new investment in germany
Viktor Charitonin buys Hahn airport – who is the Russian associated with Putin?
Viktor Charitonin (l), and the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Alfa Group, Mikhail Fridman, in conversation before a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian businessmen in the Moscow Kremlin. The buyer of Hahn Airport is reluctant to appear in public. (archive picture from 2017)
© ITAR-TASS / Imago Images
NR Holding has bought the insolvent Hahn Airport in Rhineland-Palatinate. Behind it is the Russian Viktor Charitonin, who also owns the Nürburgring. Who is the Russian oligarch associated with the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin?
On Friday afternoon (February 3), the German Press Agency reported that the Ring holding company NR Holding had bought Hunsrück Airport Hahn for a purchase price of around 20 million euros. Accordingly, the Nürburgring is now the new owner of the airport in Rhineland-Palatinate. The main owner of the Nürburgring is Viktor Charitonin.
The Russian oligarch also owns the largest pharmaceutical company in Russia. It manufactures medicines for humans and pets. Apart from domestic sales, the products are mainly exported to China. However, the business relationships extend all over the world – including the German pharmaceutical industry. As the SWR writes with reference to the Russian Wikipedia, Charitonin’s company is the largest manufacturer of Sputnik V, the Russian Covid vaccine. According to Russia’s Forbes list, the 50-year-old’s net worth is $1.4 billion.
Viktor Charitonin is considered an oligarch close to Putin
Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich is not only a former business partner of Kharitonin, but also a good friend. Abramovich was placed on the EU-UK sanctions list after Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine began in March 2022. The former owner of the English football club Chelsea FC is accused of ties to the Kremlin.
And the main owner of the Nürburgring and the new owner of Hahn Airport is also considered close to Putin. The oligarch has been on the US Treasury Department’s so-called “Putin List” along with nearly 100 other Russian businessmen since 2019. It is about the allegation of Russian interference in the US presidential election in 2016. However, sanctions were only imposed on high-ranking Putin confidants. In addition, Charitonin is not on the EU sanctions list, which was introduced in response to the Russian war in Ukraine.
The Russian businessman is considered a classic car fan and is said to own dozens of valuable collector’s items. A few years ago he took part in a famous classic car race in Italy, and in 2014 he became an investor at the Nürburgring in the Eifel region. The 50-year-old is married to a Russian Olympic athlete and has two children. He officially lives in Moscow, but he owns luxury properties around the world. Charitonin may live in London. There he owns two apartments in the most expensive luxury apartment block in Europe, One Hyde Park.
Another bidder pays money for the purchase of Hahn Airport
Now Hahn Airport, which has been insolvent for a long time, is said to have passed into his possession. The money paid for the purchase of the former US military airport is already in a so-called escrow account. NR Holding announced on Friday: “Yes, we have concluded a contract. However, this is subject to various conditions precedent.” This means above all the creditors’ meetings of four Hahn sister companies scheduled for next Tuesday before the Bad Kreuznach insolvency court. “We will not be commenting further at this time,” the Ring holding company added. The Federal Ministry of Economics could still subject the sale to the Nürburgring to an examination in accordance with the Foreign Trade Act. NR Holding had already taken part in the bidding process in autumn 2021, but at the time offered less money than Swift Conjoy GmbH in Frankfurt. Apparently, however, she had never paid the purchase price.
The power of money
Roman Abramovich: His rise, his club, his family – the life of the oligarch
On Saturday, the dpa reported on another bidder for the airport. A Mainz real estate investor by the name of the Richter Group says it has already signed a notarial purchase agreement through a subsidiary and also transferred a purchase price to an escrow account. If the Federal Ministry of Economics does not approve the takeover of NR Holding around Viktor Charitonin, Richter could still emerge as the winner of the bidding process. However, the Nürburgring holding company has probably already paid the purchase price and is now the bidder with the highest bid. So the investments of the Russian oligarch Charitonin in Germany are increasing.