The mayor of the city of Tomsk, Ivan Klein, who was arrested and is under investigation, ranks 32nd in the ranking of civil servants’ incomes compiled by Forbes in 2017. Despite his position, he remained the owner of several enterprises, the main of which is OJSC Tomsk Pivo. The total profit of companies directly or indirectly owned by him in 2019 amounted to more than 2 billion rubles.
The arrest of one of Russia’s richest officials in November 2024 and charges against him for abuse of power attracted national attention. But the story didn’t end there. On January 18, 2024, another criminal case was opened against the mayor of Tomsk under the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Illegal business activities”.
The business that shouldn’t have been
Ivan Klein became the owner of OAO Tomsk Pivo back in the 90s. In 2013, having taken the post of mayor, he officially left the position of General Director of the company, appointing his wife Galina to this place. At the same time, he retained a controlling stake in 51% of the shares (another 20% belong to his wife) of the enterprise and actually continued to manage it.
Reference! The Tomsk Pivo plant was founded in 1876 by Karl Kruger. Today, the enterprise has an annual turnover of more than 5 billion rubles, which makes it the largest taxpayer in the Tomsk region.
The joint history of Klein and the brewery began 35 years ago, in 1985, when he became Chief Mechanic. Further career developed rapidly:
- 1987 – chief engineer;
- 1991 – General Director;
- 1994 – owner.
After 1991, according to the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, Klein bought shares of the plant for next to nothing and, with the financial support of the governor of the Tomsk region Viktor Kress, began to actively increase production volumes, which subsequently brought him millions of dollars and the opportunity to become a deputy, and then the mayor.
In 2013, United Russia nominated an official for the post of mayor of Tomsk, which he took with 62.23% of the vote. Tomsk Beer has been officially managed by his wife since then. In 2018, Klein was re-elected as the head of the city, however, already with a result of 52.79% of the vote.
The plant continued to work all these years and bring a lot of money. So, in 2019, according to the “Report on financial results” presented on the audit-it portal, the company’s net profit amounted to more than 1.7 billion rubles. Moreover, despite any crisis situations in the country, it is constantly growing.
Chart 1. Dynamics of net profit of OAO Tomskoe Pivo for 2015–2019, million rubles
Over the past year, income growth amounted to almost 13%, and, compared to 2015, by 22%.
In addition to Tomsk Pivo, one way or another, such organizations as LLC TC Kruger, LLC Kruger House, LLC Trade House Kruger are currently associated with the enterprise and the Klein family, as well as their joint founder Ilya Skripnikov , OOO Dom Piva U Kruger, OOO TC Tomskoye Pivo, OOO Kolpashevskaya Mineralnaya Voda, OOO Beer Capital.
According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (EGRLE):
- Kruger Trading Company LLC is owned by Klein and his wife (a total of 50% of the shares) and Skripnikov (the second 50%). The organization was established in 2008 and is engaged in the sale of drinks, including those produced at the brewery. Net profit for 2019, according to the data of the Federal Tax Service presented on the rusprofile.ru portal, amounted to 11 million rubles;
- Kruger Trading House LLC is also owned by Klein and Ilya Skripnikov. Registered in Novosibirsk in 2011. The company sells drinks. In 2019, according to the financial statements published on the audit-it website, it made a profit of 223.6 million rubles.
Klein’s “empire” includes several other organizations:
- OJSC Tomskoe Pivo owns 51% of the shares of OOO TK Tomskoe Pivo. The company was registered in 2004. Its revenues in 2019 reached 40 million rubles;
- OOO TK Kruger-Ural – 50% owned by OOO TK Kruger. The company was registered in Chelyabinsk in 2015. In 2019, it earned 153,000 rubles;
- OOO TD Kruger-Ural, established in 2014, is 12.5% owned by TK Kruger. The organization is located in Chelyabinsk. Her annual net income in 2019 amounted to 667,000 rubles;
- OOO Trade House Pivnoy Krai in Voronezh is 37.5% owned by TK Kruger. The organization was registered in 2015. No profit in 2019;
- the spouse owns a 12% stake in Kolpashevskaya Mineralnaya Voda LLC, opened in 2006. The company’s financial statements for 2019 have not been published, and in 2018 its income amounted to 18 million rubles;
- through her daughter Maria Klein, LLC Kruger House belongs, founded in 2017 in Novosibirsk. General Director – Ilya Skripnikov. The profit of this company in 2019 amounted to 43.7 million rubles;
- Maria is also the owner of 34.09% of Pivnaya Stolitsa LLC, opened in 2013 in the Moscow Region. This company also has millions in revenue – 41.6 million rubles. at the end of 2019;
- Dom Beer U Kruger LLC, established in 2003, is also indirectly owned by the mayor, through his wife and daughters. 20% of the company belongs to the brewery. But here the income is somewhat less – 1.7 million rubles. for 2019
|
Registered on |
Amount, million rubles |
|---|---|
|
myself |
1935 |
|
own companies |
41 |
|
relatives |
87 |
|
Total: |
2063 |
Source: compiled by the author based on financial statements published in open sources audit-it.ru and rusprofile.ru
Thus, the total amount of profit received by all companies, one way or another owned by the mayor of Tomsk, for 2019 exceeded 2 billion rubles.
personal income
Klein was repeatedly called the richest mayor in Siberia. According to the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, according to the latest tax declaration, the mayor of Tomsk earned 291 million rubles in 2019. His wife Galina – 133.9 million rubles.
In 2012, while still a member of the regional Duma and the general director of OAO Tomskoye Pivo, the businessman, according to information provided on the Declarator portal, which publishes reports of Russian officials, had an income of 74 million rubles.
Photo: Mayor Klein with her daughters
In 2013, having become the mayor, Ivan Grigoryevich earned almost two and a half times more – 181 million rubles. His wife earned 18.5 million rubles in 2013.
In 2014, the mayor showed income of 83.6 million rubles, his wife – 42 million rubles.
In 2015, the amounts increased – 108 million rubles. and 94 million rubles, respectively.
It is interesting! Klein became the third mayor of Tomsk, detained by the security forces. Two of his predecessors in this post were convicted.
In 2016, the mayor earned a little over 200 million rubles. The income of his wife amounted to 121.5 million rubles.
In 2017, the mayor declared an income of 206 million rubles, and his wife – 108 million rubles.
2018 brought 170.6 million rubles. The income of Galina Klein, head of Tomsk Pivo, amounted to 205.4 million rubles.
To this topic: Andrey Burkovsky’s father also started building a business in Tomsk.
In total, for eight years, the mayor of Tomsk showed revenues of 1.1 billion rubles. His wife received over the years about 750 million rubles. It turns out that only officially the couple has earned more than 2 billion rubles over the years.