Here the Russian spirit is, here it smells of Russia - The Security Police warns of risks in the construction project in Bergi

In the village of Bergi in the Ropazi region, large-scale construction is planned, promoted by the Latvian company "Bergi Rich". Its ultimate beneficiaries are Russian citizens Dmitry Korzhyev and Dmitry Troitsky, reports the program "De facto" on Sunday evening.

The project involves the construction of a shopping center and several residential buildings on the land plot "Andreni".

The local government stated that they learned about the project from residents' feedback and during public discussions. Meanwhile, security services are urging an assessment of reputational and national security risks, considering the project's connection to Russian capital.

As the program "De facto" found out, the owners of "Bergi Rich" appeared in Latvia after purchasing the land at auction; however, since 2021, the company has been owned by Russian entrepreneurs whose business interests are linked to the extraction industry and foreign trade.

Korzhyev and Troitsky have been on the lists of the richest entrepreneurs in Russia for many years. The former classmates accumulated their wealth in the 1990s by creating the juice manufacturer "Multon", which they later sold to Coca-Cola for about 500 million dollars. They invested the proceeds into the supermarket chain "O’Key", the banking sector, and car trading.

Since 2012, their company "Rich Metals Group" has been engaged in gold and copper mining in Georgia, where in 2023, the turnover amounted to about 260 million euros. Their business is also linked to precious metal deposits in Armenia. In Georgia, their activities caused a scandal: to expand gold mining, a unique archaeological monument — the five-thousand-year-old Sakdrisi mines — was destroyed.

In 2022, Ukraine proposed imposing sanctions against both entrepreneurs, considering their business an instrument of Russian influence in Georgia.

According to "De facto", the Military Intelligence and Security Service does not see direct risks to the state's defense system and its infrastructure concerning the "Andreni" plot. However, the service emphasized that the decisions of the Ropazi municipality regarding the intentions of SIA "Bergi Rich" should be assessed in terms of reputational risks, including at the state level.

The Security Police also drew attention to this case and urges municipalities to critically evaluate cooperation with entrepreneurs that may pose risks to national security interests.