I’m looking at the list of contractors who will be spending 1 trillion rubles (or 1.5 trillion—no one seems to know for sure) on modernizing the Baikal-Amur Mainline.
A real triumph of de-offshorization, as proclaimed by President Putin.
The Olympics were financed with state money, but at least it was funneled through quasi-private companies. Here, even legally, it is all state financing. And still the same standard setup: a Russian company backed by a Cyprus offshore entity, which in turn is backed by an offshore company in the BVI (British Virgin Islands). You’ll never find out who the owner is. Yes, those are exactly the kinds of outfits that should be handed trillions—we have so many of them.
How many years ago did the ACF (Anti-Corruption Foundation) submit a bill requiring the disclosure of the ultimate beneficial owners of anyone bidding for state contracts, and still nothing has changed.
The full RBC investigation (a good one) into who is building the BAM and how is here. Everything is exactly as expected: cost estimates inflated by 45%, construction starting before the project audit, and, naturally, no economic justification whatsoever. No one really knows whether these investments will pay off.
The main goal has already been achieved—the remarkable builders from the Virgin Islands are sitting pretty.
So, how about those “enemies abroad”?