgeny Sultanov are suspected of embezzlement of entrusted property on an especially large scale, while Denis Koshurnikov is suspected of exceeding official authority as the head of a local self-government body, resulting in serious consequences, the Investigative Committee's statement explains. According to the Investigative Committee, starting from 2010, JSC Rosnano invested over 1 billion rubles in NTpharma LLC for the construction of a pharmaceutical production facility for vaccines and therapeutic biologicals in the Pereslavl district of the Yaroslavl region.

Yevgeny Sultanov became general director of NTpharma LLC in April 2014; however, this position in the company is currently held by Rustam Ataullakhanov. Until November 2014, Rustam Ataullakhanov worked as deputy general director for science at the National Immunobiological Company (Nacimbio). He was also a member of the company's scientific and technical council. Rustam Ataullakhanov currently holds no positions at Nacimbio, a representative of the state company told Vademecum.

In 2009, NTpharma and Rosnano agreed to build a plant in Pereslavl-Zalessky, Yaroslavl region, and launch it in 2012. The project planned to produce "new generation" vaccines, including a polyvalent influenza vaccine, as well as a drug for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, according to the company's website. The total project budget, according to Rosnano's website, was supposed to be 1.6 billion rubles, with Rosnano's investment amounting to 1.3 billion rubles.

Investigative actions regarding one of Rosnano's managers are also being conducted at the state corporation's office. Rosnano has not disclosed the identity of the manager involved in the investigation.

As established by the Investigative Committee, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the FSB, "work on the implementation of the specified project has not been carried out for many years, the funds received by NTpharma LLC from JSC Rosnano have been embezzled, and as a result, the plant has not been built to date." "To create the appearance of project implementation, Ataullakhanov and Sultanov in 2011 purchased a land plot from Protect LLC, which belonged to Koshurnikov. At the time of the transaction, Koshurnikov was the head of the Pereslavl district," the Investigative Committee's statement said.

After the publication on the Investigative Committee's website, Rosnano posted a new statement clarifying its position: "Rosnano, in turn, has since 2014 expressed concern about certain financial opacity in the enterprise's activities, about which it previously informed law enforcement agencies. <...> At the same time, we are confident in the successful launch of the enterprise in the fall of 2017. Today, the construction of the plant is nearing completion."

According to SPARK data, Rosnano owns 49% of NTpharma LLC, another 20.35% belongs to Cypriot Caverton Private Capital, 20.30% to Prom-Bi LLC (owned by Rustam Ataullakhanov), and 10.35% to Cypriot Sarsfield Ventures Limited.