Russian Visa Center in Estonia is owned by a tour operator from Moscow
Interesting details emerged from the recent story of scandalous opening of the Russian Visa Application Center in Estonia, that has been already reported by RATA-news. Let us remind you that some Estonian tour operators expressed their complaints regarding the establishment of Russian Visa Center in Tallinn. Representatives of 20 out of 21 travel companies accredited at the Russian Embassy called for the meeting with the Ambassador to claim their pretensions. Russian-language Estonian mass media was filled with outraged publications. It is not clear whether the tour operators managed to meet the Ambassador, but the journalists were able to discover some juicy details about the owners of the visa business.
At the time of opening the visa center was owned by an Estonian company limited by shares named Invisa Fiduciary Services OU. This company was established by another local enterprise Lexcom Oigusburoo OU only on November 9th, 2010. And then just after two days all the shares were sold to three private individuals – Farid Tariverdiev, Alexander Beloborodov and Timur Abramov from Moscow.
Interestingly, Executive Director of Russian Visa Center Mr. Ivan Breganov claims that the MFA of Russia has been examining the Invisa Fiduciary Services OU company for half a year in order to make sure it is not connected with the travel business. It turned out that officially it is not. However the company’s shares owners work for Inalex travel company.
Thereat the journalists failed to find out if the tender to manage the visa center was carried out or it was just the “selection those who applied”. Anyway the media reports that the Russian Ambassador doesn’t know how many companies took part in the tender; neither could anybody specify the names of the companies that applied to MFA. But the Estonian tour operators claim that Inalex was actively distributing to its Estonian partners letters offering to issue single-entry, one-year and other visas on a merchant basis. And these letters were signed by Alexander Beloborodov – future shareholder of Invisa Fiduciary Services OU.
The story repeats. As we all remember, back in spring 2006 the first visa center in Russia – the British one – was opening with a grand scandal. Partly because a tour operator selling tours to UK and thus is a direct competitor to other Russian travel companies, was engaged in its establishment. That time the market participants managed to draw the competitor away from the cushy job. But the disease happens to be contagious.
Two out of three Russian visa centers opened abroad (Great Britain, Spain, Estonia) provoked scandals. The Spanish situation even caused a press-conference in Moscow.