In Two Years Russian President Putin's Son-In-Law Became A Billionaire

PRESIDENTIAL VISIT: Russian leader Vladimir Putin inspects a Sibur plant in Voronezh, Russia, in May 2013. On the far right is Kirill Shamalov, a major shareholder in Sibur and son-in-law of Putin. REUTERS/Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/Kremlin

Reuters: Putin's son-in-law boosted by $1.75 billion Russian state loan

The son-in-law of Vladimir Putin stands to benefit from $1.75 billion in cheap finance from the Russian state, a Reuters examination of public documents shows. The money will help fund a petrochemical project at a company in which Kirill Shamalov, husband of Katerina Tikhonova, the Russian president's younger daughter, has a significant interest.

Shamalov is a major shareholder in Sibur, Russia's largest processor of petrochemicals. This month Sibur obtained $1.75 billion from Russia's National Wealth Fund to help build a huge new plant in Tobolsk, Siberia.

According to corporate documents, Sibur was able to borrow the money at a current interest rate of 2 percent. That is a bargain, according to financial analysts. Artyom Usmanov, an analyst at investment firm BCS, said borrowers on the Russian bond market would expect to pay over 7 percent interest for such a loan. Irina Alizarovskaya, an analyst with Raiffeisenbank called the financing "quite cheap."

Shamalov did not respond to a request for comment.

WNU Editor: As I commented two weeks on the same topic .... 

.... Kudos to Reuters for doing this series on how business is done in Russia .... unfortunately .... they are not even touching the tip of the iceberg.