The former owner of Željezara bought a bank in Montenegro

The co-owner of the company "Midland Resources", billionaire Aleks Jevsejević Šnajder, is one of the two ultimate owners of the Montenegrin Nova banka, which was sold by the company "Azmont Investments" at the beginning of this year. "Midland Resources" is the company that was given by the Government of Montenegro to manage the Nikšić Ironworks from the middle of 2004 until the end of 2005, when it left the factory under unspecified circumstances and owed the state a multi-million tax amount of 2,7 million.

Nova banka announced yesterday that, after the successful change of ownership on March 9, it operates under the name "Adriatic bank", stating, among other things, that its ultimate owners are Alex Schneider and Dr. David Genetsov. Schneider was born in Leningrad in 1968 and then lived in Israel and Canada.

The Central Bank (CBCG), which is headed by Governor Radoje Žugić, did not want to tell "Vijesta" in mid-January who the owners of the company "Adriatic Capital LLC" from the American state of Delaware are, which on January 15th bought 7,1% ownership of Nova Banka from Podgorica on the Montenegro Stock Exchange for XNUMX, XNUMX million euros from Azmont Investments, which is building the Portonovi tourist complex in Kumbor.

The company "Adriatic Capital LLC" was founded by two natural persons (citizens of Canada and the USA) for the purpose of acquiring a direct qualified participation in Nova banka. Their financial condition, as future shareholders of the bank, is satisfactory, so it was assessed that they are able to support the projected growth and development of the bank with their capital", the CBCG announced in January.

"Forbes" magazine, in an article published in 2005, states that Schneider is a Russian-Canadian businessman who built a financial empire worth more than four billion dollars. In addition to banking, he is involved in the steel industry, construction, hotel industry... Forbes writes that part of that 1,4 billion money he acquired from trade in Ukrainian steel and taking control of the fourth largest steel plant in Ukraine called Zaporizhstal, which is owned by of the "Midland Resources" consortium.

Forbes writes that "Midland Resources" is registered in the British tax haven of Guernsey. Under that holding are the power network in Armenia, two hotels, a bakery chain and a meat production company in Serbia, a Russian steel plant in Volgograd, a casino in Moscow...

"Six months after he bought a steel plant in Montenegro last June (June 2004) for a thousand dollars, a $500.000 social program and a promise to invest $46 million, his CEO's car was blown up. Authorities are investigating the case, but according to Schneider, there are many suspects," according to Forbes.

"Midland" then got Željezara for only one thousand dollars, and the Government assumed debts of 60 million. According to the contract, two-thirds of the amount of the electricity bill was also paid by the Government, and the severance pay for the surplus of 500 workers determined at the time was also paid from the budget.

In Nikšić, on December 15, 2004, an explosive was detonated in the evening under the "Audi A8" owned by Nikšić Željezara, which is used by the executive director Vadim Aleksandrovič Lejbenzon. The explosion happened in front of the balloon-hall under Trebjes, at the moment when the Ukrainian man was playing indoor football with his colleagues from the factory. There were no injuries in this incident.

The representative of "Midland Resources" Lejbenzon filled the pages of the Montenegrin press also because of the court case initiated by the executive director of the Group for Changes (GZP), now a member of the DF, Nebojša Medojević, who sued him for defamation.

In December 2004, representatives of GZP accused the company "Midland" and the director at the time of damaging Željezara for 2,2 million euros, of not paying contributions and taxes on salaries, of selling products from Željezara to their companies far below the price and of investing little into modernization. Lejbenzon retaliated with a counter-accusation that the companies, whose directors are members of GZP, earned 450.000 euros each from Željezara. He claimed that GZP members were "probably offended that they could not continue to embezzle from Željezar", which was followed by a defamation lawsuit.

Before the elections in Nikšić, Lejbenzon supported the DPS candidate for mayor, saying that he regretted not being able to vote "for the only candidate who understands the needs and position of the Željezara".

At the beginning of 2005, Lejbenzon was removed from the position of executive director, with the explanation that he was assigned to a new position. After that he traveled to Russia. Shortly after him, "Midland" also left Željezara, leaving it in debt.

"Midland Resources" was one of those interested in the tender for Tivat's Montepranzo, for which it offered 10 million euros with investments of 50 million euros.

Good with Trump, and his partner with Putin

The non-profit organization "Investigaterussia", which dealt with Russia's interference in the processes in the USA, states that in 2010, Schneider financially helped the project of the "future American president Donald Trump, the Trump tower" in Toronto. Trump had started the project several years earlier with the Ritz-Carlton company and developer Leib Waldman, but when the media revealed that Waldman was under investigation, the Ritz-Carlton pulled out of the project. After that, Schneider signed an agreement with Trump on the licensing and management of the "Trump tower" project in Toronto. At that time, Schneider sold part of the shares in the Zaporizhstal steel plant in Ukraine and, according to the media, he used that money to financially support the construction of the "Trump tower" in Toronto.

He sold the shares to a group of five offshore companies financed by the Russian state bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) controlled by Russian President Vladimir Putin. VEB came under US sanctions due to Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Forbes states that Trump and Schneider did not know each other before the entry of the Russian-Canadian businessman into the business started by Trump before the election for the US president. "Trump tower" in Toronto was officially opened in 2012, and Trump and Schneider cut the ribbon together.

While he is in business with Trump, his partner in Midland, Ukrainian Eduard Shifrin, was granted Russian citizenship in 2016 by a decree signed by Putin.