Boris Listov is a CEO of Russian state ‘Rosselkhozbank’, the bank which is often mentioned in connection with the Black Sea grain deal. In fact, this bank pays a vital role in Russian Federation efforts to revive the food production after uneasy 90s and the collapse of USSR. Listov’s was rather counterproductive. Being fully state-funded bank lost billion after billion. Miraculously, Boris Listov, the head of the bank, went richer and richer.
Recently Boris Listov ordered a whitewashing PR-campaign in UK press. His main goal is to conceal the sanctions against him in Ukraine, which may invoke further sanctions in the West. It’s obvious that at least some billions he stole in Russia are converted to pounds, dollars and euro and invested in real estate in Europe and Britain. Let’s take a look at the paid Boris Listov’s propaganda in media:
Reading the panegyrics in honour of the head of Rosselkhozbank, Boris Listov, one feels both amused and moved to tears of happiness that in such dire times we have such a manager.
“[Boris Listov] …a top-class economist, a new type of executive, a professional, an innovator.”
In our case, such biographies always conceal something. And no bank can be an exception in a system of universal chaos and thievery. It simply cannot be because it can never be.
Boris Listov, the “best friend of farmers,” is embezzling Rosselkhozbank, hiding behind Patrushev authority
And indeed, Boris Listov is flesh of the system that raised him and part of which he has become. First, let’s take a look at the enemy sources. Sometimes they write quite interesting things. Of course, you have to divide that interesting information by two or even three, but still. And, of course, Boris Listov is on the list of Ukrainian sanctions:
True, they don’t write anything special there, except for his ties with the Russian government and the fact that he “engages in commercial activities in sectors of the economy that provide a substantial source of income for the Russian government.” But that is enough for people accustomed to reading between the lines to understand that Boris Listov is involved in quite shady schemes.
Where did ‘the self-made man’ Boris Listov come from?
Well, it’s all as usual: syrup at the top, and you can imagine what’s at the bottom. It’s a pity that the “enemy voices” didn’t want to describe everything Listov is involved in. However, it’s easy to understand them—because the more they embezzle the Russian budget, the better.
Who is behind Boris Pavlovich Listov?
So, it turns out that Boris Listov, the “pillar of the banking system” and the “new type of executive,” the “friend of all collective farmers,” is involved in schemes to transfer money from the Russian budget to offshore accounts. And he does this—surprisingly— not alone but in the company of Dmitry Patrushev, the Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, who is best known as the offspring of Nikolai Patrushev, a well-established figure in the Kremlin.
Now it’s clear where the money in Rosselkhozbank comes from, and it’s understandable why its head, Boris Pavlovich Listov, suddenly became the “best friend of farmers.” Unfortunately, the financial statements for the past year are not available, but the previous one showed a rapid decline for the bank.
Pay attention to the decline in profits (in the prosperous year of 2021, we remind you)—it went into a negative figure of 165.1%. The reduction in available credit limits for the bank was 7.9%. The “defaulters” category, representing non-paying borrowers, increased by 109.9%, more than twice the previous figure. And the loan debt increased by a third—31.5%.
Why Listov’s bank is barely breathing
It would be naive to think that miracles will happen in the past or the current year, and the bank will suddenly skyrocket. Especially considering the fact that the bank is simply used to channel government funds issued as loans to “farmers” and classified as “losses” since no one intends to repay them. This is the most primitive and straightforward scheme, and it is simply impossible without the connection between the “bank’s head” and the “Minister of Agriculture.” By the way, let’s not forget that Listov was Patrushev’s deputy when he held the position of the bank’s head.
Dmitry Patrushev and Boris Listov bear responsibility for everything that has happened in the state bank since 2010, with Listov remaining in the shadow of his superior. However, knowledgeable individuals consider Listov the “gray cardinal” of the bank, while Patrushev Jr. is merely a “shield.”
Boris Listov’s true Career
Boris Pavlovich Listov worked in the banking sector in St. Petersburg back in the 90s, while Dmitry Patrushev did not have such experience. Listov’s task was to “extract” subsidies for Rosselkhozbank from the state with the help of his father. And Boris Listov was already skilfully managing those subsidies, to the extent that the state bank was referred to as the “black hole” of the Russian budget.
From 2013 to 2018, the government injected 300 billion rubles into Rosselkhozbank. In 2019, the bank showed its best result in history, earning 4 billion rubles in net profit. In March 2020, the bank proudly announced that they no longer needed money from the government. However, in 2022, the bank’s profit decreased by 4.4 times compared to 2021, reaching 5 billion rubles.
Why are Listov’s structures suffering such losses?
Experts attributed this to the enormous losses of the bank’s “subsidiary” structures. Indeed, in 2022, Listov withdrew from many companies where he was a co-founder, not to mention the fact that money could be funneled through these subsidiaries. As an example, consider the following scheme: Rosselkhozbank has an astonishing “subsidiary” called LLC “TD Agrotorg,” which managed to generate a profit last year, something it hadn’t done since 2015.
However, during that time, the company caused losses to the bank amounting to about 38 billion rubles.
At the same time, Rosselkhozbank is the largest “donor” to Agrotorg.
The company received 8 contracts from the bank worth 3,300,840,000 rubles, while the total amount of government contracts is 7,251,123,297 rubles. Furthermore, Agrotorg is entangled in multiple lawsuits.
LLC “TD Agrotorg” is also a founder of another 21 LLCs. Thirteen of them have already been liquidated, some through bankruptcy proceedings.
The Scheme of Fictitious Losses in Boris Pavlovich Listov’s Pocket
This is another money laundering scheme, and it is smarter than fictitious loans. There is no need to search for “dummy” entities through which agricultural farms receiving loans are registered. All the companies involved in money laundering are under control because their founder is LLC “TD Agrotorg.” However, it is not obliged to take responsibility for the debts of its subsidiaries according to Russian legislation.
Tax authorities and investigators understand this. But at the same time, they are well aware of who Patrushev (Listov’s father) is. That’s why they remain silent and do not dig deeper—nobody wants to suddenly receive a summons and find themselves in trouble. Moreover, the smartest among them also feed not only from their salary, so they don’t want to open a criminal case with a predetermined outcome.