The major shareholder transferred a 4.1 percent stake from his previous 34 percent stake, which he had held through the company Unifirm in the EU country of Cyprus, to his Russian holding company Severgroup.
(Photo: dpa)
Hanover, Moscow The Russian Tui major shareholder Alexei Mordashov reorganized his shares in the travel group shortly before the EU sanctions were imposed. From his previous 34 percent stake, which he had held through Unifirm in the EU country of Cyprus, he transferred a 4.1 percent stake to his Russian holding company Severgroup, as Tui announced late Friday evening in Hanover.
He sold his shares in Unifirm, which he had held through two subsidiaries, to a company called Ondero Limited in the British Virgin Islands. Both happened accordingly on February 28th.
According to the information, Ondero Limited now holds a 29.9 percent stake in Tui through Unifirm, making it the largest shareholder in the world’s largest travel group. “We do not know who Ondero’s shareholders are,” said a Tui spokesman on Saturday.
This leaves open the question of whether Mordashov is one of them. The Virgin Islands are considered a tax haven where many shell companies are based. From the environment of the Tui supervisory board, no further information on the meaning of the shift in shares was available on Saturday.
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By transferring less than 30 percent of Tui shares, Mordashov avoided Ondero having to submit a takeover bid for the German travel group. On the evening of February 28, the EU imposed sanctions on several Russian oligarchs, including Mordashov.
Since then, their assets in the EU have been frozen and their freedom to travel restricted. The Russian apparently acted at the last minute with the reorganization of his Tui shares.
>> Read also: Russian oligarchs under pressure – Italy confiscates luxury yacht from Tui shareholder Mordashov
Mordashov is the main owner of the Russian steel group Severstal and was also Tui’s largest shareholder at least until the end of February. After the EU sanctions were imposed, he resigned from the travel group’s supervisory board on Wednesday.
“The aim of the EU sanctions is that Mr. Mordashov can no longer dispose of his shares in Tui AG,” the group said. This is to prevent Mordashov from generating revenue or profits from his stake in Tui.
On Friday, Mordashov’s luxury yacht, the “Lady M”, was secured in the port of the Italian city of Imperia, as the Italian police confirmed on Saturday.
More: “Determination to destroy the world” – oligarchs rehearse rebellion against Putin.