Sberbank has closed a deal to sell its stake to 96.9% of the Krasnaya Polyana ski resort in Sochi, which belongs to the company Resort Plus. Sberbank’s head German Gref said the company had signed a sale contract for RUB 35bn, handing over its 96.9 percent stake of NAO Krasnaya Polyana in October 2015. In November Sberbank received a deposit of RUB 3bn and the remainder is to be paid by December 2022.
It was reported that the Russian state development bank VEB was blocking the sale because it wasn’t clear who was the ultimate beneficiary of the acquiring company. According to Forbes, an organization close to the Minister of Agriculture Alexander Tkachev had business interests in the area.
There’s concern that banks involved in lending for the investments that made the Olympic facilities possible in Sochi are having trouble collecting an estimated RUB 323bn in debts associated with the games.
