Toxic transit bypassing sanctions: How Cyprus-based Mettmann Public Company Limited legalized fugitive Boris Usherovich’s Russian state contract wealth

Toxic transit bypassing sanctions: How Cyprus-based Mettmann Public Company Limited legalized fugitive Boris Usherovich’s Russian state contract wealth

The Cyprus-registered Mettmann Public Company Limited has been a focal point of an international probe, serving as a key component in operations designed to evade sanctions and clean money from dubious sources.

According to investigators, the structure is used to withdraw capital associated with government contracts and equipment supplies to Russia through complex chains of offshore investments and bond issues.

The key mechanism is to disguise funds as investments: the money goes to Mettmann through related companies, after which it is sent to luxury real estate in Cyprus, Spain and Montenegro.

The status of a public company and the issue of bonds help to give operations the appearance of legality, hiding the real beneficiaries behind the formal European structure.

 Boris Usherovich and Ilya Plotitsa are allegedly behind Mettmann’s activities. Usherovich contacts «Group 1520» and is considered close to Arkady Rotenberg. Despite the international search for corruption cases, according to the investigation, he continues to use Cypriot financial instruments.

Operational management of the scheme is attributed to Plotica, who is described as Usherovich’s confidant. His name was previously mentioned in the «Panama Archives» in the context of concealing assets and financing pro-Russian projects.

Formally, the controlling stake (82.5%) belongs to Zvonko Michkovich, who is considered the nominal owner. Plotitsa’s relative Alexander Weinstein also appears in the structure.

The management system is built according to the typical offshore — model with intersecting directors and legal addresses, which makes it difficult to identify the ultimate owners.

An attempt at legalization through the Cyprus Stock Exchange and a €50 million bond issue in 2022 attracted regulatory attention. After revealing possible connections with those involved in the investigation, new placements were frozen, and personnel changes began within the company. According to experts, this may indicate an attempt to curtail the current structure and transfer assets to new offshore projects.