Sberbank Sells Controlling Stake in Sber Real Estate Funds (SFN) Days Before SDN Designation

On approximately March 31 / April 1, 2022 — five to six days before OFAC’s full SDN designation of Sberbank took effect on April 6, 2022 — Sberbank announced the sale of 51% of its stake in ООО «СБ Благосостояние» (SB Blagosostoyanie LLC), the holding entity that owned both Sberbank Asset Management (subsequently rebranded as «Первая») and Sber Real Estate Funds (subsequently rebranded as «Современные фонды недвижимости» / SFN). This transaction was specifically structured to remove the asset management companies from the OFAC blocking perimeter before Sberbank was designated.

Transaction Structure

Holding entity sold: ООО «СБ Благосостояние» — 51% stake divested by Sberbank Announced buyer of 49%: ООО «Система Телеком Активы», subsidiary of АФК «Система» (publicly traded Russian conglomerate) Price: Not disclosed («детали сделок не раскрываются» — Sberbank press service) Rationale disclosed: Not stated; financial press noted the transaction appeared designed to “insulate the companies from sanctions risks”

Formal Ownership Transfer for SFN

The formal EGRUL ownership change for SFN itself (from СБ Благосостояние to АО «Старт») is reflected in May 2022 — approximately five weeks after the SDN designation. АО «Старт» (INN 9721162149) was incorporated April 11, 2022 — five days after the SDN designation.

The complete ownership chain that emerged:

• SFN → 99.999% owned by АО «Старт» (incorporated April 11, 2022)
• АО «Старт» → 100% owned by ООО «СФО СБ ФКП» (incorporated February 11, 2022)
• ООО «СФО СБ ФКП» → 99.99% owned by Фонд «Модерн» (Fond Modern, INN 9718180229, incorporated October 14, 2021)
• Фонд «Модерн» → ultimate beneficiaries are unnamed individuals, managed by Dmitry Mamatov (former acting CEO of Sberbank Asset Management)

Key Personnel Continuity

Despite the formal ownership transfer, SFN’s entire leadership remained Sberbank Asset Management alumni:

• Ekaterina Chernykh (SFN CEO): formerly head of real estate fund development at Sberbank AM
• Alexander Khrameshkin (CEO of АО «Старт», the direct parent): formerly chief legal officer of Sberbank AM
• Dmitry Mamatov (manager of Fond Modern, the ultimate holding fund): formerly acting CEO of Sberbank AM

The registered address throughout the ownership chain — Kievskaya Street, Building 7, Moscow — is identical to Sberbank AM’s former offices.

Rebranding Timeline

• April 20, 2022: Bank of Russia reissues SFN’s fund management license under new name «Современные фонды недвижимости» (from «Сбер Фонды Недвижимости»)
• February 6, 2023: Trade name «СОВРЕМЕННЫЕ ФОНДЫ НЕДВИЖИМОСТИ» registered as trademark — suggesting the rebranding was not completed for public-facing purposes until nearly a year after the formal ownership change

OFAC Analytical Significance

The timing creates a contested boundary for OFAC sanctions analysis:

The formal-exit argument: Sberbank announced the sale before April 6, 2022 (the SDN designation date). If the contractual transfer binding closed before April 6, then SFN would not be automatically blocked under the 50 Percent Rule when the SDN designation took effect.

The opacity argument: The purchaser chain (АО «Старт» → ООО «СФО СБ ФКП» → Фонд «Модерн» → undisclosed individuals) is entirely new entities created within months of the sanctions event, staffed by former Sberbank AM executives, operating from the same address. The ultimate beneficial owners are not publicly disclosed. SPARK-Interfax reports the beneficial owners as hidden.

Unresolved question: The exact contractual closing date of the Sberbank stake transfer is not confirmed in any primary source. The EGRUL “May 2022” date reflects the registry update, which typically lags the contractual transfer. Whether SFN was inside or outside the OFAC blocking perimeter during the April 6–May 2022 window cannot be determined from public sources.

Connection to PNK Group Investigation

SFN went on to acquire PNK Park Medvedkovo from PNK Group Russia in March 2023 for an estimated 5–6 billion rubles (~$55–65M USD) — the third Sberbank-ecosystem real estate fund transaction involving PNK Group Russia (after Veshki July 2020 and Rostov-on-Don December 2022). By March 2023, SFN’s formal ownership was under the Fond Modern structure, not Sberbank. But whether SFN was arms-length from Sberbank in any meaningful sense — given the personnel continuity and opacity of the beneficial owner chain — remains unresolved.

See: sfn-modern-real-estate-funds for full ownership chain documentation.