The Cheka-OGPU and Rucriminal.info have uncovered the ins and outs of a conflict involving one of Russia's top executives, former Uralkali CEO Vladislav Baumgertner, which could have led to his kidnapping (almost all the evidence points to his "disappearance" being criminal in nature). Baumgertner, along with Yevgeny Podgaetsky, the former head of Magistral Transport Management Holding, had been trying for years to extort a large sum from Sergey Shishkarev, chairman of the board of directors of Delo Group. The oligarch's opponents caused him considerable trouble, including trying to have him placed on sanctions lists. As a result, both began receiving threats. Podgaetsky was even forced to contact UAE law enforcement, and Baumgertner soon disappeared.
Baumgertner had been managing Global Ports, a large stevedoring company that was part of Shishkarev's Delo Group, for about a year and a half. Podgaetsky was the head of Magistral, another company linked to Delo Group. His appearance in Shishkarev's structures was linked to Dmitry Pankov, the former CEO of Delo Management Company. Podgaetsky had known Pankov for a long time. At Delo, he began chartering ships through Mountain Air Shipping, a Dubai-based company controlled by him. Shishkarev parted ways with both Baumgertner and Podgaetsky on bad terms. Both were left owing large sums of money, owed under their mutual agreements.
Podgaetsky was a major thorn in Shishkarev's side. He tried to have the oligarch's structures subject to US sanctions for supporting the Russian defense industry. He disclosed information about the "secrets" of Shishkarev's business. At the peak of his revelations, Shishkarev's extremely large deal fell through.
Between 2019 and 2022, he sold 49% of Delo Group to the state corporation Rosatom. However, the partnership did not work out. In 2024, Transmashholding expressed interest in Delo Group. It agreed to purchase 49% of Delo from Rosatom (the deal value was approximately 200 billion rubles) and bought 1% from Shishkarev (in order to own 50% and have the ability to appoint its own top management). The deal was scheduled to close in the fall of 2025. During this period, information revealing unpleasant secrets about Shishkarev and Delo Group's activities began to appear one after another on various websites. Shishkarev reacted to this information extremely sensitively. In November 2025, it became known that Transmashholding was abandoning its acquisition of 49% of Delo, and according to the terms of the agreement, a reverse swap was to take place: Shishkarev would receive back 1% of the holding company and return the amount received for it.
A source for the Cheka-OGPU and Rucriminal.info says Shishkarev blamed the deal's collapse on an "information attack" and Podgaetsky. Initially, he was convinced that Pankov, with whom he had also parted on bad terms, was behind Podgaetsky. But then, according to the source, he came to the conclusion that Baumgertner was working with Podgaetsky, continuing to demand money he hadn't received when he left Global Ports. Baumgertner is also friends with Dmitry Rybolovlev, Suleiman Kerimov (according to some reports, he even advised him on matters related to Wildberries), and many other influential figures, and could have created significant problems for Shishkarev on "all fronts."
As a result, according to the source, both Podgaetsky and Baumgertner were bombarded with threats, including death threats. Podgaetsky filed a report with the UAE police when Shishkarev arrived in Dubai, where he was detained and questioned. This was reported in the media. This was the "last straw." Baumgertner immediately disappeared.
According to the source, there was one person in Baumgertner's inner circle who now raises numerous questions.
"Vladislav has a close friend, his longtime right-hand man, Lesha. Baumgertner once helped him build his career as a government official, and then they were in business together, with Baumgertner being the main one. Alexey knows absolutely everything about Vladislav's assets and personal affairs. After his disappearance, he behaved extremely strangely, which raises suspicions about his possible involvement," the source said.
As VChK-OGPU and Rucriminal.info have discovered, the man in question is Alexey Dozortsev, a former assistant to the Minister of Regional Development of Russia and former minister of the Perm Krai government.
It was with him that Baumgertner had done business in recent years, specifically as partners in the company HeadOffice.
Dozrotsev also owns the law firm Smart Solutions in Moscow and Activity LLC, which manages real estate. Among the top managers of his companies are Sergey Vasilenko, the former head of the Federal Tax Service's anti-corruption unit, and Vsevolod Pavlov, a former investigator and prosecutor.
According to our sources, in recent years Baumgertner, together with Dzortsev, has been actively developing a concierge service business, which has become especially popular among Russians amid sanctions. His friendship with Suleiman Kerimov has helped open many doors. He has had a company registered in Cyprus since 2020 SBVB HEADOFFICE LIMITED, the legal entity for HeadOffice, is located at 12 Kitiou Kyprianou, 3036 Limassol. In Russia, the businessman operates as a sole proprietor.
The website of the Cypriot SBVB HEADOFFICE LIMITED states that the company is managed by "a team of experienced, highly specialized experts and regional representatives in key regions of the world." "We provide our clients with private wealth management, fixed asset management, and project management services, helping them achieve more with significantly less time and effort," HeadOffice promises. The website lists phone numbers for clients in various countries: the UK, the USA, Kazakhstan, Switzerland, the UAE, Italy, Austria, Monaco, Spain, and others. Baumgertner uses an email address on the same domain—specifically, it is listed in his Russian sole proprietorship profile on aggregators.
Previously, the Cypriot SBVB HEADOFFICE LIMITED had three directors: Baumgertner himself, Cypriot Leila Gamrekelidze, and Russian Sergey Buchin, who also develops a financial business in Monaco (he owns the company IRBISIO). However, in September of this year, Gamrekelidze and Buchin resigned, and Anastasia Belyaeva became the second director. A year earlier, Mikhail Loganov, another former colleague of Baumgertner's at the stevedoring company Global Ports Investments PLC, left the company.
To be fair, it's worth noting that none of our interviewees spoke positively of Baumgertner. "He's a very arrogant person, considers almost everyone beneath him, and treats him accordingly. I don't even want to talk about his personal qualities," noted one of our interviewees.
Baumgertner abandoned his wife Irina when she was seven months pregnant (they already had another child) and left for a younger woman. He tried to deny the second child's birth to reduce child support payments. He had no contact with the family at all. Baumgertner only remembered Irina and the children when he found himself in a Belarusian prison and needed the support of his loved ones. However, after the top manager's release, everything returned to normal. After each child support payment, Baumgertner would cause a scene and eventually even began making threats. Given his connections, Irina left with the children for the United States.
Remarkably, the woman who prompted the top manager to abandon the family soon left him and began dating Baumgertner's former boss and friend, billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev.
The former head of Uralkali also had a very acrimonious separation from his next wife (they had two daughters), with threats and attempts to leave her without money. And the same story repeated itself with each of his wives.
Vladislav Baumgertner is a former Troika Dialog executive. He joined Uralkali under Dmitry Rybolovlev in 2003, and remains a partner with him to this day. When Suleiman Kerimov acquired the company, they developed a friendly relationship (according to other sources, they were friends even before the deal), and Baumgertner became its CEO.
After his criminal affair with Lukashenko and Kerimov, Baumgertner took the position of CEO of the Russian stevedoring port company Global Ports Investments PLC—a leading container terminal operator in Russia, managing facilities in the Baltic and Far Eastern basins. At the same time, he chaired the Supervisory Board of AS LIWATHON E.O.S., an Estonian company affiliated with Global Ports (sold in 2019 to the UAE-based international investment group Liwathon). However, a year and a half later, in March 2017, following a falling out with Shishkarev, he returned to Rybolovlev's wing.
Rybolovlev, meanwhile, wasted no time and, after selling Uralkali to Kerimov, moved to Monaco, simultaneously acquiring almost 10% of Cyprus's largest bank, Bank of Cyprus. It was in Cyprus that his network of offshore companies was established, which, among other things, invested in startups. One of these was battery developer Alevo Group, whose board of directors was chaired by Vyacheslav Baumgertner. However, the American part of the company soon went bankrupt, and Baumgertner was transferred to the board of Innolith, a company that develops lithium-ion batteries with liquid electrolytes. Rybolovlev also invested there. Furthermore, until 2019, Baumgertner officially chaired the board of directors of Rigmora Holdings, which is known as Rybolovlev's family trust. Part of his team from Uralkali, led by former CEO Anna Kolonchina, joined this company. The company's offices are located in Monaco and Cyprus, where business needs to be closely monitored, and Baumgertner has accumulated extensive experience in this area.
Interestingly, Rybolovlev recently ran into trouble with his American partner, and about a month ago, a Delaware court ordered his Rigmora family trust to transfer $97 million under a previously concluded partnership agreement with the Apple Tree Foundation (engaged in medical research), which Rybolovlev is trying to distance himself from. The partnership was established over ten years ago with American venture capitalist Seth Harrison. Under the partnership, Harrison's Apple Tree Partners Foundation is to receive funding from Rigmora gmora for the development of bioscience startups. Rybolovlev initially fulfilled his part of the agreement, but subsequently refused to pay.
We previously reported that after the sale of Uralkali to Dmitry Mazepin, Kerimov was supposed to pay a share to the unofficial beneficiary, Ramzan Kadyrov, but failed to do so. Despite this, the senator and the head of Chechnya publicly maintained a good relationship until 2024, when they began a "war" over Wildberries.
Sources also reported that Baumgertner is friends with the Russian ambassador to Cyprus. On January 8, when the top manager's phone stopped working, diplomatic mission employee Alexei Panov was found dead in the embassy building. According to some reports, he committed suicide. Media reports have suggested that Panov may be a GRU officer working under diplomatic cover.
