GREATEX
Related to the Greatex nebula of companies in the UK, links between Kurmanbayev and Aliyev’s companies were already pointing towards the ownership of Kurmanbayev-administered companies by Aliyev. One pertinent link was Massimiliano Dall’Osso’s directorship of Parkview Estates Management Limited, the management company for the Baker Street properties owned by the vehicles managed by Kurmanbayev.
As noted in previous reports, Massimiliano Dall’Osso was a director of Metallwerke Bender Rheinland GmbH until 30th July 2006 and a director of Armoreal Trading GmbH (in liquidation) from 1st July 2005 to 4th January 2008. Aliyev’s current wife, Elnara Shorazova, was also a director of Armoreal Trading GmbH from 23rd March 2005 until 4th January 2011.
New findings indicate that Aliyev is likely to be the ultimate beneficial owner of the London real estate:
- Twingold Holding Limited, a BVI company which acquired the freehold to a property at 32 Denewood Road in Highgate for £9.3 million on 2nd April 2008, entered a voluntary liquidation process on 20th March 2013.
The BVI Official Gazette of 18th April 2013 (vol. XLVII, number 24) lists Twingold Holding’s voluntary liquidator as “Bernard Enry of 4 Rue Jean Senebier, 1205
Geneva, Switzerland”.
Bernard Enry
Bernard Enry is also a director of A.V. Maximus SA (in liquidation) and an authorised signatory for Imperial Sugar Company LLP’s account according to Raiffeisen Bank
International’s documentation.
Bernard Enry is a French national born on 25th May 1951. He has been a nominee shareholder in A.V. Maximus SA in Geneva alongside Jérôme Hayoz since 26th May 2003.
As a fiduciary agent and accountant, Bernard Enry has a number of Swiss appointments. He is also currently listed as the director of:
- French real estate holding company SCI Lou Pescadou (number 518137831) in Antibes;
- Real estate management company B.J. (number 442079968), incorporated in Chambéry on 1st January 2013. B.J. was previously incorporated in Thonon-Les- Bains on 30th May 2002;
- International Foods Supply Limited (number 04229172), registered in London on 5th June 2001. International Foods Supply Limited’s activities disclosed in UK Companies House documentation are “other business support service activities not elsewhere classified”. As of 15th June 2012, the Company was wholly owned by Gledswood Limited.
A company called Gledswood Limited has been registered in the UK with number 04653338 since 31st January 2003. As of its last annual return filed on 22nd February 2013 it was wholly owned by Arlbridge SA, a Panamanian company registered on 5th January 2006. Arlbridge’s capital was subscribed by Enders Inc and Rockall Inc.
The company’s directors are all nominees: George Allen, Carmen Wong, Yvette Rogers, Jacqueline Alexander and Verna de Nelson.
SUCDEN
As mentioned in a previous report, Sucden is incorporated as a Société Anonyme à Directoire, requiring it to disclose only its main shareholders with stakes of above 10%. In July 2005, when Aliyev was appointed, legal requirements made it mandatory for a member of the Supervisory Board to be a shareholder in the Company. However, no shareholding information is disclosed for Aliyev.
Sucden’s annual financial statements disclose the Company’s main shareholders. A stake is held by Sucden’s employees. This currently stands at approximately 5.45% but has varied between 6.43% and 5.45% depending on Sucden’s successive capital increases from 2004 to 2011.
In 2004, before Aliyev became a shareholder, the Company’s capital stood at €16,235,136 divided into 106,112 shares of €153 each. Its disclosed shareholders were Serge Varsano, the son of Sucden’s late founder Maurice Varsano, with a stake of 71.19% and Rhinestone
Limited, registered in Labuan, Malaysia with a stake of 16.17%. Rhinestone is reportedly an entity representing the Kuok1 Group’s interests in Sucden through a chain of ownership including UK-registered Kerry Group Limited, Hong-Kong-registered Kerry Holdings Limited and BVI-registered Randwick Resources Limited.
Sucden’s latest articles of association dated 7th January 2013 describe Sucden’s shares as nominative but managed, at the discretion of each shareholder, either on a strictly nominative account or on a nominee nominative account.
Sogesucre SA
Information found out during investigation suggested the possibility that Aliyev has held part of his equity in Sucden through Sogesucre SA in Switzerland. This is partly based on the presence of Max Benhamou as a director of Sogesucre SA. Max Benhamou is a Supervisory Board member of Sucden.
Research suggests that it is unlikely that Aliyev holds any shares in Sucden through Sogesucre as Sogesucre’s shareholding in Sucden predates Aliyev’s involvement with the Company.
Sogesucre SA (number CH-660.1.811.002-2) was registered in Geneva on 20th September 2002. Its address was at the Geneva address of the fiduciary agent STG Société Fiduciaire Suisse at the time. The 2002 notice of incorporation in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce clearly stated that the company was to hold 6,198 shares of €153 each in Sucden for a value of $3,222,960.
Sogesucre was subsequently re-registered in Villars-sur-Glâne, to the address of another fiduciary company, NBA Fiduciaire SA, as recorded on 10th December 2004. It was then still listing its holding of Sucden’s shares. Due to its change of address, Sogesucre’s registration moved from the Canton of Geneva to the Canton of Fribourg in January 2005.
Finally, as recorded in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce on 16th October 2009, Sogesucre moved to Sarnen in the Canton of Obwald and its registration was dissolved from the Canton of Fribourg. The Company retained the same purpose: to hold 6,198 shares in Sucden for a value of $3,222,960.
Sogesucre’s 2004 articles of incorporation in the Canton of Fribourg state:
The above indicates that Sogesucre thus holds 6,198 shares in Sucden on behalf of the shareholders listed below who have a stake in Sogesucre accordingly:
| Shareholder | Shares in Sucden | Stake in Sogesucre (%) |
| S.E.M. BV | 3,950 | 63.8 |
| Alexander Krivenko | 1,988 | 32.0 |
| Max Benhamou | 260 | 4.2 |
SEM BV
S.E.M. BV for Sucres Edulcorants Matieres Auxilieres (S.E.M.) BV, a holding company registered in the Netherlands on 5th January 2000, is wholly held by Henricus Aloysius Maria Palmen (DOB: 15th August 1964) since 27th June 2002.
Another S.E.M. Company BV, active in marketing and online media, was registered in Rotterdam on 14th June 2001. It is fully held by Ronald Cyril Eduardus Verschueren (DOB: 13th April 1966) since 5th June 2001.
Alexander Krivenko is a Russian national. He was a director of Sucden Geneva SA (CH- 660.0.100.971-0) from 11th February 1994 to 7th July 1997.
There is no indication that these individuals have any connections to Aliyev.
IMPERIAL SUGAR COMPANY LLP
Imperial Sugar was registered in London on 7th November 2002 (number OC303329). The LLP partners since incorporation are Groupwise Limited and Ramsdell Overseas Limited.
Ramsdell Overseas Limited is a British Virgin Islands entity with an authorised capital of
$50,000. It was incorporated on 23rd October 2002 with number 518390. As of 26th April 2013 it was listed as active and was managed by registered agent Aleman Cordero Galindo & Lee Trust Ltd. Information supplied by the British Virgin Islands’ corporate register does not disclose any ownership information. Groupwise Limited was registered in London on 12th February 2001 (number 04158084) and is managed by fiduciary director Nicholas Warsaw.
Aliyev acknowledged in a witness statement, that Imperial Sugar Company LLP (“Imperial Sugar”) in London was one of his companies.
Documents showed that transactions took place in 2007 between Sucden and Imperial Sugar over the delivery of raw sugar from Brazil to a Russian port in the Black Sea. The Sucden / Imperial Sugar transaction however does not prove that Aliyev holds his stake in Sucden through Imperial Sugar.
Other 2007 transactions between Lebanese companies also associated with Aliyev, Sugar Impex SAL (seller) and Direct Capital SAL (buyer), were disclosed.
A document on the website of the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange about AO Almatinskii Sachar, a company incorporated in Kazakhstan, contains statements to the effect that the Company’s main supplier of raw sugar in 2004 was Imperial Sugar Company LLP (Great Britain).2
Nicholas Warshaw
Nicholas Anthony Beresford Warshaw (“Warshaw”) is a British national. He was born on 15th December 1955. According to UK electoral roll, he has resided at the following address since 2001:
20 Applegarth Road London
W14 0HY
His wife Sylvie née Lopfroy is a French national. They have two children, Sebastien and Luca, also listed by a commercial information database as residing at this address.
Warshaw acts as a fiduciary agent for a number of UK-registered companies but is also involved in real estate investment companies in France.
The French corporate register lists Warshaw as a director of Swire Investments France (422191528), a real estate management company registered in Paris on 10th March 1999.
According to the UK Companies House, Warshaw’s current directorships in the UK are:
| Company | Appointment |
| 1. Kensington Europe Limited (03560748) | 02/01/2001 |
| 2. Ls Business Services Limited (04136291) | 05/01/2001 |
| 3. Groupwise Limited (04158084) | 12/02/2001 |
| 4. Danubia IP Services Limited (03053318) | 30/04/2001 |
| 5. Unlimited Partners Limited (02973853) | 10/10/2002 |
| 6. Sterndale Limited (04707795) | 23/03/2003 |
| 7. Leola Business Services Limited (02127658) | 31/01/2005 |
| 8. Chigwell Trading Limited (05458464) | 20/05/2005 |
| 9. Zonkia Limited (06595451) | 07/07/2008 |
| 10. AN.FE. Limited (06131835) | 22/09/2008 |
| 11. Dewhurst Trading Limited (06546611) | 22/09/2008 |
| 12. Promise Investments Limited (06546515) | 22/09/2008 |
| 13. Reedham Trading Limited (06406861) | 22/09/2008 |
| 14. Sanderstead Limited (06406871) | 22/09/2008 |
| 15. Theydon Investments Limited (06546538) | 22/09/2008 |
| 16. Darford Trading Limited (06784954) | 07/01/2009 |
| 17. Sommet Limited (07036749) | 07/10/2009 |
| 18. Wapping Trading Limited (05525664) | 02/09/2010 |
| 19. Dalston Associates Limited (03386503) | 22/09/2010 |
| 20. Orly Investments Limited (05241225) | 22/09/2010 |
| 21. Hendon Limited (05448103) | 23/09/2010 |
| 22. Est Management (UK) Limited (07591770) | 05/04/2011 |
| 23. Trafficcare Holding Limited (08091103) | 31/05/2012 |
| 24. C2 Health Limited (08407965) | 18/02/2013 |
Warshaw’s former directorships listed are:
Company Appointment
1. Leola Business Services Limited (02127658) pre 05/12/1991 to 31/12/1994 2. Interfax Europe Limited (02709330) 25/01/1993 to 25/06/1993
3. Extremes (UK) Limited (03340803) 26/03/1997 to 21/08/1998 4. Global Market Research Limited (03377022) 28/05/1997 to 01/02/2001 5. Financial Tradeware Limited (03484416) 16/12/1997 to 13/10/1999
6. Swain Investments Limited (03560755) 08/06/1998 to 01/01/2001
7. Ecole Française de Londres
Jacques Prevert Ltd (01138995) 01/10/1999 to 03/04/2003 8. Overbreak Europe Limited (04183094) 25/06/2002 to 23/09/2002
9. Global Strategic Advisers Limited (04296408) 30/10/2006 to 31/03/2011 10. Sorma Europe Limited (06432305) 22/09/2008 to 23/09/2010
11. Sustain Sky Limited (06506006) 22/09/2008 to 01/02/2009
12. European Strategic Advisers Limited (05513147) 27/10/2008 to 21/01/2009 13. Ongar Limited (06784998) 07/01/2009 to 01/10/2012 14. Zw Investments Limited (07010099) 04/09/2009 to 04/09/2009
- Focus Commodity
Equipment & Services Limited (07033434) 29/09/2009 to 29/10/2009
- Newington Real Estate
Investments Limited (07080460) 18/11/2009 to 18/11/2009 17. Wadecreek Investment Limited (07164840) 22/02/2010 to 22/02/2010 18. Blowerryl Metal Limited (07221583) 13/04/2010 to 13/04/2010 19. Metal World & Investment Limited (07221589) 13/04/2010 to 13/04/2010
- Picadilly Metal & Iron
Investment Limited (07233390) 23/04/2010 to 23/04/2010
- Regent Tower Investments Limited (07233364) 23/04/2010 to 23/04/2010
- Worldwide Iron Investments Limited (07236301) 27/04/2010 to 27/04/2010
- Worldwide Metal Investments Limited (07236281) 27/04/2010 to 27/04/2010 24. Millcorp Limited (07317068) 16/07/2010 to 16/07/2010
25. Kimpact Limited (05448114) 02/09/2010 to 19/03/2011
26. Scudo Limited (05966720) 02/09/2010 to 16/11/2011
27. Vasco Commodities Trading Limited (07437320) 11/11/2010 to 11/11/2010 28. Pegassus Securities Limited (02997297) 01/12/1994 to 31/12/1994 29. Optiva Securities Limited (03068464) 14/06/1995 to 23/10/1995 30. Aquarange Limited (02477498) 15/02/1993 to 10/02/1998 31. Steana Investments Limited3 (02819237) 14/12/1993 to 31/12/1994 32. Elphin Limited4 (02893241) 31/01/1994 to 15/10/1994
33. Russian Enterprise House
Group Limited5 (02893333) 01/02/1994 to 21/02/1995 34. Norwick Europe Limited6 (02226665) 04/02/1994 to 31/12/1994
3 Dissolved: 14/01/2003.
4 Dissolved: 17/06/1997.
5 Dissolved: 08/08/1995.
35. Transcargo Limited7 (02910507) 15/03/1994 to 31/12/1994 36. Bry Investments Limited8 (02893236) 05/07/1994 to 13/09/1994
Sylvie Warshaw holds the following UK appointments as the Secretary of:
Company Appointment
Kensington Europe Limited 22/12/2000
LS Business Services Limited 05/01/2001
Extremes (UK) Limited 26/03/1997 to 21/08/1998
Hobart Trading Limited 06/12/2000 to 15/12/2000