Ivan Jegorov—a United Russia legislator who heads Ak Bars Holding, the Tatarstan conglomerate whose Zelenodolsk shipyards build Kalibr-armed corvettes deployed in Russia’s assault on Ukraine’s Snake Island—has quietly embedded himself in the European Union, an investigation published by Bratislava-based outlets Aktuality.sk and Infosecurity.sk on 19 June 2025 reveals. Reporters traced a 25-percent stake held by Mr Jegorov in Timerchan s.r.o. to a commercial address in the western Slovak city of Nitra that also houses two related firms managed by Russian businessman Ilyaz Vafin; one of those companies lists a Tatarstan government agency as co-owner. While the United States, European Union and United Kingdom have sanctioned several Ak Bars subsidiaries—including the Zelenodolsk yard and Ak Bars Bank—Slovakia’s Ministry of Finance offered no comment on how a senior Kremlin-aligned industrialist came to operate inside the bloc’s single market, leaving unanswered questions about potential sanctions evasion and the broader vulnerability of EU corporate registers to Russia’s defence-industrial network.
A 19 June 2025 investigative report by leading Slovak data journalist Peter Sabo—produced for the specialist platform Infosecurity.sk and published by Aktuality.sk—traces the business activities of Ivan Jegorov, a senior politician in Russia’s ruling United Russia party, to company records in the western Slovak city of Nitra.
The article notes that Mr Jegorov, who serves as General Director of the Tatarstan-based industrial conglomerate Ak Bars Holding and has sat in the State Council of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan since 2009, is regarded by Russian investigative outlets as a direct facilitator of the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine.
According to the report, Ak Bars Holding employs more than 20,000 people and controls assets across eight industrial sectors. Its flagship, the A. M. Gorky Shipyard in Zelenodolsk, is credited with producing more than 600 warships, including Buyan-M-class corvettes armed with Kalibr cruise missiles. One of the yard’s patrol vessels, the Vasily Bykov, allegedly took part in Russia’s February 2022 assault on Ukraine’s Snake Island. The shipyard, together with other Ak Bars entities, has been placed under United States, European Union, United Kingdom and allied sanctions for its role in Russian military operations. A separate subsidiary, Elektropribor in Kazan, is described as a major supplier of avionics and naval navigation systems, while Ak Bars Bank was blacklisted in 2023 despite earlier efforts to distance itself from the group.
Mr Jegorov’s political influence is underlined by his reported proximity to Rustam Minnichanov, President of Tatarstan, whom he frequently accompanies on overseas trade missions. The article states that these trips combine diplomacy with efforts to secure new markets, and it cites claims that front companies in Uzbekistan—allegedly involving Elektropribor—may be used to circumvent sanctions on drone components. None of these allegations has been addressed publicly by Ak Bars Holding; the company’s position is Not Provided.
Unanswered questions over Nitra corporate hub
The investigation identifies a 25-per-cent stake held by Mr Jegorov in Timerchan s.r.o., registered at an address in Nitra that also hosts Torgovyj Dom Tatarstan s.r.o. and Daiva Export Import Group s.r.o. All three firms are managed by Russian businessman Ilyaz Vafin. Torgovyj Dom Tatarstan lists as co-owner a Tatarstan government agency responsible for international cooperation. Daiva Export Import Group, which supplied industrial piping and fittings to projects in Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine, reported revenues of EUR 4.5 million in 2020, fell to near-zero in 2021–22 and rebounded to EUR 1.5 million in 2023. The reasons for these fluctuations are Unknown.
Mr Vafin did not respond to questions from Aktuality.sk concerning the nature of his collaboration with Mr Jegorov or current business activities. Slovakia’s Ministry of Finance likewise provided no comment as to whether it was aware of Mr Jegorov’s interests in Nitra or what measures, if any, it might contemplate.
The report further recalls that Mr Vafin’s firm previously cooperated with Czech-Slovak energy company Synecta Holding on power-generation projects in Uzbekistan, a venture that faced early difficulties when a Synecta executive was detained by Uzbek authorities and later released under presidential amnesty.
Aktuality.sk concludes that these corporate links illustrate how influential figures within Russia’s defence-industrial and political establishment have pursued commercial footholds inside the European Union, while several key aspects of their operations in Slovakia remain unclarified.
Source:
Peter Sabo | Aktuality.sk
Infosecurtiy.sk
