Sesam Company, Which Builds BelNPP, Went Bankrupt

Rosatom will buy from businessman Vasily Boyko-Veliky the contractor company Sesame, known for the incident with the fall of the reactor vessel of the Belarusian nuclear power plant.

The engineering subsidiary of Rosatom – Atomstroyexport is discussing the possibility of buying the contractor company Sesam, which is part of the holding company Energoatominzhiniring of Vasily Boyko-Veliky, fearing the contractor’s bankruptcy. This is stated in the procurement materials published by the state corporation, RBC writes. According to them, Rosatom selected the appraiser Nexia Pacioli to conduct due diligence of Sesam, bypassing the competitive procedures.

The state corporation justified this decision by the short deadline for the transaction: "it is impossible to conduct a competitive procurement procedure, as the results of due diligence, which are needed to make a decision on acquiring Sesam’s shares, will not be known until January 2018." This fact will lead to the need of attracting foreign subcontractors to foreign projects, submitting technical and working documentation for heat installation works and technologies, the note on justification of purchases from an only supplier says. In addition, Atomstroyexport notes the increased risks of Sesam’s bankruptcy and the inability to provide the company with additional financing under the general contract for the construction of the Belarusian and Rostov NPPs.

Vasily Boyko-Veliky, the owner of the Russian Milk Holding, prior to joining agribusiness in 2002-2003, worked for Rosatom, and he held the position of Deputy Executive Director for Investments of Rosenergoatom (responsible for Russian nuclear power plants). He also headed the board of directors of the general contractor for the construction of the third unit of the Kalinin nuclear power plant – Sevzapatomenergostroy. In 2006, Boyko-Veliky participated in the creation of the holding Energoatominzhiniring, specializing in the construction of nuclear and thermal power plants and other energy facilities.

Belonging to Boyko-Veliky contractor of Rosatom became widely known after the incident at the construction site of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, which occurred last summer. Then the media reported that Sesam dropped the reactor vessel for the Belarusian nuclear power plant during when loading it. The Ministry of Energy of Belarus asked to replace it, and the fallen reactor vessel was sent to the manufacturing plant – Atommash.

"There are no contractors similar to Sesame in Russia, – head of the BK-Savings analytical department Sergei Suverov explains. – This company is the successor of the assembly department created for nuclear construction in the USSR, it participated in the Kalinin NPP construction."

According to him, the number of Rosatom’s independent contractors is decreasing.

We remind that the construction period for the first block of the Belarusian NPP shifted from 2018 to 2019. The Belarusian nuclear power plant is built in violation of the provisions of the Espoo and Aarhus conventions. Belarus did not provide any valid explanations why the site in Astravets, which is located 50 kilometers from Vilnius, was chosen for the construction of the nuclear power plant. No studies have been conducted on the possible radioactive effects on international waters, residents of Belarus and neighboring countries, and the environment in the event of an accident.