Geneva, 29 September 2015

Black Eagle Litigation Fund Joins Minority Shareholders

of Togliattiazot in Asset Recovery Effort
Black Eagle Litigation Fund (http://www.blackeaglefund.org) announces its
agreement with a group of minority shareholders of Togliattiazot (Russian
abbreviation TOAZ; http://www.toaz.ru/eng/) to pursue asset tracing and
recovery efforts with respect to funds and assets embezzled from Togliattiazot
over the past 10 years.
We disclose that an entity controlled by our fund owns a minority stake in
Togliattiazot. We further disclose that Uralchem, a major Russian fertilizer
producer and a significant minority shareholder of Togliattiazot, is not among the
Togliattiazot shareholders represented by our fund.
* * *
Togliattiazot (TOAZ) is a major exporter of ammonia, based in Russia. Its shares
are traded at MMVB-RTS stock exchange in Moscow (www.moex.com) under the
symbol TLAZ, ISIN RU007661104.
Russian police is currently completing its investigation of a series of multi-million
dollar frauds perpetrated against Togliattiazot. It has been disclosed that the
frauds were committed by way of asset-stripping (major industrial assets sold to a
company affiliated with majority shareholders at a staggering undervalue) and
transfer mispricing (profits illegally shifted to a low-tax entity and distributed to
the benefit of majority shareholders).
Our objective is to ensure that the stolen money is returned to Togliattiazot to
restore shareholder value.
We are making the following announcement in connection with the above.
Russian courts established that a transfer mispricing scheme existed to shift profits
from Togliattiazot to a low-tax entity affiliated with the majority shareholders of
Togliattiazot. Tax evasion is a crime under Russian law, and current FATF
standards recognize it as a predicate offense to money laundering. Further, it has
been revealed by the police investigation that through such transfer mispricing

allegedly hundreds of millions of dollars were fraudulently transferred from

Togliattiazot to the benefit of offshore structures affiliated with majority
shareholders of the company. It has been further revealed by the police
investigation that major industrial assets were allegedly sold by Togliattiazot to an
entity affiliated with majority shareholders at a significant undervalue. Those
episodes are now being investigated under Fraud and Embezzlement articles of
the Criminal Code of Russia. Fraud and embezzlement are universally accepted to
be predicate offenses to money laundering.
In this regard, we advise any person (especially if acting in professional capacity
and subject to AML reporting duties) who provides services to any of the
individuals being investigated in Togliattiazot frauds (list attached) and / or their
appointees (Investigated Togliattiazot Principals) and/or those handling their
assets, financial and otherwise (Potential Recovery Assets) and/or assisting
other persons in handling, keeping, managing or otherwise dealing with Potential
Recovery Assets:
We put you on notice that, given the facts above, assistance to Investigated Togliattiazot
Principals within the context explained above may amount to a crime under the criminal
statutes of Russia and your country. In particular we draw your attention to statutory
provisions forbidding assistance in retaining the benefit of criminal conduct, concealing or
transferring proceeds of criminal conduct and tipping-off.
You are hereby requested to cease, and desist from, any action which may assist the
Investigated Togliattiazot Principals in (1) concealment of evidence of any events which
relate to Togliattiazot, its management and trading practices, and/or (2) concealment of
any assets which are Potential Recovery Assets.
Please be aware that, given the graveness of the charges against the perpetrators of the
fraud and the importance of the amounts to be recovered, civil plaintiffs as well as Russian
judicial authorities may pursue legal action against not only corporate entities, but also
private individuals who played their part in the criminal schemes, including by way of
wilful assistance.
By this announcement, you and your client(s) are hereby given notice not to destroy, conceal,
or alter any paper or electronic files and other data generated by and/or stored on your or
your client's computers and storage media (e.g., hard disks, flash drives, backup devices), or
any other electronic data, such as voice-mail, as well as any other evidence (in whatever
form) which may contain any information relating to Togliattiazot and/or Investigated
Togliattiazot Principals and/or Potential Recovery Assets. Any act in contravention with
the above may amount to spoliation of evidence or potential evidence, for which legal
sanctions may be imposed.
If and when you receive initial interrogatories and requests for documents and things, please
render the requesting body / person all legally possible assistance in their discovery.
Electronic documents and the storage media on which they reside contain relevant,
discoverable information beyond that which may be found in printed documents. Therefore,
even where a paper copy exists, all documents in their electronic form may also re required.
Paper printouts of those documents that contain unique information after they were printed
out (such as paper documents containing handwriting, signatures, annotations,

highlighting, and redactions) along with any paper documents for which no corresponding
electronic files exist may as well be subject to discovery.
Please be aware that any transactions with property derived from the criminal acts
described above may amount to the crime of money laundering under Russian law and,
potentially, the laws of the countries where such acts are perpetrated.

Black Eagle Litigation Fund

www blackeaglefund org

Annex
List of Wanted Individuals in Togliattiazot Fraud Investigation
As on 29 September 2015
The following individuals are currently subject to arrest warrants issued by the
Russian police:
Mr. Makhlai Vladimir Nikolaevich (ex-Director General of Togliattiazot)
Mr. Makhlai Sergei Vladimirovich (principal shareholder of Togliattiazot
(INTERPOL notice))
Mr. Korolev Eugeni Anatolievich (ex-Director General of Togliattiazot)
Mr. Beat Ruprecht (director of Nitrochem Distribution AG and Ameropa)
Mr. Andreas Zivy (shareholder of Togliattiazot and Ameropa (INTERPOL
notice))