Igor Makarov (businessman)

Igor Viktorovich Makarov (Russian: Игорь Викторович Макаров; born 5 April 1962 Ashkhabad, Turkmen SSR, Soviet Union) is the President of ARETI International Group (formerly known as ITERA International Group).[1] A former professional cyclist and member of the USSR national cycling team, Igor Makarov has, since his retirement from competition, been a key supporter and sponsor of international cycling and serves on the UCI Management Committee since 2011. [2]

For other people with the same name, see Igor Makarov.
Igor Makarov
Born (1962-04-05) 5 April 1962
Ashkhabad, Turkmen SSR, Soviet Union (now Ashgabat, Turkmenistan)
NationalityRussian
OccupationPresident of ARETI International Group

Early life

Makarov was born as the only child of his parents in Ashkhabad, Turkmen SSR[3] in 1962.

From 1979 to 1986, Makarov was a cyclist for the Soviet team, winning medals and awards, and became close to Saparmurat Niyazov or Turkmenbashy[lower-alpha 1] who ruled the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic and later Turkmenistan from 1985 to 2006.[4][lower-alpha 2]

He graduated from Turkmen State University in 1983, then served in the Soviet Army.[5]

The name ARETI is derived from Makarov's previous company's name ITERA (spelled backwards). In the summer of 2017, Makarov's new yacht, Areti, was delivered by Lürssen.[6]

Career

ITERA Oil and Gas Company, founded in 1992 by Igor Makarov with headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida and Sergey Chemezov's wife Yekaterina Ignatova (Russian: Екатерина Игнатова) originally owned a 5% stake,[7][8][9][10][11][12] was the main subsidiary of the ITERA Group.[lower-alpha 3] According to Dmytro Firtash, Makarov's head of security was Semion Mogilevich.[7][20][lower-alpha 4] Due to enormous reserves, Makarov's Itera was the fourth largest natural gas company in the world in 2000.[21][lower-alpha 5] In 2012, ITERA entered into a joint venture with Rosneft and a year later, Rosneft acquired Itera Oil and Gas Company for $2.9 billion.[23] In 2015, ITERA International Group of Companies was renamed ARETI International Group as a result of rebranding.[24][25] Makarov purchased a mansion in Jacksonville, Florida.[4]

According to undisclosed documents obtained by a journalist of Eurasia Daily Monitor in 2009, Makarov was the Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) of companies affiliated with the then company ITERA, many of which allegedly registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and other offshore tax havens.[26] He was one of many individuals with Russian business interests named as ‘oligarchs’ in the CAATSA unclassified report, signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2017, even though he believed the legislation was "seriously flawed".[27][28] The list imposed no new sanctions[29][30] and shortly after it was released, it was reported and confirmed by the Treasury Department that it was copied from the Forbes’ 2017 “World Billionaires” list.[31]

Cycling

Makarov was a member of the USSR national cycling team, champion and prizewinner of the all-Union (USSR) and international cycling competitions. Makarov is also a Master of Sports of International Class.[32]

He actively supports and sponsors the international cycling movement.[33] From 2010 to 2016, he was President of the Russian Cycling Federation (RCF)[34] and in 2016 was elected as Honorary President of the Russian Cycling Federation. In March 2011, Makarov became a member of the Management Committee of the International Cycling Union, UCI.[35] The team Katusha was created by him in 2008 within the framework of the previously established Russian Global Cycling Project, which was intended to help cycling in Russia to move to a qualitatively new level.[36] Oleg Tinkov's cycling team Tinkoff Credit Systems disbanded in 2008 and transferred its structure to form Katusha.[37][38]

Awards

Makarov has been decorated with state awards from different countries for his significant contributions to developing economic relations and strengthening friendship and cooperation between the people. Among the awards are the Order of Friendship of Peoples and the Medal of Francisk Scorina (state awards of Belarus), the Friendship Medal (state award of Mongolia), the Order "Gloria Muncii" (Work Merit) (the state award of Moldova), as well as the Order of Holy Faithful Prince Daniel of Moscow and Innokenty the Sanctifier Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, 3rd Class of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Order of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, 3rd Class of the Russian Orthodox Church, Honorary Reward "Аkinfy Nikitich Demidov" of the International Demidov's Foundation.[39]

Community service

Makarov has created the charitable Makarov Foundation to support children's welfare and people with autism and other developmental disabilities. Makarov, through his foundation, has given a grant to build the Mount Sinai Adult Autism Clinic,[40] supported the Best Buddies International’s annual Hublot Best Buddies Challenge: Miami[41] and the annual Tour de Broward 2020, which raised more than $700,000 for the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital.[42] In addition, Makarov also donated money to the Flight of Hope Project to save the population of Siberian cranes.[43]

Notes
  1. Turkmen: Türkmenbaşy
  2. Saparmurat Niyazov or Turkmenbashy was appointed First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR in 1985 by Mikhail Gorbachev and was a staunch supporter of the August Putsch.
  3. Although both Itera and Eural Trans Gas were both owned by Highrock Holding Ltd. which was registered in Cyprus in 2000 by Olga Schneider (Russian: Ольга Шнайдер), who is Semion Mogilevich's current wife, and owned by both Marina Kalinovskaya (15.99% stake) and Dmitry Firtash (16.99% stake), Itera's major competitor the Hungarian registered Eural Trans Gas, which through Eural Trans Gas's Denby Holdings' Centra Gas which has a 50% stake in the Switzerland registered RosUkrEnergo, became the dominant natural gas supplier to Ukraine beginning in late 2002 and was later replaced by Gazprom and Semion Mogilevich supported RosUkrEnergo as Ukraine's dominant natural gas supplier in 2003.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19]
  4. Makarov's attorneys deny that Semion Mogilevich was head of security.[20]
  5. In 1998, Itera became largest independent natural gas producer in Russia by 1998, and, in 2002, Gazprom began to reduce Itera’s market share by increasing transit tariffs.[22]

References
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  3. "Russian oligarch denies links to woman in epicenter of Austrian leak scandal — RT World News". Sky News. 20 May 2019.
  4. "Tinker, tailor, cyclist, spy". INRNG. The Inner Ring. 29 December 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  5. "Игорь Макаров: Биография" [Igor Makarov: Biography]. «Ведомости» (in Russian). 2010. Archived from the original on December 10, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  6. "Yacht Areti".
  7. Harding, Luke (December 1, 2010). "US embassy cables: Gas supplies linked to Russian mafia". The Guardian. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  8. "WikiLeaks cables link Russian mafia boss to EU gas supplies: Semyon Mogilevich, one of FBI's most wanted people, identified as real power behind billionaire owner of Ukrainian-based RUE". The Guardian. December 1, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  9. Воронов, Владимир (May 8, 2016). ""Роспылесос" Сергея Чемезова" ["Rospylosos" by Sergey Chemezov]. Радио Свобода (in Russian). Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  10. Резник, Ирина (Reznik, Irina) (2010). "«Трейдерская покупка» Сергея Чемезова: Как стало известно «Ведомостям», супруга гендиректора «Ростехнологий» Сергея Чемезова Екатерина Игнатова — совладелец нефтегазового холдинга «Итера». Чемезов говорит, что это для него сюрприз: он думал, доля в «Итере» продана" ["Trader's Purchase" by Sergey Chemezov: As it became known to " Vedomosti", the wife of the general director of " Russian Technologies" Sergei Chemezov Yekaterina Ignatova - co-owner of the oil and gas holding " Itera". Chemezov said that for him it is a surprise: he thought interest in " Itera" sold]. «Ведомости» (in Russian). Archived from the original on December 10, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
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  12. Dawisha 2014, pp. 58, 240.
  13. "Веселящий Газ: Абсурдность в Газовой торговле Между Туркменистаном и Украиной" [Laughing gas: Absurdity in Gas Trade Between Turkmenistan and Ukraine] (PDF). Global Witness. 1 April 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
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Dawisha, Karen (2014). Putin's Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia?. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4767-9519-5.

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