What Automecanica Mediaș shareholders omit to say about the connections in the Russian Federation, in the right of reply sent to Adevărul

In a right of reply sent to “Adevărul”, the two shareholders of Automecanica Mediaș, Serghei Glinka and Andrei Scobioală, try to minimize the connections they have in the Russian Federation, claiming that they have concluded any business relations in this country. In reality, according to our information, they would have continued their business in Moscow, directly or indirectly, after the start of the invasion of Ukraine. Moreover, Sergei Glinka has a daughter with Gulnara Penkova, the spokeswoman for the mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin. Until 2010, she worked within the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, being under the direct subordination of Vladimir Putin.

Serghei Glinka and Andrei Scobioală sent Adevărul a right of reply regarding the revelations in a material published this week, in which we showed the vulnerabilities of the Romanian state in the face of external interference in the defense industry.

Glinka claims that his ties with Transmashholding JSC, the largest producer of rolling stock for railways in the Russian Federation, were cut off in 2017, which is why, in his opinion, the association is “unfounded”. In fact, according to the documents consulted by Adevărul, Glinka was a member of the Board of Directors of Transmashholding JSC between 2003 and 2019 and commercial director of the same company between 2013 and 2018. He owned approximately 8% of Transmashholding's shares, through the offshore company Intellectico Holdings Limited, which he controlled together with Maksim Liksutov, the current deputy mayor of Moscow. Even Glinka, in a statement published 3 years ago in the Romanian press, boasted that until 2018 he was a “influential figure of the Transmashholding group of companies”.

Transmashholding is controlled by some of the most influential and controversial Russian oligarchs: Iskandar Makhmudov, the founder of one of Russia's largest industrial groups, associated over time with organized crime networks; Andrei Bokarev, his longtime associate; Dmitri Komissarov, involved in financial embezzlement cases at Russian railway companies; and Kirill Lipa, the company's current CEO. All four are on international sanctions lists (American, European, British and Ukrainian).

On September 14, 2023, the US sanctioned Transmashholding, Bokarev and Makhmudov, with the stated aim of cutting off Russian resources for financing the war in Ukraine. On October 30, 2024, the sanctions were extended to Lipa.

At the same time, although he claims that since 2017 he no longer has any business connections in the ex-Soviet space, our information indicates that only after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Glinka began to detach, at least formally, from his Russian businesses.

In less than eight months, he transferred stakes in seven Russian companies to Sima Khachatryan, an associate in Moscow and Tbilisi, described as a trusted person managing his assets. Transfers took place between April and November 2022, via direct transfers or corporate vehicles controlled by Khachatryan.

Chronology of the transfer of Glinka's business to Sima Khachatryan

Glinka has a daughter with the spokeswoman of the mayor of Moscow

Of all Glinka's ties to power in Moscow, the most sensitive is his relationship with Gulnara Penkova (52), the spokeswoman for the mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, and, according to documents consulted by Adevărul, the mother of one of Glinka's daughters. Serghei Sobyanin is considered one of the possible successors of Vladimir Putin.

Gulnara Penkova is not just any official. Between April 1999 and November 2010, she worked in the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, practically directly under Vladimir Putin. Initially, she began her career in the Kremlin as a “specialist”, then gradually rose to the position of Deputy Head of the Press and Information Department of the Russian Presidency.

Penkova was the person in charge of “improving the provincial image” of Sobyanin before he took over Moscow. When Sobianin became mayor, in 2010, he immediately appointed her spokesperson – a position she holds continuously to this day.

Gulnara Penkova, together with the mayor of Moscow, Serghei Sobianin. PHOTO: Alamy

Penkova worked directly under the coordination of Maksim Liksutov, the deputy mayor of Moscow with whom Glinka owned Intellectico Holdings Limited and with whom he had, over the years, built an entire business network in the Russian railway industry. A 2014 investigation revealed that Liksutov and Glinka had obtained extremely lucrative contracts.

Specifically, between 2014 and 2019, Glinka held stakes in the Russian company Aeroexpress LLC, the operator of the express train service connecting Moscow with its main airports. The participations were structured through the companies Worldwide Invest AS LLC and Delta-Trans-Invest LLC. In Delta-Trans-Invest LLC, Glinka owned 50% of the shares together with Tatjana Rose (formerly Liksutova), the former wife of the Deputy Mayor of Moscow.

Glinka family connections

His second wife, Kseniya Olegovna Lavrova-Glinka (48), is a theater and television actress in Russia. The two were married between 2000 and 2010 and have two children together: Aglaya Glinka, founder of luxury cosmetics brand Glossom, and Daniil Glinka (25), tennis player, currently ranked 171 in the ATP.

Lavrova-Glinka served as Minister of Culture of the Tver Region from September 2022 to January 2025 and publicly supported Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Kseniya Olegovna Lavrova-Glinka. PHOTO: Facebook

The third wife, Alisa Glinka (38 years old), represented the Russian Federation in international equestrian competitions until 2018. Later, she decided to represent the Republic of Moldova, participating in the Olympic Games in Paris in the dressage event. Alisa Glinka holds dual Moldovan and Russian citizenship and has business in Russia. He is a director and 20% shareholder of Glinka Hotel LLC and owns 20% of G3 Group JSC. According to documents consulted by Adevărul, she previously worked for a Cypriot company controlled through GST Investments OÜ – the Estonian vehicle of Sergei Glinka.

Who is Andrei Scobioala?

Along with Glinka, co-shareholder of Automecanica SA is Andrei Scobioală. He holds Moldovan and Romanian citizenship. Also, according to some documents consulted by Adevărul, he also holds Russian citizenship, information he denies. Scobioala is registered as a Russian citizen in the Individual Register of Entrepreneurs in the Russian Federation. However, it is not clear whether he has not renounced this citizenship.

According to the same documents, between 2021 and 2022, Scobioală made 57 border crossings in ten countries. The two airports in Moscow, Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo, constantly appear as a point of departure or arrival. The registered routes include flights on the Moscow – Bucharest and Moscow – Chisinau routes, but also connections to Istanbul, Dubai, Frankfurt, Warsaw and Vienna.

Scobioala's ties to Russia are not limited to his Russian passport. His current wife is the Russian Daria Maratovna Scobioală (23 years old), former tennis player ranked best at position 1755 in the WTA ranking (September 2019). His last professional match was in an ITF tournament held in June 2022 in Bucharest. She studied at the Russian State University of Physical Education, Sports, Youth and Tourism in Moscow.

Pictures of the scobiola spouses

The marriage declaration of Andrei Scobioală with Daria Scobioală. Source: District 1 City Hall

His brother, Mihai Scobioală, is also a Russian citizen, with a passport issued by the Directorate for the Tula Region of the Ministry of the Interior of Russia.

Its portfolio includes several companies jointly owned with Automecanica SKB Property SRL, an entity fully controlled by Sergei Glinka. This structure includes SKBDA Immo, where it owns 100% of the stake and which operates in the field of real estate investments; Automecanica Mobility SRL, where it controls 45% and whose object is the manufacture of rolling stock; SKB Prod Systems SRL, with a 35% stake in equipment production; as well as Eurolaser Exploitation SRL, where it owns 10% and which carries out mechanical operations. In the Republic of Moldova, Andrei Scobioală is currently a 25% shareholder in MS-Invest & Consulting SRL.

In Romania, Mihai Scobioală manages SKB Lasertech Administration SRL, respectively Laser Processing SRL. As Andrei Scobioală himself admits in the right of reply sent to “Adevărul”, Laser Processing had a subsidiary in the Russian Federation, which was sourcing components for mobility solutions. According to the documents in our possession, this branch was registered in Technopark Uspensky in Moscow.

Their father, Mihail Scobioală, also a Russian citizen, held a 25% stake in Veris Proekt LLC, a Russian metalworking firm, between 2019 and 2023. The majority control of the company was later taken by Sima Khachatryan – the same person who also took over Glinka's Russian assets after the outbreak of the war on Ukraine. Also during this period, Veris Proekt LLC owned another company together with Vadim Ciubara, a Russian businessman associated with the former president of the Republic of Moldova, Igor Dodon.

Under these conditions, there are still more question marks that Automecanica shareholders should clarify in order to establish the links they have with the Kremlin regime. Serghei Glinka should explain his relationship with Gulnara Penkova, as well as who actually controls the assets transferred to Sima Khachatryan after February 2022. Last but not least, Andrei Scobioală should specify whether he held or still holds the citizenship of the Russian Federation.