# Trans-World Group

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**TransWorld Group** was an association of commodities traders controlling stakes in most of Russia's aluminum smelters.[1] It was established by [David and Simon Reuben](/source/David_and_Simon_Reuben).[2]

By 1996 TransWorld was the world's third-largest aluminum producer, behind [Alcoa](/source/Alcoa) and [Alcan](/source/Alcan).[3] In 1997 it controlled smelters across the former Soviet Union with revenues estimated in at $5-7 billion.[4] TransWorld was accused of involvement in illegal activities, including several murders.[3]

## History

The aluminum sector was one of the most contested industries during the [Russian privatization](/source/Privatization_in_Russia) process.[4] David Reuben had been buying aluminum from the Soviet state since the late 1970s. In the post-Soviet turmoil, Reuben that found he could get the finished metal at low Soviet-era prices and then sell it at market rates.[4] To set up the scheme, he established a partnership with [Lev](/source/Lev_Chernoy) and [Michael Cherney](/source/Michael_Cherney).[4] Lev Chernoy's top aide was [Vladimir Lisin](/source/Vladimir_Lisin), who, during the Soviet era, had been second-in-command to [Oleg Soskovets](/source/Oleg_Soskovets) when he was a steel-works executive.[4]

Oleg Soskovets, now Deputy Prime Minister, helped the firm in getting official approval for a [tolling agreement](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tolling_agreement).[2][5] Under the system, both the raw material and the finished product were the property of TransWorld.[2] The scheme maximized the cost of plant inputs and minimized the selling price for the metals.[2] Trans World concluded its first tolling agreement in 1992, with the BrAZ smelter in [Bratsk](/source/Bratsk).[2]

By 1994, Trans-World was selling more than 600,000 tons of aluminum a year, or a quarter of Russia's total exports.[4] As more of Russia's industry was privatized, Trans World bought stakes in the country's largest smelters, to prevent the rise of competitors which also might be interested in signing tolling deals.[4][6]

When the [Krasnoyarsk](/source/Krasnoyarsk) Aluminum Factory, Russia's second-largest, refused to enter an agreement with Trans-World, the director of the plant began to receive threats.[4] Vadim Yafyasov, a deputy director, was killed in front of his Moscow home on 10 April 1995.[4] Felix Lvov, a Trans-World rival, was picked up by men with special services IDs as he was sitting in a plane at [Sheremetyevo Airport](/source/Sheremetyevo_Airport). His corpse was found in a nearby wood several days later.[7] Trans-World eventually took control of the Krasnoyarsk smelter in cooperation with [Anatoly Bykov](/source/Anatoly_Bykov),[1] described by the New York Times as "one of Russia's most infamous mobsters".[8]

Oleg Soskovets was dismissed from his government post in 1996, after falling out of favor with [Yeltsin](/source/Boris_Yeltsin).[9]

A series of investigative reports broadcast by the [NTV](/source/NTV_(Russia)) television network in 1996 accused TransWorld Group of working with the Izmailovsky gang of the [Russian mafia](/source/Russian_mafia), and of having committed a series of high-profile murders: in particular, those of Felix Lvov, Oleg Kantor and Vadim Yafyasov.[7]

In 1997 the company was investigated by the Russian police and the [National Criminal Intelligence Service](/source/National_Criminal_Intelligence_Service) of Britain, but no charges were brought.[10] By late 1997 Trans-World Group was being squeezed out by Russia-based financial groups, and had lost control of parts of its holdings, including [Novolipetsk Steel](/source/Novolipetsk_Steel).[6]

In early 2000, Trans-World sold most of its aluminum holdings to [Roman Abramovich](/source/Roman_Abramovich), who merged them with [Oleg Deripaska](/source/Oleg_Deripaska)'s company to create Russian Aluminum (today [Rusal](/source/Rusal)).[1]

In June 2000, an investigation into Trans-World's business was published in [Fortune](/source/Fortune_(magazine)) magazine; the article remarked that the company's history was filled with "more than a few corpses".[3] The Reubens brothers subsequently sued [Richard Behar](/source/Richard_Behar), the article's writer, for libel in a [London court](/source/English_defamation_law).[3] The magazine issued a clarification to the story in 2004, where they specified that "Fortune did not claim and does not claim that the Reubens were responsible for any murders".[3]

Fortune's findings were mirrored in the pages of the [Financial Times](/source/Financial_Times), which in a 2000 article similarly noted that struggles over the control of the Krasnoyarsk smelter had resulted in dozens of murders.[11] While noticing that the victims included both allies and competitors of Trans-World, the story stressed that David Reuben "angrily denies any hint that they or their partners had any role in the violence".[11]

## References

1. Klebnikov, Paul (26 November 2001). ["Gangster-free capitalism"](https://www.forbes.com/global/2001/1126/026.html#1b675e9f7ca0). *Forbes*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20040919121649/http://www.forbes.com/global/2001/1126/026.html#1b675e9f7ca0) 2004-09-19 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 October 2018.

1. Adachi, Yuko (2013). [*Building Big Business in Russia: The Impact of Informal Corporate Governance Practices*](https://books.google.com/books?id=G7gxLeTonjQC&pg=PA67). Routledge. p. 67. ISBN 9781135147129. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20181010053351/https://books.google.com/books?id=G7gxLeTonjQC&pg=PA67) 2018-10-10 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2018-10-09.

1. ["Capitalism In A Cold Climate"](https://web.archive.org/web/20141019043548/http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/06/12/281972/index.htm#update). *Fortune Magazine*. 12 June 2000. Archived from [the original](https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/06/12/281972/index.htm#update) on 2014-10-19. Retrieved 8 October 2018.

1. Banerjee, Neela (28 January 1997). ["Amid Privatization, Controversy: Metals Firm Scores inRussia"](https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB854402299387244500). *WSJ*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20181009131930/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB854402299387244500) 9 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 October 2018.

1. Mobius, Mark (2012). [*Passport to Profits: Why the Next Investment Windfalls Will be Found Abroad and How to Grab Your Share*](https://books.google.com/books?id=ozvbwuKuEBYC&pg=PA148). John Wiley & Sons. p. 148. ISBN 9781118153840. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20181010053351/https://books.google.com/books?id=ozvbwuKuEBYC&pg=PA148) 2018-10-10 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2018-10-09.

1. ["Glory Days Fading for Trans-World"](http://old.themoscowtimes.com/sitemap/free/1998/2/article/glory-days-fading-for-trans-world/295023.html). *The Moscow Times*. 11 February 1998. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20181009131932/http://old.themoscowtimes.com/sitemap/free/1998/2/article/glory-days-fading-for-trans-world/295023.html) 9 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 October 2018.

1. Latynina, Yulia (14 November 2001). ["Parachute Accident Marks End of an Era"](http://old.themoscowtimes.com/sitemap/free/2001/11/article/parachute-accident-marks-end-of-an-era/250314.html/). *The Moscow Times*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20190202041651/http://old.themoscowtimes.com/sitemap/free/2001/11/article/parachute-accident-marks-end-of-an-era/250314.html/) 2 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 October 2018.

1. Tavernise, Sabrina (20 June 2002). ["A Russian Aluminum Mobster, Set Free, Gains Teflon Status"](https://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/20/world/a-russian-aluminum-mobster-set-free-gains-teflon-status.html). *New York Times*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180129013008/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/20/world/a-russian-aluminum-mobster-set-free-gains-teflon-status.html) 2018-01-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 October 2018.

1. ["Yeltsin fires key security officials"](https://web.archive.org/web/20050429121745/http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9606/20/russia.firings/index.html). *CNN.com*. 20 June 1996. Archived from [the original](http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9606/20/russia.firings/index.html) on 2005-04-29. Retrieved 9 October 2018.

1. ["Siberia's great smelting pot"](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2001/feb/18/russia.theobserver). *The Guardian*. 18 February 2001. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180705032425/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2001/feb/18/russia.theobserver) 2018-07-05 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2018-10-09.

1. Barker, Alex (2008-10-21). ["Osborne on the Oligarchs"](https://www.ft.com/content/55fc29ca-1d20-3932-9bb1-ef66b1e1ce97). *Financial Times*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220824101609/https://www.ft.com/content/55fc29ca-1d20-3932-9bb1-ef66b1e1ce97) 2022-08-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 24 August 2022.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Trans-World Group](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-World_Group) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-World_Group?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.