Vitalie Buzdugan
Current assets: Balkan Advisor Company, European Green Assets, European Green Engineering, EuroMedEngineering, R-Farm Integratsiya (consulting); EuroFarmIntegratsiya, NII BioEngineering, Irridio Tech, Plasma Union (pharmaceutical trade); Irridio Energy (manufacture of power distribution and control equipment); Irridio (manufacture of ventilation equipment); Putyami Kultury (organization of cultural and entertainment events); Yakovskoye AGRO (cultivation of berries, nuts, and other fruits from trees and shrubs); SoyuzForum (public relations); Limitless Manpower (recruitment).
Historical assets: Irridio Motors (automobile manufacturing).
Connections: Tatsiana Buzdugan (wife, manager of related companies), Alexander Zaitsev (business partner), Igor Rachkovsky (business partner), Aleksey Ordzhonikidze (business partner, Russia), Sergei Dubov (business partner, Russia), Alexander Apazov (business partner, Russia), Tatsiana Apazova (business partner, Russia), Inga Nizharadze (business partner, Russia), Aliaksandr Mironau (former business partner), Matei Păun (former business partner, Romania).
Privileges: Buzdugan’s partners in Belarus were businessmen and former security officials close to the Lukashenko family: Alexander Zaitsev, Igor Rachkovsky, and Aliaksandr Mironau. Thanks to these connections, the businessman was able to secure contracts with state-owned enterprises, receive preferential treatment, obtain a loan, and gain state support for export deals.
In 2014, Irridio Motors signed a contract with the Azerbaijani factory Daşkəsən Filizsaflaşdırma to supply twelve BelAZ dump trucks. The deal was financed by Belarusbank, which issued a 2.3 million euro loan. The Azerbaijani plant failed to make the payments, so the state-owned Beleksimgarant covered most of Buzdugan’s losses. Subsequently, Irridio Motors continued to export equipment from Belarusian state-owned enterprises, including MAZ and MTZ. EuroFarmIntegratsiya, which is controlled by Buzdugan, was Pfizer’s sole supplier in Belarus. It collaborates with thousands of pharmacies and medical institutions.
In total, Buzdugan controls at least 15 companies in Belarus. Most of them are located in the Great Stone industrial park.
Buzdugan owns four apartments in Minsk, estimated to be worth $1.1 million.
Restrictions: None.
