Ten facts from the life of vitaly arbuzov. One of the most successful businessmen - the owner of Fenox Vitaly Arbuzov Vitaly Arbuzov family

April 3, 2014 10:06 am

One of the most non-public and most innovative Belarusian businessmen, Vitaly Arbuzov, celebrates his fiftieth birthday today, on April 2.

About how the owner of one of the most expensive cars in Belarus (Bentley) made money on it on spare parts for VAZ, whether he will hold out in this business after 2017 and how many startups he invested in California and Southeast Asia - in the material of the "Diary ".

One of the most successful and influential businessmen of Belarus can often be seen in the News café or ID-bar, but his only commentary was found in the media only in the Singapore edition. Vitaly Arbuzov he does not like publicity through the mass media, and, accordingly, there is not a lot of personal information about him. Much more information about his affairs and numerous businesses.

Arbuzov comes from the small regional center Krasnopolye in the Mogilev region. On the website of the 2nd school (now - just a secondary school in the urban village of Krasnopolye), his last name is also mentioned as one of the most famous graduates. Among the latter are also honored artists of Belarus and Russia Vladimir Solodky and Lyudmila Lavrinovich, master of sports of the USSR Vasily Manko.

The knowledge gained at school helped the future businessman to enter the Belarusian Polytechnic Institute - the mechanical engineering faculty. Arbuzov specializes in metal-cutting machines and tools. Three years after receiving a specialty, in 1989, he implemented the skills he received at the university in his own business. This year is considered to be the year of foundation of the "Fenox" company and the beginning of a career as a successful entrepreneur.

In business, Arbuzov, at least until recently, was distinguished by the fact that he was one of the few large entrepreneurs who made it based on his specialty. He himself is the author and co-author of many developments that are currently implemented and produced at more than 10 factories of the Fenox Global Group. In the patent databases of the CIS, his surname is mentioned as a co-author of a ball joint, a disc brake with a parking brake mechanism, a device to facilitate starting an internal combustion engine, etc.

The first years of the existence of "Fenoks" (1989-1995) showed Arbuzov the main thing. Namely: in order to achieve something, especially in the machine-building segment, you need to have competitive technologies. As the young engineer managed to buy equipment from Siemens itself in 1995, in fact the whole plant is covered with darkness. But he did it, became the owner of the East German company Bremse Hydraulik. In the former GDR, the plant specialized in the production of auto components for Warburgs, Trabants, IFA and agricultural machinery, and after the unification of Germany, as a result of privatization, it became the property of Siemens. So Arbuzov got the Fenox Automative company, which became a source of hard currency.

The source, I must say, is very stable. Together with the plant and equipment, the businessman got both his clients and orders. The first of these was ATE, a member of the Continental holding. Fenox became its subcontractor for many years, supplying front brake calipers and brake cylinders for assembly line assembly to Audi and Volkswagen.

Now the main western client of the holding is another well-known manufacturer of auto components, TRW. Through it, the Arbuzov factories supply their products (units with "Fenox" caliper brackets, brake cylinders and axles) to the conveyors of Audi, Volkswagen and Fiat.

But in the mid-1990s, the main direction was not Europe, but the native post-Soviet space. The colossal shortage and crazy prices for spare parts for VAZ and GAZ were the businessman's feat to expand on the secondary market of the CIS. Part of the equipment from Germany was transported to Minsk, where the first rear brake cylinder for the VAZ 2105 was produced. squares. In 2005, Arbuzov bought out a share in PKUP "708 Mechanical Plant of the Minsk City Executive Committee" and became a shareholder of the Joint Stock Company "Minsk Plant of Automotive Equipment". Later, part of the volume (about 25%) was outsourced.

Now Fenox Automative Сomponents is a well-known subcontractor in the European market and one of the largest players in the CIS in the production and distribution of brake systems, cooling systems, suspensions, electrical systems, transmission and steering systems. In the secondary market of the CIS, its share in some positions is 50%. The enterprises of the division are also suppliers to the conveyors of AvtoVAZ, UAZ and domestic MAZ and MTZ.

The emphasis on the markets of Europe and Russia made the figure of Arbuzov almost invisible as a major businessman in Belarus itself. And now Belarus accounts for no more than 5% of the group's total turnover. For a long time, Arbuzov was associated mainly with Preston supermarkets, the first of which was opened in 1994.

The story of how he managed to get to Siemens and find the resources to buy the plant from the Germans is one of the unknown pages of his business biography. Another is connected with the inclusion of the Miass plant "Kedr" into the holding. The acquisition of this enterprise allowed Fenox to enter the assembly line of AvtoVAZ. The Ural media, at the suggestion of competitors, widely covered this deal, openly called Arbuzov a raider.

In the current structure of his business, which in 2012 was formalized in the Fenox Global Group, an important place belongs to the automotive direction - Fenox Motors. Although, probably, it does not occupy such a significant place as Arbuzov would like. The businessman entered this segment in the early 2000s, when he bought from the British Sanderson brothers their share in the Unison enterprise - the successor to the first failed Belarusian car assembly project with the participation of Ford Motor.

Subsequent attempts at the Obchak production site to resume the assembly of passenger cars in Belarus (Lublin, Samand) were unsuccessful. As a result, last year the banner of the main automaker in the passenger segment at Arbuzov was snatched from the hands of the Chinese from Geely and BelAZ. But the businessman does not despair. Last year, he agreed with General Motors Russia and the CIS to assemble one of the Opel models in Obchak this year. It is also planned to organize the assembly of Chinese Zotye cars at the Unison facilities.

We wish the businessman success in this and other businesses that he has been building since the 1990s and 2000s. But in the last couple of years, his growing interest and, apparently, the great return that investments in new segments and industries in which he acts as a venture investor have been evident to the businessman.

On his personal page in Odnoklassniki, the creation of which this non-public businessman could not resist, in the column "work" is indicated the term that he plans to give to the management of the head structure of the auto component direction of NP LLC "Fenox" - 1989-2017. It would be interesting to ask him himself why this deadline and what will he do after 2017?

The Fenox Global Group includes several other business units. This is the already mentioned project in retail. In the late 1990s - early 2000s, the Preston chain of stores was considered one of the best in Minsk. But against the background of the development of competitors, its positions are far from leading. At the end of 2012, Preston ranked only 47th in terms of turnover in the country.

In the late 2000s, the businessman began a serious real estate project, became the customer for the construction of the giant shopping and entertainment complex Preston Plaza. But then he sold his participation in it. Instead, he took up construction, created two contracting companies that have implemented several landmark projects. But who knows, maybe non-payments of customers will discourage him from this business. In the late 2000s, he enthusiastically began to prepare for the opening of a chain of multi-brand boutiques. But I didn't open it, I wrapped up the project.

So what now? Instead of investing in conservative or traditional sectors, the businessman enthusiastically, one might say, rushed to the venture capital market without hindrance. Perhaps, in a literal sense, he will soon no longer need brakes and the auto parts market, and he will concentrate on what he will bring in the future and is already bringing in much higher income. Now Arbuzov is investing in medical research, the production of nanotubes, and his investments in American and Asian startups in the consumer Internet, Internet commerce and in software are already giving good returns. Objectively, Arbuzov is now the main venture capitalist of Belarus.

In 2011, with an American partner, he created Fenox Venture Capital in the heart of the American Silicon Valley - San Jose. The company has invested in dozens of California startups, and some of them have already made real money from reselling them to large investment funds in the US and Germany.

In 2013, Fenox Venture Capital entered the Southeast Asian market through a joint venture with IMJ Corporation of Japan, a Japanese investment company, IMJ Fenox. It is headquartered in Singapore with branches in Jakarta and Tokyo. The goal is the same - finding promising startups on the Internet and supporting them. As of March 2014, the IMJ Fenox portfolio already included about a dozen assets in Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines.

It is difficult to say what coverage Arbuzov's companies will have by 2017. But his venture capital business is growing rapidly.

Unlike their counterparts from neighboring countries, Belarusian oligarchs do not flaunt their personal lives. It is customary to hide luxury from prying eyes.

The richest Belarusian built a house in Drozdy, next to ministers, judges and prosecutors and not far from the residential residence of Alexander Lukashenko. It is a brick two storey building with a basement and terraces. There are even aviaries on the site.

Alexander Shakutin

The house of the chairman of the board of directors of Amkodor was found in Borovlyany. His blocky two-story house with a basement, an attic and several terraces does not stand out from the neighboring cottages.

Vitaly Arbuzov

The name of Arbuzov says little to Belarusians. The owner of the Fenox group of companies conducts business abroad, but also has factories in our country.

His residence in Maryaliva (Logoisk direction) is a wooden dark green house behind a high fence, also made of wood.

Pavel Topuzidis

The owner of Tabak-Invest and the Korona hypermarkets has two cottages. In the first, in Drozdy, renovations are underway. Topuzidis built a more representative house in Ratomka on the shores of the Minsk Sea, on the outskirts of his own "Robinson Club".

Vladimir Peftiev

Arms dealer Vladimir Peftiev is building an estate in Raubichi (Logoisk direction). These are actually two buildings, each with four floors. Their total area is over 1,700 m2!

Vladimir Alexandrovich

The former deputy of the “house of representatives”, director of the construction company “IteraBel” settled behind the National Library. There are two houses on its site - a wooden one and a brick one.

Vladimir Yaprintsev

The European Sambo Champion, one of the closest companions of Yuri Chizh is being built in Drozdy not far from his boss.

Oleg Khusaenov

The three-storey house on Tsnyanka (north of Minsk) belongs to the wife and son of the co-owner of the AtlantM automobile holding. Now Khusaenov got carried away with the creation of the first Belarusian direct investment fund "Zubr Capital".

Victor Shevtsov

The Orthodox philanthropist Viktor Shevtsov managed to be released after a period of disgrace and returned to Drozdy. The criminal case against the owner of Belzarubezhstroy and Trustbank was terminated.

Victor Petrovich

Pavel Topuzidis's companion lives in the center of Minsk, very close to his "Korona", in fact, in the middle of the parking lot.

Vitaly Arbuzov, chairman of the board of directors of the Fenox Global Group, was released. Two sources told TUT.BY about this. The information was confirmed by the Investigative Committee.

Vitaly Arbuzov. Photo from the site "Tomorrow of your country"

“On Friday evening, at about 7 pm, he was released. Quite unexpected. The preventive measure has been changed to a personal surety, ”said the interlocutors from Arbuzov's entourage.

Personal surety implies that several persons have given written commitments that Arbuzov, being at large, will not hide from the investigation and the court, will not interfere with the investigation of the case or its consideration by the court, and will not engage in criminal activity.

According to TUT.BY, one major official and one businessman vouched for Arbuzov.

“Taking into account the measures taken to compensate for damage in the criminal case, the preventive measure against Vitaly Arbuzov has been replaced with a non-custodial one,” said Yulia Goncharova, an official representative of the Investigative Committee.

As previously reported, in April 2017, the Department of Financial Investigations of the State Control Committee, together with the Department of Financial Monitoring of KGC "large-scale illegal activities of the chairman of the board of directors of the Fenox Global Group, Vitaly Arbuzov, and a number of officials of Belarusian business entities."

As a result, in the spring, its main production facilities.

Suspected of carrying out illegal activities since 2010 related to tax evasion, as well as illegal receipt of VAT from the budget. In particular, KGC reported that the Belarusian enterprises controlled by it, firstly, overstated the cost of imported products at times, which allowed them to increase costs and reduce the taxable base for paying taxes. Secondly, selling products in Belarus, Russia, Ukraine for cash, they issued documents for the export of goods at a reduced price, which allowed not only to understate revenue, but also to return VAT from the budget. The purchased goods were also sold to large industrial enterprises in Belarus, MAZ, MZKT, Pelenga, as well as in Russia, which subsequently influenced the cost of their products.

As a result, the enterprises of the group “illegally minimized the amount of taxes paid by them, in fact transferring to the budget only income tax and deductions to the social security fund from the salaries of their employees,” employees also received salaries “in envelopes,” KGK found out.

According to the UK, the amount of tax evasion. Criminal cases were initiated under Part 1-4 of Article 210 (Embezzlement by Abuse of Official Powers) of the Criminal Code, as well as under Parts 1 and 2 of Article 243 (Evasion of taxes and fees) of the Criminal Code.

In January 2018, in the case against the Fenox Global Group, in respect of which criminal proceedings were initiated in connection with aiding in tax evasion. Five employees of the company were in custody.

Prior to his arrest, Arbuzov was number 11 in the top 200 most influential Belarusian businessmen according to the "Ezhednevnik", is the chairman of the board of directors of Fenox Global Group, chairman of the board of directors of Fenox Venture Capital. The Fenox holding includes, in particular, Fenox Automative Сomponents (production and distribution of auto components), Fenox Retail (Preston grocery store chain), Fenox Construction (real estate investments).

Vitich Arbuzov was born in the regional center of Krasnopolye (Mogilevskaya Niva), where he graduated from high school. Afterwards he entered the Belarusian Polytechnic Institute at the mechanical engineering geological faculty. 1. A few years later, he implements the knowledge acquired at the university in his own business. Arbuzov specializes in metal-cutting machines and tools.

Commercial and industrial activities have always been the main driving force behind Arbuzov. For several years there have been rumors in the market about the book that the businessman is ready to part with them (alias has even parted). 7. After the arrival of new players, someone became less active in developing the Preston chain, which began with a Bangalore store. On the Fenox Global Group website, retail is still represented by Preston. But you see, he has not yet succeeded in becoming a major food retailer. Now these are 3 shopping centers in Minsk.
The final of the Wargaming.net League across the CIS was watched in taste in Minsk.

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Topics: Arbuzov's dispute, big business, gas, research, engineering, media Companies: GAZ JSC, Siemens AG, TUT.BY, Volkswagen AG Organizations: CIS Countries: Belarus Regions: Europe Regions: Mogilev region Cities: Krasnopolye, Mogilev

Comments from the forum Read in addition "Dream TV" for 27 thousand dollars and huge speakers: LG showed top new items100 thousand dollars get a stake.
True, the Russian media called Arbuzov a raider. No matter how he managed to prove to the minority shareholders in court that the acquisition of shares was legal. According to data in 2015, Arbuzov owned 51% of the shares in the Miass plant "Kedr". 3. The purchase of this enterprise allowed Fenox to build the supply of steering systems for the self-towing vehicle of AvtoVAZ, GAZ, UAZ.
The businessman is the author and co-author of developments that are implemented in his enterprises. 4. In the patent bases of the CIS, its origin is mentioned as a co-author of a ball joint, a disc brake with a parking brake mechanism, a device to facilitate starting an internal combustion engine.
He was one of the owners of the Unison company, which owns a car plant in the Obchak village, ten kilometers from Minsk. Until recently, Vitulya Arbuzov was associated with the production of cars. But, despite this, these projects did not have much success. Since the late 90s, the devil tried, together with Alexei Vaganov, to build there an assembly of cars and commercial vehicles - Samand, Zotye, KIA, Lublin, etc. In 2015, it is known that Arbuzov left this project. 5.
But in the end I left the project. In the 2000s, the businessman wanted to deploy a large shopping and entertainment complex Preston Plaza.

Photo: Evgeniy Erchak, TUT.BY
Having earned the first money on the supply of imported components, Arbuzov in the mid-1990s bought equipment from Siemens, which just said goodbye to the production of auto parts. The company received the Bremse Hydraulik stand along with the order - the first customer was the German ATE (Teves Continental), which supplied front brake calipers and brake cylinders for assembly line assembly at Audi and Volkswagen.
9. According to crunchbase estimates. Currently, in most cases, all information about the venture fund, which in 2011 Arbuzov created inseparably with foreign partners in Silicon Valley. com, after four years, FVC has raised $ 400 million in startups. The fund's funding priorities remain the latest technologies on the Internet (healthcare, trade, financial services, etc.). By the end of 2015, there were 61 startups in the company's portfolio. Fenox Venture Capital has invested in a number of startups in the USA, Southeast Asia, Japan, and CIS countries.

Insurance trader WeSafe specializes in a wide range of insurance services for corporate clients. Another little-known direction of the Fenox group is insurance.

The last time he was there recently. Ant. long before his arrest. But after the irony of fate in 2014, the journalists of "Ezhednevnik" discovered that exactly in the column "work" was indicated the moment that Arbuzov planned to give to the director of the head structure of the auto component direction of NP LLC "Fenox" - 1989-2017. 10. Vityana Arbuzov actively visits the Odnoklassniki page. Information and there, however, the very minimum.
We tried to fill this gap and collected 10 interesting facts about the businessman. The businessman Vitaly Arbuzov, taken on April 12, was rumored to be one of the wealthiest Belarusians. In any case, he led a rather non-public lifestyle, avoided interviewing journalists, so the general public knew the very minimum about his business.
Arbuzov's enrichment was also driven by the formation. The company has won a number of major tenders, receiving a small fraction of building sites. At first, the conjuncture in the new business went uphill. In the middle of the 2000s, alcohol was bought by two construction companies (TDT and ADS-2000), which were later merged into one. In particular, the high-rise building "Parus", which was built by the "Itera" company, became a large object. 6.

In 2006, Arbuzov went back to medicine. The businessman has set up the production of reagents and consumables to carry out analyzes in medical laboratories and hospitals. 8. The size was made for the supply of products for laboratory diagnostics. Even if the medical center "Analysis Honey" was opened. Kompashka actively participated in the state programs of the Ministry of Health. True, since July 1, 2016, the Analysis Med laboratory has ceased its activity.
As follows from the information on the company's website, (Arbuzov has 12 enterprises in Belarus, Germany and Russia in accordance with the production of spare parts. The production employs about 3.5 thousand people. In 2005, Arbuzov bought out a share in PKUP “708 mechanized the plant of the Minsk City Executive Committee "and became a shareholder of the Joint Stock Company" Minsk Enterprise of Automotive Completion. "Later, part of the volume (nearby 25%) was outsourced. "Break Hydrolics") were located in leased areas. Meters of production area - in Belarus. This is half of the entire Fenox Global Group. Sq.

Classification "Fenox" is one of the largest players in the CIS in the production and distribution of brake systems, cooling systems, suspensions, electrical systems, transmission and steering systems. 2. How did Vitaly Arbuzov come to this?

Vitaly Arbuzov is the head of the Fenox holding, which has been dealing with car parts since 1989, the founder of Arvitfood (Preston stores) and the owner of many other assets. The arrest of the businessman is known on April 13 last year. It happened in the afternoon at the company's office.

According to information from our sources, Vitaly Arbuzov is at large. Already last night the man was at home.

A year ago, the KGC commented on the detention as follows.

- The large-scale illegal activities of the chairman of the board of directors of the Fenox Global Group and a number of officials of Belarusian business entities associated with non-payment of taxes on an especially large scale were identified and suppressed,- BelTA quoted the press service of the KGC.

The head of the Fenox holding is blamed for tax evasion, illegal receipt of value added tax from the budget, underreporting of revenue, and payment of salaries in envelopes. The amount of unpaid taxes established at that time exceeded 100 million rubles, and the amount of VAT illegally returned from the budget was more than 20 million.According to these facts, the Financial Investigation Department initiated 8 criminal cases under parts 1-4 of Article 210 (Illegal Business Activity) of the Criminal Code, and also 11 criminal cases under Parts 1 and 2 of Article 243 (Evasion of the payment of taxes and fees).

At the end of October last year, it was decided to extend the investigation period and Arbuzov's detention up to nine months, that is, until January 12, 2018. This is the head of the Investigative Committee Ivan Noskevich.

However, the time of the businessman's detention in January did not end. In March, the UK commented on the situation.

- The Investigative Committee continues to investigate the criminal case against the chairman of the board of directors of the Fenox group of companies Vitaly Arbuzov and other persons,- the official representative of the Investigative Committee of Belarus Yulia Goncharova. - The materials of this criminal case fully confirm the facts of tax evasion by a number of business entities controlled by Vitaly Arbuzov.

According to the IC, at the end of March 19 people were recognized as accused and suspects in this case, five were taken into custody. Their actions are qualified by the investigation depending on their role in committing unlawful acts under Articles 210 (Theft by abuse of office) and 243 (Evasion of taxes and fees) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus.

- Taking into account the measures taken to compensate for damage in the criminal case, the preventive measure against Vitaly Arbuzov was replaced with a non-custodial one,- informed Yulia Goncharova,