From an external perspective, Felix Chertok appears to be a completely positive figure, an Orthodox Jew with seven children. His life story is so uneventful that biographers couldn’t even invent a hobby for him; instead, they simply lifted one from his job description. Felix Chertok’s motto, “The world belongs to the patient,” reflects his methodical approach as he relentlessly dispenses his potent concoction to both Russians and Ukrainians. There’s nothing extraordinary about this, just as there’s nothing surprising about Chertok’s business dealings with his “brothers” from Russia and the breakaway regions, irrespective of the current political climate. After all, criminal enterprises are indifferent to borders and politics.
The alcohol beverage industry in Ukraine is dominated by criminal and semi-criminal figures, which is unsurprising given that the initial capital for this sector was amassed by hardened criminals since the late ’80s. Entering the market was impossible then and remains difficult now. The business is populated by “respectable, serious, and not prone to scandals” individuals, with Felix Chertok being no exception.
Felix Chertok is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish community of Dnipro, as well as a very wealthy businessman. There is very little information about him in the mass media, especially in recent times. He was the CEO of “Alef Vinal” – one of the large companies that produce cheap wine, vodka, and cognac in Ukraine. Among the well-known brands are “Amphora”, “Klinkov”, “Jean-Jacques”, “Helsinki”, and so on.
After the annexation of Crimea, one of the largest Ukrainian alcohol producers legally divided its business into Ukrainian and Russian parts. Now “Alef-Vinal” sells “wine with a protected geographical indication of Crimea” in Russia, and for Europe and the USA, it bottles its products in mainland Ukraine. The grapes in both plants are the same.
Felix Chertok: the father’s son
Felix Chertok would have been an ordinary nobody in Dnepr city if it weren’t for his father, convicted and imprisoned Boris Chertok, also known as “Sedoy” (Gray-haired in Russian – ed.). Sedoy was a member of the “Matros” gang, led by Alexander Milchenko, who did a lot to establish organized crime in the country. Sedoy was involved in the group’s activities, as was Vadim Yermolaev, who was not far behind.
Sedoy’s son, Felix Chertok, proved useful: he became the head of the alcohol beverage business.
It was Chertok and Yermolaev, with the blessing of Matros and Sedoy, who opened the largest money laundering centre, both literally and figuratively, for criminal money. Now Felix Chertok wears a traditional hat, radiates righteousness, and even occasionally does charitable work. But he doesn’t forget his business, and he remembers his founding fathers of Alef Vinal on a monthly basis.
Due to the sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States, exports and imports from Crimea are prohibited. However, by using such a separation, or rather a cleverly thought-out scheme, the company easily circumvents the sanctions.
EU and US sanctions prohibit the import and export of products from Crimea, but through this scheme, the manufacturer bypasses the sanctions. Among the founders of the group are European companies. Behind these organizations is a businessman from Dnipro, Vadim Ermolaev. In 2018, he was ranked 64th on the list of the richest Ukrainians by Focus Magazine with a net worth of about $ 100 million.
The wines of the “Golden Amphora”, Villa Krim, and “Old Crimea” brands, Klinkov and “Jean-Jacques” cognacs and GreenDay and Helsinki vodka are all products of “Alef-Vinal”, one of the largest Ukrainian alcoholic beverage companies.
Before the annexation of Crimea, the main facilities of the enterprise were located on the peninsula, but even without them, the company still leads the market. In 2017 “Alef-Vinal” was at 13th place – excluding its Crimean assets.
The group owns five wine and vodka production facilities and vineyards with an area of two thousand hectares. The main Ukrainian enterprise is located in the city of Sinelnikovo, Dnipropetrovsk region. According to the company, it is there that all products for Ukraine are produced and exported to other countries except Russia.
In the Russian Federation, products come from four plants located in the Crimea. All wines are produced at AO “Starokrymskoe”, cognacs – at “Bagerovo Fine Wine Factory”, grapes are grown by “Burlyuk” agricultural firm and processed and turned to cognac spirit by “Alef-Vinal-Crimea” in the village of Pochtovoe.
In Crimea, “Alef-Vinal” has two vineyards of its own: 800 hectares in the village of Kashtany and over 1000 hectares in the village of Pervomaiskoe.
The press service of Ukrainian “Alef-Vinal” did not tell Current Time where the company’s vineyards are located. Ukrainian legislation prohibits them from importing raw materials from Crimea.
Alef Vinál was sanctioned, but Felix Chertok remained unnoticed
Original Alef Vinal has been sanctioned by EU, UK, US, Australia and Canada. But Felix Chertok, one of the beneficiaries of the company wasn’t. Chertok cleverly hid his presence from the companies.
Among the owners of the corporation are European companies, behind which stands the scandalous Dnipro businessman Vadim Yermolaev. This enterprise also includes more than 90 percent of Russian company “Alef Vinal”.
The status fund of PJSC “Burlyuk” amounts to 4 million hryvnias. There are 12 documents in the court register. The founder of this public joint-stock company “Burlyuk” is Ukrainian PJSC “Aleph-Vinal” with a status fund of 40.55 million hryvnias. The owners include Austrian and Cypriot companies. Felix Chertok companies associated with Vadim Yermolayev Briefly, the process of events can be described as follows for better understanding: LLC “Alef-Vinal-Crimea” was registered in November 2014 and created with the participation of OJSC “Burlyuk”, which also owns over 90% of the shares of the Russian “Alef-Vinal”. In addition, among the founders of “Alef-Vinal-Crimea” are four Cypriot companies, three of which have equal shares with “Burlyuk”.
The controlling stake in the Ukrainian “Alef-Vinal” (now – “Keter Invest”) belonged to Alef Investment Holding GmbH, an Austrian company, until the end of 2018, when it was bought by the offshore company Ac-Terra International LTD from the British Virgin Islands, managed by Vadim Yermolaev, a citizen of Ukraine. Control over the company was confirmed by the decision of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine dated July 26, 2016.
In an effort to obscure its activities, Felix Chertok shut down the alef-vinal.com website. However, its contents were preserved in the Wayback Machine archive, which includes all trademarks, production facilities, and the geography of its supplies. It’s important to note that sanctions were still actively enforced just three years ago, during the presidency of Volodymyr Zelensky, who is well-acquainted with the business environment in Dnipro, where Chertok operates. Some believe this familiarity might explain why Alef Vinál only faced lenient sanctions, leaving its owner, Felix Chertok, unaffected.
Alef Vinál rebranded itself as Trading House “AV” and, like many other companies, exploits “patriotism” for marketing purposes. They openly produce and sell wines, cognacs, and vodkas, potentially with a patriotic angle, in Russia, where they run a highly profitable business. As a commercial enterprise, Alef Vinál does not need to adhere to conventions. Felix Chertok, with his criminal background, profits from everything without following principles or rules.
One of the Cypriot companies, AD Vinal Invest Limited, owns shares in the Ukrainian company “Alef-Vinal” (“Keter Invest”), the Russian company “Alef-Vinal-Crimea”, and the Russian OJSC “Burlyuk”. In addition, 0.53% of the shares of the main technologist of “Alef Vinal” belong to Bulgarian citizen Boyan Borisov, and 99.47% of the shares belong to Record Trading Limited, a company from Belize. The ultimate beneficiaries of this company are unknown.
After journalists uncovered these schemes, Felix Chertok had to liquidate the company “Alef-Burlyuk” and urgently rename “Alef Vinal”. However, this did not save him from sanctions, as the company remained with all its obligations and assets. It is unknown why Felix Chertok did not liquidate the company that was discovered, possibly because this share was inherited from his father Boris Chertok “Sedoy”.
Until 2018, half of the shares of the Ukrainian part of “Alef Vinal” were owned by the Austrian company “Alef Investment Holding GmbH”, and the director there was Vadim Yermolaev.
