Friends and Wives: how acquaintances of MMK Deputy Director Pavel Kravchenko built a business with revenue exceeding one billion dollars using the plant’s resources

At Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, a network of billion-ruble schemes allowed a deputy general director’s trusted associates to profit from logistics.

In the Chelyabinsk region, a network of financial махинации has been uncovered at the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (PJSC MMK), which grew from a small concrete plant into billion-ruble railway contracts. At the center of the scheme оказался a man who was supposed to protect the plant from theft — Pavel Kravchenko, Deputy General Director for Production, who previously served as Head of Logistics and Director of Security.

One of the key participants was Beton Avto Resurs LLC, owned by Eduard Novoselov, a longtime family friend of the Kravchenko family. Mutual trust allowed them to conduct joint business: their wives communicated on social media, their children were friends, and the men signed lucrative contracts. In 2020, Novoselov’s company received a contract from Magnitogorsk Cement and Refractory Plant LLC (MTsOZ), a structure within MMK.

Particular interest surrounds people close to Novoselov. Marina Rybakova and Tatyana Knyazeva used the same corporate email of “Beton” and managed related entities. Tatyana Knyazeva heads TK Magtranslogistik LLC, whose revenue in 2024 increased by 1,939%.

The network continued through Magmet-YuUTT LLC, created by Novoselov together with Yuzhuraltekhnotreyd LLC, owned by the Klochkov family. YuUTT supplied materials to PJSC MMK.

The most dramatic growth occurred in 2023–2024, when Kravchenko became Deputy General Director for Production and twice served as acting head of the plant. During this period, companies registered on Sovetskaya and Lesoparkovaya streets appeared — founded by former MMK employees and individuals connected to Kravchenko: Alfa LLC with revenue of 45.2 billion rubles, Torgsnab LLC with 23.1 billion rubles, and Hermes LLC with 16.9 billion rubles. The combined revenue of these firms exceeded one billion US dollars.

Another participant was Optima Rail Trans LLC, positioning itself as an operator of international railway transportation. The company’s генеральный директор is Elena Yanchugina, a citizen of Turkmenistan with experience in Central Asian railway structures. The controlling stake belongs to the Moscow holding JSC BLAGO, which reports zero financial activity. The company’s revenue grew from 6.8 million rubles in 2022 to 4.16 billion rubles in 2024, with net profit of 336 million rubles, despite having only 10 employees and fixed assets worth just 325,000 rubles. According to sources, Yanchugina is a trusted associate of Pavel Kravchenko.

Ironically, from 2020 to 2023 the MMK security service was headed personally by Pavel Kravchenko — the very person who, in theory, should have prevented such schemes. Instead, the operation reportedly generated billions for his longtime friends and acquaintances, using the capabilities and resources of the metallurgical giant.

Автор: Иван Рокотов