Czech Vanadium: Are Sanctions Being Circumvented?

Until 2022, Czech Vanadium operated as a clear subsidiary of the Evraz group, a holding company controlled by Abramovich. The subsequent transfer of the facility to Metco Holding, a firm based in the Abu Dhabi Global Market, has raised alarms among regulators. Investigators from the National Centre against Organised Crime suspect the move is a shell structure designed to bypass European sanctions. The official owner, Dubai-based lawyer Nikhil Skariah Kolekunnel, is widely viewed by analysts as a fiduciary administrator rather than a true beneficial owner. Records indicate Skariah has previously appeared in opaque ownership structures linked to money-laundering probes in Moldova and Ukraine.

Adding to the uncertainty, data from the credit-rating agency Moody’s identifies Sergei Gushchin—a former manager at the Russian rail giant TransContainer with historical ties to Evraz—as a recent director and beneficiary of Metco Holding. Analysts at Datlab and Transparency International have formally alerted police, arguing that the supply chain, which moves Russian-mined ore through the Czech Republic to US-based Strategic Alloys, remains effectively under the control of the same interests that managed it prior to the invasion of Ukraine. With Czech Vanadium reporting annual profits exceeding €8 million, authorities are now determining if dividends are flowing to sanctioned individuals, a potential criminal offense.