This became known to journalists of the Vedomosti newspaper from two creditors owning these papers, in addition, the information was confirmed by a representative of the Myriad Rus company, which acts on behalf of the group. According to the source of the publication, Myriad Rus has united the owners of 9.84% of the bonds.

Recall that seven-year Eurobonds worth $545 million were placed by Russian Standard Ltd in 2015. 49% of the shares of Russian Standard Bank act as collateral for them. In October 2017, the bonds defaulted: Tariko, who made his fortune selling vodka and bought a bank two years before the worst drop in oil prices in 20 years, did not pay a $35 million coupon to bondholders, citing a lack of funds.

In June, Bloomberg reported that a group of holders of 25% of the bond issue of Russian Standard Ltd demanded the immediate redemption of the securities that ended up in the hands of Tariko's creditors.

The other day, the London division of Citibank N.A., which acts as a trustee for Eurobonds, notified holders of defaulted securities that some of them plan to file a lawsuit in the near future demanding to withdraw collateral on securities - 49% of the shares of Russian Standard Bank.

About Rustam Tariko

Born in Tatarstan, 56-year-old Rustam Tariko was a permanent participant Russian list Forbes from the beginning of the ranking in 2004 until 2017.

He began to build a career in 1988 at the Business Tour travel agency. In almost 3 years, from an ordinary employee, he reached the position of a consultant in the Italian companies Ferrero and Martini & Rossi.

In 1992, Tariko began to build own business- founded the company Roust Inc., which was engaged in the sale of alcoholic products of the brands Martini, Smirnoff and Johnie Walker.

After 6 years, he founded the Russian Standard company, which became large corporation and today includes a number of companies. In 1999, Tariko bought Agrooptbank, renamed it Russian Standard and was the first in Russia to engage in consumer lending. By 2001, the bank broke even, and by the end of 2004, it took 2nd place in consumer lending after Sberbank.

Apart from financial organization The Tariko empire includes the Russian Standard Vodka and Russian Standard Insurance companies.

Tariko was the first in Russia to buy a personal Boeing, and, as he claims, he manages it exclusively on his own. What's more, he owns the world's fastest boat, the Terrible, which reaches speeds of 90 miles (or 144 km) per hour.

“Affordable luxury for everyone” is the businessman’s favorite phrase in his profile on one of the social networks.

Rust Holding, owned by Tariko, is aware of the demand of a group of investors. However, according to company representatives, this is not an unexpected or significant event and represents a technical step.

As a representative of Russian Standard Ltd. explained, it is unprofitable to collect collateral: 49% of Russian Standard Bank costs from 50 to 70 million dollars, while 25% of the face value of bonds is 136.3 million dollars.

“Currently, the issuer continues to discuss the terms of the agreement with the holders,” the holding notes.

As for the prospects of bondholders in a dispute with Rustam Tariko and Russian Standard, they, according to lawyers, are high: the process is quite obvious - the debt has not been paid, there is a pledge, and if there are no pitfalls, then it will not be difficult to foreclose on it .

The enterprising boy Rustam Tariko, having come to study in Moscow from the provinces, as a result conquered not only the capital, but the whole country, and then almost the whole world. Talented and ambitious, passionate and purposeful, he became successful person who made himself. The man who created the domestic brand, recognizable all over the world and the business - the Russian Standard empire, which made him a billionaire.

Rustam Vasilyevich Tariko is a bright representative of the post-Soviet Russian business. His personal history is inextricably linked with the history of the formation of a new economic reality in Russia in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Owner of yachts, planes, villas and beauty pageants. A connoisseur of exclusive wine and a lover of women. Patron and sole owner of a large business. How an ordinary Soviet boy from provincial Menzelinsk managed to become one of the richest people countries? What personality traits and features of perception of the changing state before our very eyes have made it possible to achieve tops in business? What is he, Rustam Tariko, whose success story resembles an exciting action?

• The future "vodka king" was born in the Tatar city of Menzelinsk on March 17, 1962. In 1989 he graduated from the Moscow Institute of Transport Engineers.
• Since 1988, he became an employee of the Italian company Business Tour, which was engaged in the resettlement of foreign businessmen in hotels in the capital. Thanks to useful acquaintances with foreign entrepreneurs, he became a consultant for the world brands Ferrero Spa and Martini & Rossi.
• In 1992, he created the Roust company, which quickly became the largest importer of elite alcohol in Russia, in particular, Martini vermouth, Johnnie Walker whiskey, and Baileys liqueur. Over time, Roust has become the second largest alcohol distributor in the world, including brands such as:
• vodka "Russian Standard", "Cranes", "Marusya", "Green Mark";
• Italian sparkling wines and vermouth Gancia;
• Scotch whiskey Glenfiddic;
• Dutch White Holl liqueurs;
• French cognac Remy Martin.
• In 1998, he registered the Russian Standard brand, aiming to move away from distribution and focus on production. In 2006, he opened his first own factory for the production of high-quality vodka. Acquired two domains to promote the brand in Russia and abroad: Vodka.com and Vodka.ru. Became an exporter in 40 countries around the world. In 2013, he became the owner of the Polish holding CEDC, one of the largest vodka producers in the world.

  How popular the Russian Standard vodka brand has gained abroad can be seen in this video:

• In 1999, Rustam Tariko created the Russian Standard bank on the basis of a small Agrooptbank, turning it into as soon as possible to the largest retail bank in the country.
• This is how the business was born - the Russian Standard empire, which included vodka, banking and insurance businesses, with the sole owner - Rustam Tariko.

This is interesting: the name Rustam means a giant, a giant.

Reference: Rustam Tariko has been a permanent member of the Russian Forbes list since the beginning of the rating in 2004. Above all, his fortune was estimated in 2007 - then it amounted to 5.5 billion dollars. In 2016, Forbes estimated the businessman's fortune at $0.5 billion. By preliminary assessment Forbes, in 2017 Tariko will not be included in the ranking of the 200 richest people in Russia.

When it comes to well-known rich entrepreneurs, the layman usually likes to hang labels: “just got lucky”, “ended up in right time in the right place”, “wealthy relatives helped” or unpretentious “stole”. In the case of Rustam Tariko, shortcuts do not work. In the 1990s, many smelled the smell of change and freedom in the country, but few were able to take advantage of it. Why did Tariko manage to climb to the very top?

Rustam had an ordinary provincial Soviet childhood, and his mother raised him alone. Already studying in Moscow, he worked as a janitor to pay for accommodation. I didn't take any money from my mother. Rustam's mother worked a lot, often went on long business trips. Rustam is from the generation of “independent children”, who from an early age are accustomed to taking care of themselves, making decisions, being responsible for themselves and their actions. At that time it was the norm for the Soviet family. At the same time, my mother always supported her son, tried to help him in everything. Tariko himself speaks of this as follows: "I know what makes me strong: I grew up in an atmosphere of great maternal love."

As a child, he was lucky. Beloved children grow up into self-confident adults, and the habit of relying on oneself helps to boldly move towards the goal. Self-confidence and personal responsibility decisions taken- qualities inherent in leaders. While others doubt, these people go and do.

This is interesting: a commercial vein has been inherent in Rustam since childhood. While studying at school, he soloed as part of the school VIA, the guys performed at various events, receiving a salary. While studying at the institute, Tariko worked as a janitor, a waiter, and sold electrical equipment. He earned his first substantial fee at the Business Tour company, receiving $5,000.

It is said that a problem ceases to be such if it can be solved. Rustam Tariko, whose biography is complete interesting stories, has the talent to emerge victorious from the most different situations. Here are some examples.

In his youth, working in the Italian company Business Tour, the charismatic and persistent Rustam agreed with the head of the Rossiya Hotel to provide hotel rooms to foreign businessmen on permanent basis. If you remember that time, it was almost impossible. And he succeeded.

Without thinking twice, Tariko suggested that Ferrero representatives organize sales of Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs in ordinary Moscow stores, and not just in specialized Beryozki. Given the Soviet realities, chocolate businessmen did not believe in the success of the enterprise. Tariko managed to persuade them and prove his case by selling the first batch of chocolate in the shortest possible time.

After the story with chocolate, Rustam Tariko became known among foreign merchants as a person who solves problems. Representatives of Martini & Rossi came to him and offered distribution.

Much later, having built his first distillery, Tariko decided to transfer the production of Russian Standard vodka from the Liviz plant in St. Petersburg to its own facilities. The Liviz management filed an application with Rospatent demanding to liquidate trademark"Russian standard". Tariko won the case, retaining the brand.

In 2006, when a wave of indignation of Russian Standard Bank borrowers arose over exorbitantly high interest rates on loans, Blockpost, a consumer protection organization, filed a lawsuit. Is it necessary to say that Tariko won the case? In fairness, it should be noted that later the bank still had to bring rates in line with market rates under pressure from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation.

Tariko called the deal to acquire the CEDC holding complex, but beautiful. He came out victorious again.

Even now, during a period of serious upheavals in the economy and, in particular, in the banking sector, Rustam Tariko speaks confidently and optimistically: “The bank found itself in some kind of perfect storm, where the cost of financing has risen sharply, and the purchasing power of Russian consumers has gone down. I believe that we have solved most of the problems.”

What personality traits help Rustam achieve victory? Phenomenal perseverance in achieving the set goal, high communication skills, brightness and charisma, ambition are other components of success.

Another component of Rustam Tariko's success is the talent to foresee and anticipate the needs of the consumer. And also to be the first on the market with your offers. His commercial solutions are simple and ingenious. They seem to be on the surface...

He put on the production and sale of expensive alcohol, when no one believed that it would be bought in Russia. Tariko won because he was one of the first to feel the coming social changes in society and the emerging need for attributes beautiful life after so many years of the Iron Curtain.

He created own brand"Russian Standard", which has become widely known both in Russia and abroad.

Already being the "vodka king" of Russia, Tariko entered the banking business and created the first retail bank with the vodka name "Russian Standard". Among classical bankers, this was accepted ambiguously and caused bewilderment. But Rustam Tariko won again, having revolutionized the consumer lending market and made his bank a leader.

Quick loans without guarantors and collateral, issued directly in stores, affordable credit cards for everyone - this was a new word in the banking services market. Over time, many commercial banks will offer similar services to their customers, but Tariko was the first.

Another facet of the entrepreneur's personality: openness to new knowledge, constant improvement of one's professional and educational level. A noteworthy fact is that already being the head of Russian Standard Bank and one of the richest people in the country, Tariko entered the INSEAD Executive School (France) for businessmen. Also in the knowledge base of an entrepreneur is the possession of several foreign languages. He once admitted that operational management is not his forte. But in the field of marketing, promoting their products to the West, advertising campaigns, design, he demonstrated serious knowledge and skills.

Rustam Vasilyevich Tariko is a controversial and complex personality. “Doing what I want is fundamental. If I don't want to go to work, I won't go. No one and nothing will force me” - these words of a businessman very accurately reflect his position in life and are a competitive advantage. Because to allow yourself to be free in desires and goals means to have great power and inspiration to bring them to life.

In private life, Tariko manifests himself in the same way as in business. He is extravagant, unpredictable, capable of grand gestures and strange deeds. He loves thrills and appreciates beauty. Rustam purchased a Boeing 747 aircraft for private use, and operates the aircraft on his own. He is able to give the name of his beloved girl to an exotic flower for fabulous money, there are legends about parties in a villa in Sardinia. He makes friends with famous world stars and arranges beauty contests. He has never been officially married, but has three children that he takes care of. Tariko loves chic cars and chic women. He cannot be called an ascetic. He loves the dolce vita with all the trappings and possibilities.

This is interesting: Rustam Tariko bought a villa in Sardinia from the wife of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for 15,000 euros.

Big business means big shocks. Today, in a crisis, the empire of Rustam Tariko is experiencing difficulties, like many private business V modern Russia. The fortune of Tariko himself was reduced to 0.5 billion dollars. Scandals and gossip rage around the businessman's name. Ruslan Tariko has experience of experiencing shocks. To maintain the business, he decided to sell part of his personal assets and contribute money for the capitalization of the holding's enterprises. The businessman, as always, is optimistic about the future. “I don’t separate work and personal things. Everything personal for me is work, and all work is personal. That's why I never work and never rest. That's how I live." And so it lives ... In 2016, Rustam Tariko signed a contract with Soyuzplodimport for the right to produce and sell Zubrovka vodka in Russia for 10 years.

Alcohol holding Roust Corporation disclosed preliminary financial results for 2017. Its net revenue increased by 15.1% to $681.8 million, sales in physical terms - by 9% to 29 million 9-liter boxes. Roust showed the current double-digit sales growth in money terms for the first time in a long time. In 2013–2015 its revenue was declining, and in 2016 grew only by 3.5% to $605.1 million, mainly due to problems in the key Russian market.

Roust - No. 2 in the world in the production of alcohol (brands "Green Mark", "Zubrovka", "Russian Standard", etc.) and a major distributor of expensive alcohol; she owns the Italian wine house Gancia. The company is controlled by the owner of Russian Standard Bank Rustam Tariko. In the winter of 2017, the Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York approved the reorganization of the alcohol holding, during which it was capitalized by $500 million, and part of the debt to holders of credit notes was exchanged for Roust shares.

In two home markets - in Poland and Russia - the holding's revenue grew by 19% to $336.7 million and by 38% to $242 million, respectively. The company attributes this to the Russian state's successful fight against illegal alcohol trafficking. True, the cleansing of the Russian market happened two years ago, and Roust’s competitors already reported an improvement in 2016. financial indicators: for example, Beluga Group almost doubled its revenue growth to 17%.

Eurobonds for such an amount with maturity in 2022 will have to be restructured by Rustam Tariko's companies, according to Reuters

But now there are difficulties with international business- it fell by almost a quarter to $103 million against a 45% increase a year earlier, writes Roust. Among the reasons is a 34% drop in sales in Ukraine, one of the key export markets, due to economic crisis. In addition, the ban on the supply of Russian products forced Roust to ship goods here from Poland. Only in 2017, the holding set up local production of Green Mark vodka in Ukraine (where exactly, is not specified) with the expectation of sales growth this year. The Green Mark is ranked 24th among the best-selling vodka brands in the world by the industry magazine Drinks International. In addition, sales in Hungary fell by more than 2 times due to the high base of the previous year: the company had to make large stocks of products before the next tax increase, the document says.

Rustam Tariko's initiative group of holders of defaulted Eurobonds Russian Standard Ltd refused to discuss their restructuring plan. On Tuesday, the issuer sent investors an invitation to a meeting on March 6 in London, as well as a plan for a possible restructuring of bonds for $451 million maturing in 2022. Tariko offered investors two options: receive 25% of the face value in cash or 20% plus a share in the bank's profits " Russian Standard, 49% of whose shares are pledged under these securities. “This proposal is unacceptable, there are no grounds for negotiations,” said the initiative group (which unites holders of 27.5% of the issue). They refuse to meet on March 6, but intend to demand early redemption of the securities from the issuer or recovery of the pledged shares of Russian Standard. Tariko Roust, a representative of the holding, called the refusal of the initiative group “a workflow” and “standard behavior of investors”: “We don’t see anything unusual or bad in this statement. Interest in the proposal is high. The representative of the holding claims that they learned about the existence of the initiative group from the media, and she did not try to contact Russian Standard. The holding, according to its representative, hopes to "get acquainted with these holders in London." Eurobonds of Russian Standard Ltd were issued in 2015 during the restructuring of two subordinated Eurobonds of Russian Standard Bank in the amount of $550 million.

The vodka oligarch has collapsed to the bottom of the crisis.

Russian Standard Bank decided to sell its Credit History Bureau. Russian Standard turned out to be the last of all the banks in the country to do this. He resisted until the last moment. But there is an instruction from the president - to open credit histories for the Central Bank. Russian Standard can no longer resist Putin. And he is forced to disclose his credit histories at least to the Central Bank. And that can lead to big problems. The fact is that the amount, as they say in banking, the irrevocable mass significantly exceeds the very share of Russian standard loans.

But the bank has neither more nor less than 33 million borrowers. And now information about them will be revealed. And this means that the situation will be revealed in financial position and the Russian standard itself.

Banking and vodka king

The owner of Russian Standard Bank is businessman Rustam Tariko. The bank is not his only brainchild. Tariko also owns a vodka brand of the same name, that is, also Russian Standard. By the way, a very popular brand among drinking people. In June of this year, Roust Trading Limited, which combines the alcohol assets of Rustam Tariko and Russian Standard Bank, defaulted on bonds worth $37 million. This month, Tariko's owner's holding company, Roust Corporation, persuaded bondholders to give him more than $500 million to pay off his debts. The problem is that the Roust Corporation could go bankrupt.

Hangover from Tariko

And, as a rule, clients of "Russian Standard" suffer from this. The fact is that instead of the promised 23% per annum, Russian Standard accrued amounts at least twice, or even many times more. In general, you could receive a card by mail, and you could use it, thinking that the interest rate is 23% ... I twist - I twist ... but I don’t care about security. However, these cards somehow did not reach the customers. More precisely, it is clear how. They were stupidly stolen from mailboxes by pre-hired criminals. As a result, almost 40 percent of the inhabitants of the Volga region and the Urals suddenly owed Russian Standard 2 million rubles.

Because, thieves come through the mail bank card activated and removed all cash from it. And the extreme ones turned out to be those that this card was addressed to. What a scam! And the bank seems to be completely out of business here. Tariko, in general, the guy is very cunning in terms of all sorts of scams. So, he managed to circle around the finger of his longtime partner in the banking business - the French company BNP Paribas. Almost with the wording "I changed my mind," he broke off the deal for the purchase by a foreign bank of a 50% stake in Russian Standard Company CJSC. BNP Paribas then filed a lawsuit in a London commercial court with a request to oblige the former Russian partner to pay compensation to the bank.
But here Rustam Tariko got hit, which is not typical for him, the most top-notch scammer. To prevent the case from taking on a criminal connotation with the participation of power structures, Tariko signed a settlement agreement.

And it drove him into a debt yoke. Because if he suddenly decides to sell someone else at least 10 percent of the bank's shares, he will have to pay the French a fine for the same amount. And this, only according to minimal estimates, is not less than 25 million dollars. And the agreement, by the way, was signed for a whole five-year period. In the last goal, rumors began to circulate that Rustam Tariko's bank was in a state of crisis. The bank laid off 50% of employees. Most importantly: "Russian Standard" refused to disclose the results financial activities at the end of the quarter!

And, meanwhile, for the year the bank goes into losses on average more than 20 billion rubles. It is not surprising that the reputable rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has downgraded the long-term credit rating of the counterparty of Russian Standard Bank to the pre-default "CCC minus". financial condition jar. It's better to listen to his clientele here. As they say, the voice of the people is the supreme law.
"Threats are coming from Russian Standard Bank. Delay in payments for three months. First they called from Kazan, I called my wife, my mother-in-law, they sent SMS to my mother that she was a creature and raised a freak. Now I started to record all conversations, I ask you to introduce your full name, position, name of the bank. Where the person is from my personal data, number and name. Today they called with a threat to come home, if they come, I will act in the same way as the bank operates, in case of threats in my direction on the territory of my house (I live in my house) I will act in the interests of yourself and your family, and to protect it by all available means.

“In 2011, starting in 2010, an employee Ildar periodically took out my parents and me several times a day. The loan was taken by our distant relative, with whom we have not communicated for many years. So he was guilty of the death of my dad! This Ildar I got it so much, and you know perfectly well how your employees communicate, that my dad had a heart attack, and my dad died, ”wrote Russian Standard about the persecution.

“To begin with, my husband has been a client of your bank since 2007. There was a credit card, they paid on time, but life turned around so that they were left without work. There were delays. As a result, in November 2015, we agreed with the bank to restructure the loan. They did a restructuring, so that the amount increased almost three times!

"I've been a client of Russian Standard since 2007 (or earlier). I never missed payments until 2016. Now it's a difficult situation due to the crisis and a collapsed business, so I missed a payment on two cards. Today, bank security officers came to the place of registration, they said, that I do not pay the loan and threatened my mother with a sick heart that they would come "cut the doors and take everything out."

And here it is necessary to put on public display credit histories. There is simply nothing to cover.

In the 2000s, the creator of one of the most popular Russian Standard vodka brands, Rustam Tariko, elbowed the raw materials magnates of the 1990s in the Forbes rating and set the tone for Moscow nightlife. Now a businessman who has dropped out of the list of the richest businessmen in Russia is rarely seen in restaurants and clubs, and more and more often - in a depressed mood. However, once Tariko was seen in high spirits at the Sibieria restaurant, where, according to eyewitnesses, champagne flowed like a river in the good old days. It was in September 2015, just then Tariko agreed with the holders of Russian Standard Eurobonds for $550 million on restructuring, pawning 49% of the bank on them.

Later, he had to sell his yacht, the 56-meter Annaeva - according to a Vedomosti source, in order to help the bank. But it did not help. In November 2017, the SPV-company Russian Standard, which issued bonds, defaulted. “It's simple. Previously, they had a bank and the word Tariko, now he has taken this word. It remains to take the bank,” the head of one of the investment companies then described in a conversation with Forbes the situation in which bondholders found themselves. By February, they gathered an initiative group and, having consolidated 25% of the issue, announced their readiness to collect 49% of Russian Standard. Now Tariko wants to sit down at the negotiating table again. Last week, he sent an offer to creditors: either they receive 25% of the Eurobond face value (about $136 million), or 20% plus a share in the bank's profit. Investors rejected the offer. The press service of the alcohol holding Tariko Roust assured Forbes that they learned about the existence of the initiative group from the media, they still do not know who is in it, but they hope to meet at an informal meeting in London on March 6.

It was the Russian Standard Bank that for a long time formed the basis of the fortune of Rustam Tariko. In the early 2000s, he was one of the pioneers in the high-margin unsecured lending market. The business model was extremely simple: huge losses from non-repayment of loans issued to customers right in the store household appliances, were more than interrupted by impressive commissions and the hard work of the "Debt Collection Agency" - the collection service at "Russian Standard". In 2006, the bank, which turned into a real cash machine, earned Tariko 14.5 billion rubles in profit. In 2007, the fortune of the vodka tycoon, according to Forbes, reached its highest point of $ 5.5 billion. True, already in the summer of that year, Tariko was sitting in the prosecutor’s office in the building on Bolshaya Dmitrovka, where he was shown dozens of complaints from clients of Russian Standard about hidden commissions, impracticable conditions for loans and regular bank collectors. There were even letters addressed to the president.

Tariko understood everything. He canceled all commissions, as a result, the profit of Russian Standard fell to 9.5 billion rubles in 2007 and to 7.5 billion rubles in 2008. The real test awaited the bank in 2014, when a crisis occurred in the Russian consumer lending market. Russian Standard showed a loss of almost 16 billion rubles that year. By the first half of 2015, the level of delinquency reached 28% of the portfolio, at the end of the year the bank recorded a loss of 14 billion rubles.

Profit "Russian Standard" began to receive only in 2017, having earned 1.4 billion rubles in January-September. However, analysts surveyed by Forbes do not express much optimism about the bank. Olga Ulyanova from Moody's doubts that, within the framework of today's business model, Russian Standard can move towards sustainable healthy growth and says that for last years the bank lost most competitive advantage in the traditional segment. “Outside of retail, the bank's business is heavily concentrated on related party transactions, which makes the overall financial results volatile and unpredictable,” the analyst believes.

The bank not only lends to the alcohol business of Tariko (in the report of the alcohol holding Tariko Roust for the first half of 2017, loans from related parties for $68 million are indicated), but also acts as the owner of 30% of the holding. The shares were listed on the balance sheet in 2015. Then Tariko, in order to support the bank, pulled off an elegant operation. Russian Standard bought Roust shares and then invested the money spent on the purchase into capital in the form of grant assistance.

Do Roust shares make a stake in Russian Standard more attractive for bondholders? Hardly. Partner Tertychny Agabalyan Ivan Tertychny says that 49% of the bank's shares does not give the right to dispose of its assets. Moreover, as holders of essentially subordinated bonds, Tariko's creditors should be more interested than others in the bank's stable position and the absence of claims against it regarding the composition and quality of its loan portfolio. “If a bank has problems such as license revocation, reorganization, bankruptcy, these creditors get nothing,” says Tertychny. - If anyone would say that the bank was lending excessively to related parties, issuing non-market loans to Rustam Tariko's companies, then it is unlikely that they will be the owners of Russian Standard bonds. If they go for it, it will be only after they lose hope of receiving money from the issuer of bonds - in order, for example, to make claims personally to Tariko. But even this is hardly possible without serious grounds and evidence.”

The alcohol business, on which the state of the bank now largely depends, also caused Tariko a lot of problems. In 2013, his Roust became the owner of the bankrupt Polish alcohol holding Central European Distribution Corporation (among the brands are Parliament, Talka and Green Mark). Tariko has been fighting for CEDC since 2011, buying shares and bonds of the company. In total, Tariko spent $450 million. Investments were made mainly on dividends from Russian Standard, which in 2011-2012 still felt good and paid the owner 4.9 billion rubles. In a 2013 interview with Forbes, Tariko called the CEDC deal "difficult but beautiful." It really allowed Roust to become the second largest vodka producer in the world. True, Tariko inherited about $650 million of debt from CEDC, converted into Roust credit notes maturing in 2016 and 2018.

Also in 2013, Roust's revenue began to fall. The entire alcohol market had problems then. Director of the CIFRRA project Vadim Drobiz recalls that until 2010, in every store in Russia, including all federal retail, illegal vodka was sold at half the price of legal one. In 2010, it was squeezed out of federal and large regional retail, but it disappeared from other stores only in 2016 thanks to EGAIS. Other problems were superimposed, for example, the excise reform, which doubled the price of the cheapest vodka - for a significant part of the population, the prices turned out to be unaffordable.

Roust also faced other difficulties, for example, a ban on the import of Russian products to Ukraine and access to Russian market cheap vodka seller Status Group, which became the absolute leader in the wholesale market in 2015.

Now the situation has changed. Vadim Drobiz notes that over the past two years, the legal vodka market in Russia has grown by 30% and Roust was able to take advantage of this by increasing production. Back in 2010, the Tariko holding bought the Buinsky distillery from the Tatar Tatspirtprom for 632 million rubles and invested another 900 million rubles in modernization. Now it is one of the largest private distilleries in Russia. In 2017, Tariko was able to solve the problem with Ukraine by launching the production of Green Mark vodka in the country.

Alcohol holding Tariko continues, according to its own data, to remain the second producer of vodka in the world. But not in Russia, where in 2017 Roust took only third place, spilling 8.36 million deciliters of vodka and losing to Tatspirtprom (8.58 million) and Beluga Group (9.58 million). In 2017, the holding's net revenue increased by 15.1% to $681 million. This is more than Roust himself predicted in 2016: then the holding promised to show $673.6 million in 2017. True, EBITDA will not exceed $72 million (according to preliminary data) , although it was planned to receive $125 million. However, the management of Roust does not lose optimism and plans to receive $824.5 million in net proceeds in 2018 - a year and a half ago, they planned to show such a figure to investors no earlier than 2020.

“In my opinion, the company has overcome all the main problems of the alcohol direction,” says Drobiz. - Tariko's policy is to be on the edge. It bears fruit for those who have strong nerves and a constant readiness to overcome a possible crisis. Tariko has it. That's why he usually wins in the end."