How relatives of KAMAZ trucks manufacturer supply spare parts to Russia

Anna Holishevska, Inna Popovych

It is for more than a year that the Russian billionaire Sergey Kogogin, the director general of the Russian KAMAZ PJSC has been under the sanctions of Ukraine, United States, United Kingdom and Canada. The main reason for that is that the company that he runs produces trucks the Russian occupiers use in the war against Ukraine. Meanwhile, Mr. Kogogin has a business in the military and industrial sector which is of strategic importance for the Russian government.

However, the European Union is not in hurry to impose sanctions on this Putin’s friend and assistant of the occupiers in the full-scale war. Therefore, the wife and daughter, son-in-law and nearest circle of friends of the businessman do not see anything wrong in continuing their business in the “decadent Europe”. Moreover, it is from Europe that “presents” in the form of spare parts needed to produce trucks are sent.

Sergey Kogogin is an active Putin’s supporter. Recently, he spoke at a meeting of a group of voters in support of the self-nomination of the bloody dictator as a presidential candidate in the coming election of 2024.

The KAMAZ company is affiliated with the Russian state corporation Rostekh to which it belongs by less than 50%. In March of 2022, KAMAZ trucks which were probably exploited by the Russian servicemen were seen in Belarus. During the invasion, the Russia KAMAZ trucks were seen carrying Russian troops all over Ukraine. KAMAZ PJSC is involved in the production of military equipment for the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and other security forces Russia is using in its war against Ukraine.

However, Sergey Kogogin is interested not only in trucks manufacturing. He has been active in big politics all his conscious life. Moreover, he has taken part in the Russian state-building processes. In 1999-2004, he was a deputy minister and minister of economy and industry in the Republic of Tatarstan. Following that, he became a people’s deputy in the Council of Tatarstan (representing Putin’s United Russia party). In 2018, he was a co-chair of the pre-election headquarters of the presidential nominee Mr. Putin. In 2022, Mr. Kogogin received an Order for Merit to the Motherland.

Sergey’s wife Alfia Kogogina is a member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, member of the United Russia faction. She voted for the decree “on the need to recognize the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics” and, therefore, supported and implemented actions and policies which undermined the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, destabilizing it even further. For this reason, she is under sanctions of the European Union, United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand and Ukraine.

Other members of Sergey Kogogin’s Family:

Tatiana Kogogina’s Instagram page

The husband of Tatyana Kogogina, Dmitri Kuramshyn, was a director and founder of the Austrian company KNK Automotive GmbH, which was liquidated in March of 2022 shortly after the full-scale invasion.

The Austrian concern Palfinger has a joint venture together with KAMAZ PJSC named Kran Tsentr KAMAZ. The Palfinger web site offers goods jointly produced with KAMAZ. Before 2015, the husband of Tatyana Kogogina, Dmitri Kuramshyn, was the Director General of the Kran Tsentr KAMAZ.

KAMAZ PJSC is, probably, using the companies connected with Tatyana Kogogina and Dmitri Kuramshyn to organize import supplies in circumvention of the existing sanctions restrictions.

In 2021-2023, Tatyana Kogogina worked for PowerLine Handels GmbH. She mentioned this fact on her Linkedin page. The company, a former KAMAZ PJSC employee Igor Podvorny works for, sells spare parts for trucks. The post of the Chief Executive Officer at PowerLine Handels GmbH is occupied by Artem Martyrosyan, who is connected with several other companies in Austria, including:

PowerLine Transmission GmbH;
PowerLine Automotive GmbH.

Companies of PowerLine Group supply goods and raw materials to the Russian Federation, including for the KAMAZ PJSC, directly or through intermediaries.

According to commercial bases, the Austrian PowerLine Automotive GmbH supplies spare parts and raw materials from Europe to the Russian Turbo King LLC and Scientific and Production Association Rostar LLC (sanctioned by Ukraine). In 2023 only, the Austrians supplied produce for the total amount of more than 2.5 million dollars to Turbo King and produce for the total amount of almost 250 thousand dollars to Rostar. The supplied produce included bus suspensions, ceramic filters, spare parts for trailers. Turbo King LLC and Scientific and Production Association Rostar LLC import produce directly to KAMAZ PJSC. This is what specifications of the most of import declarations state.

Before April of 2022, Akhat Urmanov, who earlier occupied the position of the deputy chair and advisor to the Director General of KAMAZ PJSC, was the executive director of PowerLine Automotive GmbH. Mr. Urmanov and Sergey Kogogin owned already liquidated Alga Capital LLC in Russia.

Akhat Urmanov, photo from open sources

Before the United Kingdom and Unites States introduced their sanctions (May-June of 2022), the KAMAZ PJSC imported produce of PowerLine Handels GmbH directly from the producer, with the last direct supply on May 23, 2022. The Scientific and Production Association Rostar imported produce of PowerLine Handels GmbH also directly from the producer until the end of 2022.

In 2023, the produce of PowerLine Handels GmbH was supplied to the Russian Federation from Turkey by the company A.Y.A.Universal Trading Denizcilik Kumanyacilik Liman Hizmetleri Ithalat Ihracat, which delivered spare parts directly to KAMAZ PJSC.

It is obvious that the relatives, friends and former colleagues of Sergey Kogogin have created in the European Union a network of companies which, despite the sanctions, supply components necessary to produce Russian vehicles used in the war against Ukraine. According to the information available to us, such procurements are coordinated by the aforementioned Akhat Urmanov.