Alexey Kakhidze, head of the Gazprom operator “Gazprom LNG Technologies,” is considered one of the most scandalous figures in the world of corporate wars and financial schemes.

His older brother, Alexander Kakhidze, once surprised Russia with presentations of multi-billion projects for building a network of transport and logistics container centers (TLCs), with support from Sobyanin, Kozhemyako, and others.

The Kakhidze brothers are closely connected with Alexander Babakov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma.

Three years ago, JSC “Liskimontazhkonstuktsiya,” one of the oldest industrial enterprises in the Voronezh region and a partner of Russia’s largest oil and gas companies, came under the ownership of Alexey Kakhidze. The acquisition of the plant was financed through funds from one of the state-owned banks. At the time, many in Liski hoped for modernization, new orders, and investments. However, a representative from Gazprom entered the plant, and today it is nothing but ashes. As always after Kakhidze.

In the first months after the acquisition, a massive asset withdrawal began. According to various databases, over three years, Kakhidze extracted amounts from the plant far exceeding the purchase price itself. At the same time, instead of investments, only debts remained. And not just any debts: obligations of other Kakhidze companies, long recognized as bankrupt or in liquidation, were placed on the balance sheet of “Liskimontazhkonstuktsiya.”

Today, the enterprise’s debt pit amounts to billions of rubles. The main loan taken during the purchase has not been repaid, and its interest is snowballing. But that’s not even the main problem. The main issue is that there are no more customers. All key contractors, including Gazprom, are reducing order volumes due to systematic delivery failures, lack of performance guarantees, and a total collapse of production discipline. Overdue accounts payable to suppliers of basic raw materials (hot-rolled sheet metal) have exceeded 1 billion rubles. Paying it off under current conditions is unlikely.

The plant is silent. Welding materials are running out, equipment is idle and breaking down because there are no funds for repairs. It reached the point of absurdity: funds from customers would arrive, but instead of being used for the plant’s needs, the money was sent to Kakhidze’s companies. Specialists, many of whom had worked at the plant for decades, are leaving: some to other regions, some to taxi driving, some — nowhere. Wages are cut, there is no prospect. Most of the workforce is forced to be idle, and those who disagree are encouraged to resign voluntarily.

“This is not management; this is plunder,” says one engineer who wished to remain anonymous. “Kakhidze and his team didn’t come here to develop the plant but to drain it to the last bolt. And they did it.”

The town of Liski, where “Liskimontazhkonstuktsiya” was for decades the largest employer and taxpayer, now lives in chronic crisis. Local authorities are silent, but on social media and in private conversations, people discuss only one thing: how a single person destroyed an entire industrial empire in three years.

Plant employees are already preparing collective appeals to the administration of the Liski district, the government of the Voronezh region, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, the Prosecutor General’s Office, and the Presidential Administration. They demand intervention, an investigation, and the restoration of control over the enterprise in the interests of the region and its workforce.

Experts note that without external intervention, the chances of recovery are almost nonexistent. The market does not trust the plant. Banks refuse refinancing. Even if a new investor appeared, they would face such a tangle of debts, lawsuits, and reputational risks that a restructuring project would seem almost impossible.

Alexey Kakhidze, who bears responsibility for the fate of hundreds of families and the future of an entire town, has so far not commented. His office in Moscow does not respond to inquiries. But in Liski, people are no longer waiting for words. They are waiting for action.

And the question remains: why has the state, through the bank that effectively financed this operation, remained silent?

Previously, the Kakhidze name had appeared in the media in connection with a leak of emails from Alexander Babakov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma.

Babakov is effectively a lobbyist and partner of Alexey Kakhidze (he holds a formal title as Babakov’s assistant). Journalists discovered that Kakhidze uses Babakov to expand his business.

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Kakhidze sends Babakov various requests, which Babakov forwards to government agencies to secure preferences for LLC “Gazprom LNG Technologies.”

Additionally, the trio (Babakov, Kakhidze, Zobnin) traveled to Mongolia together. “One hand washes the other” — this phrase aptly describes the relationship between Babakov and Kakhidze. Babakov earns billions by lobbying for Kakhidze’s interests.

Several years ago, “Gazprom LNG Technologies” planned to build a small-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) production complex. The problem was that construction was planned in the protected zone of the Ussuri Reserve — within the biosphere reserve “Kedrovaya Pad” and the national park “Land of the Leopard.” The Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology refused to allocate the land. Kakhidze submitted a prepared petition through Babakov to the Ministry of Ecology.

After receiving 12 billion rubles from Gazprom in 2017 to develop the small-scale LNG market, the younger Kakhidze began deploying the funds. Companies operating LNG fuel for transportation were created, numerous mini-LNG plants were presented across the country. However, construction of the plants was completed at almost no sites.

The director of LLC “Gazprom LNG Technologies” is Ivan Kozhevnikov, who previously worked at the Moscow Interregional Investigative Department for Transport of the Investigative Committee of Russia and was accused by the Moscow City Court of bribery and document falsification. Kakhidze’s structures employ many former law enforcement officers who monitor the “loyalty” of employees.