The Moscow Arbitration Court declared the former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov bankrupt, determining the procedure for the sale of his property

Criminal case - civil suit - bankruptcy. This sequence of events overwhelmed Valery Nosov, the former deputy minister of finance during the leadership of the Moscow region by Boris Gromov. Valery Nosov himself has been in prison since February 2010, where he is serving time for several cases at once. In this way, the authorities clearly demonstrated a long-term mechanism for prosecuting those responsible for the actual bankruptcy of the Moscow region in 2008.

The Moscow Arbitration Court declared former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov bankrupt, determining the procedure for the sale of his property.

Valery Nosov's bankruptcy was declared at the request of the Moscow Regional Investment Trust Company (MOITK). The debt to the company, as explained by a representative of MOITK, arose as a result of the verdict of the Basmanny Court, which it rendered in a criminal case against Valery Nosov. And then he satisfied the civil claim of MOITK to recover damages from Nosov in the amount of 7.2 billion rubles. The sentence came into force on July 23, 2015, but the debt was never repaid. The result was the bankruptcy of Valery Nosov.

Valery Nosov

PPP. Kuznetsov style

This story is already eight years old. MOITK, at one time better known as the Mosobltrustinvest corporation, is a real ghost. The company was liquidated by decree of the Government of the Moscow Region on August 12, 2009, and on September 29 of the same year, the Moscow Regional Arbitration Court officially declared it bankrupt.

From the very beginning, the company's debt was considered virtually hopeless. This was confirmed by the long-term bankruptcy procedure itself, which continues today.

And this story began immediately after Boris Gromov became governor of the Moscow region, the immediate consequence of whose appointment was the creation of an intricate system of project financing, carried out using public funds.

Gromov Boris

Both Valery Nosov and MOITK were at one time part of the same system. But its real architect was the then Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region, Alexey Kuznetsov, who built a real financial labyrinth using borrowed funds and pumping budget resources, using a whole network of quasi-state and simply private structures. The system was held together by a constant influx of borrowed funds from the bond market and predictably collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis.

Alexey Kuznetsov himself managed to jump out of the car flying into the abyss and hide abroad. But after long and very confusing attempts, he was eventually arrested in France in early July 2013. Since then, Alexey Kuznetsov has been in a French prison, awaiting extradition to Russia.

Nosov's cases

Valery Nosov was not hiding anywhere, and was arrested in May 2010 on a completely different case. At first he was accused of extortion, but in the Presnensky court the case essentially fell apart, and it all ended with Article 330 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Arbitrariness”). Valery Nosov admitted his guilt and in November 2012 received four years in a penal colony. After this, the judicial-criminal odyssey of Valery Nosov received a new, although quite expected, development. In December 2014, the Basmanny Court of Moscow sentenced him to 14 years in prison in a case of theft of 10 million rubles, and as an additional punishment, the court imposed a fine of one million rubles on him.

It was this verdict that became the basis for a civil claim by the Moscow Regional Investment Trust Company for 7.2 billion rubles, which was satisfied.

And in October 2015, the Prosecutor General’s Office again charged Valery Nosov with fraud and legalization of stolen property - this time in the amount of more than 1 billion rubles. In February 2016, this time the Khamovnichesky Court sentenced Nosov to another 14 years in prison under the same articles of the Criminal Code on fraud and laundering. Valery Nosov was also relatively lucky in that the “arithmetic addition” rule does not work in the Russian judicial system, and only 9 months were added to his old sentence, and not another 14 years. There have been no reports of civil suits or monetary claims in connection with this verdict. Bye.

Kuznetsov and others

This whole whirlwind of accusations, lawsuits and verdicts is, of course, preparation for the main trial for which the security forces are preparing - the case of the former Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region, Alexey Kuznetsov, under whose leadership Valery Nosov worked back in the 1990s at Inkombank, and whose immediate deputy was in the regional government. Civil claims and bankruptcy should become an important argument in the implementation of the master plan - gaining access to those assets that were beyond the reach of interested parties. There is no doubt that there is a circle of such people, and although it is small, it is quite influential. Alexey Kuznetsov had serious patrons who easily managed to evade prosecution. Most often, among such partners in cases of Moscow region finances, Peter Katsyv is named, who calmly “moved” from the government of the Moscow region to leadership positions in the Russian Railways.

Smart guy

There is another explanation why the whole story with the financial bloc of the Moscow region turned out to be so loud and confusing. Let's call this story a "legend". According to this legend, the leadership of one informal but extremely authoritative structure quarreled with the government of the Moscow region in the late 1990s, resulting in a change of power. Authoritative people needed a “smart guy” who understood financial issues, and then they remembered Alexey Kuznetsov, who showed his capabilities in gaining control over the assets of the rapidly sinking Inkombank. True, by that time Kuznetsov had already settled in the States and was not going anywhere. But in the end, the banker had to return to his homeland and retrain as a financial flow manager for the Moscow region. Following him were Alexei's fighting friend Zhanna Bulakh and other promising financiers. The mechanism of the created “public-private partnership” was launched. But private interests in this mechanism were not represented by Kuznetsov and Co., but by completely different people. But the minister’s team remained a wheel, which turned out to be unnecessary when, as a result of the financial crisis of 2008, the entire mechanism of “relatively honest earning and laundering” of money broke down.

The question is that this legend does not turn out to be the harsh truth in the texts of the charges and court verdicts.

Alexander Kuzmin

"Biography"

Activity

From 1993 to 1998 worked at CB Inkombank - economist, head of the lending department, head of the trade finance department, deputy director of the trade finance department.

"Themes"

"News"

The apartment of the arrested official will be put up for auction in the Moscow region

The Ministry of Property Relations of the Moscow Region announced an auction for the sale of the apartment of the former Deputy Minister of Finance of the region Valery Nosov. Rossiyskaya Gazeta writes about this.

According to the publication, we are talking about a 150-meter apartment on the 14th floor of a modern residential complex on Vavilova Street in Moscow. The property will be sold on one of the electronic trading platforms. The auction date is March 4, 2019, the starting sale price is more than 34 million rubles. You can apply to participate in the auction until March 1.

Valery Nosov's seized apartment will be sold at auction

One of the apartments of former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov, seized during his arrest, was put up for auction. 150 sq.m. on the 14th floor of building 97 on Vavilova Street will be sold through the electronic platform of the Realization Center. The auction will take place on March 4, and the starting sale price will be 34,055,800 rubles. This was announced by Vladislav Kogan, Minister of Property Relations of the Moscow Region.

The Moscow region rewarded the market

Selling bonds below par

Yesterday an auction was held for the additional placement of the eighth issue of bonds of the Moscow region for 9 billion rubles. The average price of the paper was 97.3% of the par value, which is 4.2 percentage points lower than the price of the first part of the issue placed in mid-June. The region's leadership is pleased with the results, although experts are confident that with skillful organization the issue could have been sold at a higher price.

A collection of paintings confiscated from the former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region was brought to the New Jerusalem Museum

A collection of paintings and second-hand rarities confiscated from the former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region, who is serving a sentence for multimillion-dollar thefts, was brought to the New Jerusalem Museum. The exhibition was replenished with paintings by Aivazovsky, Korovin, Malyavin and other Russian masters, as well as graphics, photographs, and rare publications of the 19th and early 20th centuries. There are almost a hundred valuable exhibits in total. After the court decision on confiscation, they were kept in the Tretyakov Gallery. At the request of the Moscow region authorities, valuable exhibits were transferred to the exhibition complex in Istra.

“This probably happens once in a lifetime. And for the museum this is truly a great contribution to the art gallery. We hope that now we will carry out examinations, make a temporary exhibition, and then it will go to an art gallery, which will open by the end of the year and will be permanently presented to the public,” said Vasily Kuznetsov, general director of the New Jerusalem Museum.

Former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Government Valery Nosov was sentenced to 14 years in prison for fraud and embezzlement committed in 2007. As a result of the actions of the criminal group, which also included the former Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region, Alexey Kuznetsov, the region’s budget lost 17 billion rubles. Kuznetsov is in France, and the issue of his extradition has been under consideration for several years.

Convicted ex-Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region declared bankrupt

The Moscow Arbitration Court, at the request of the Moscow Regional Investment Trust Company (MOITK), declared bankrupt the former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov, who was sentenced to 14 years and 9 months in a criminal case of fraud.

Former First Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov received 14 years and 9 months in prison for money fraud in the amount of more than a billion rubles. This was reported on Tuesday, February 2, on the website of the Investigative Committee of Russia (ICR).

“He was found guilty of committing crimes under Part 4 of Article 159 and Part 3 of Article 174.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Fraud and legalization of funds or other property acquired by a person as a result of committing a crime”). This criminal case was separated from the criminal case of embezzlement of budget funds of the Moscow region on an especially large scale,” the statement says.

The deputy minister added nine months for a billion rubles.

The judge of the Khamovnichesky Court of the capital sentenced former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov to 14 years and 9 months in prison for theft of 1 billion rubles. from the budget.

According to the investigation, from January to July 2007, Nosov, as part of an organized group that included the first deputy head of the government of the Moscow region - the Ministry of Finance of the leadership of the Moscow region Alexey Kuznetsov and other persons, committed fraudulent actions aimed at stealing money in the amount of not less than 1 billion rubles.

Kuznetsov’s sister Elena (she received seven years in prison) and his wife Zhanna Bullock were also involved in the illegal scheme.

“The punishment was imposed in conjunction with the verdict of the capital’s Basmanny Court.” And in addition, he was deprived of the title “Honorary Citizen”. The official commissioner of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Markin, informed reporters about this today, February 2.

Deputy Minister added nine months for a billion rubles

The Khamovnichesky District Court of Moscow today sentenced former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov. The ex-official was again found guilty of fraud and laundering stolen property, ultimately receiving 14 years and 9 months in a maximum security colony.

The court, following the Investigative Committee, found Valery Nosov guilty of committing crimes under Part 4 of Art. 159 and part 3 of Art. 174.1 (fraud on an especially large scale and laundering of stolen property) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. We are talking about the theft of 1 billion rubles allocated for the development of the mortgage lending system in the Moscow Region in 2005–2010, which, according to the Investigative Committee, was committed by Nosov himself and his then immediate superior, the regional Minister of Finance Alexey Kuznetsov. The procedure for the latter's extradition to Russia is nearing completion in France.

Former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region will serve 14 years in prison

The Khamovnichesky District Court of the capital issued a verdict to the former Deputy Ministry of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov, the PR service of the Investigative Committee reported on Tuesday, February 2. Court secretary Olga Myshelova told the Moscow City News Agency about this.

As the Investigative Committee of Russia reports, Nosov was found guilty of committing offenses under Part 4 of Article 159 and Part 3 of Article 174.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud and laundering of money or other property acquired by a person as a result of committing a crime).

Federal pyramid

Former Deputy Minister of Finance Valery Nosov, who once convinced investors to invest money in MOITK and IKMO bonds, focused on managing his company Artmedia Group. It publishes several art magazines and hosts an Openspace portal.

Former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region received 14 years in prison for embezzling a billion rubles

Former First Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov received 14 years and 9 months in prison for money fraud in the amount of more than a billion rubles. This was reported on Tuesday, February 2, on the website of the Investigative Committee of Russia (ICR). “He was found guilty of committing crimes under Part 4 of Art. 159 and part 3 of Art. 174.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Fraud and legalization of funds or other property acquired by a person as a result of committing a crime”). This criminal case was separated from the criminal case of embezzlement of budget funds of the Moscow region on an especially large scale,” the statement says. The investigation into the criminal case against accomplices in the crime - former Finance Minister Alexei Kuznetsov and his ex-wife Zhanna Bulakh - continues.

The case of the ex-deputy head of the Ministry of Finance of the Moscow Region on the theft of 1 billion rubles. handed over to the court

The Prosecutor General's Office of Russia sent to court a criminal case of theft against the former first deputy of the Ministry of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov. This was reported on the website of the prosecutor's office.

Nosov is accused of committing a crime under Part 4. Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud) and Part 3 of Article 174.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (legalization of funds or other property acquired by a person as a result of committing a crime).

According to the preliminary investigation, from January to July 2007, Nosov, as part of an organized group, committed fraudulent actions aimed at stealing funds in the amount of more than 1 billion rubles. They were intended to implement the Moscow Region government program for the development of a housing mortgage lending system in the region in 2005-2010. Subsequently, the money was transferred to the account of a controlled foreign company registered in Cyprus and legalized.

The group, as noted in the Prosecutor General's Office, included, in particular, the First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Moscow Region - Minister of Finance of the Regional Government Alexei Kuznetsov. The investigation into the case against him continues. The issue of Kuznetsov’s extradition is being considered in France, the Prosecutor General’s Office emphasized.

The ex-deputy head of the Ministry of Finance of the Moscow Region is already serving a 14-year sentence in the case of fraudulently acquiring from a number of housing and communal services enterprises the right to claim debts to municipalities of the Moscow region in the amount of over 3.5 billion rubles. In turn, the extradition process for Kuznetsov, who is also a defendant in this case, has been going on for more than two years.

Former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region sentenced to 14 years for fraud

The Basmanny Court of Moscow issued a guilty verdict against the former Deputy Minister of Finance of the region Valery Nosov, finding him guilty of major fraud, TASS reports.

Also accused in the case are the former general director of Moscow Regional Trust Company OJSC Vladislav Telepnev and economist of NES-Finance LLC Elena Kuznetsova.

“The court sentenced Nosov to 14 years of imprisonment and a fine of one million rubles, Vladislav Telepnev and Elena Kuznetsova - 10 and 7 years of imprisonment, respectively. The convicts will serve their sentences in a general regime colony,” Anna Fadeeva, press secretary of the Basmanny Court, told TASS.

Former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region found guilty of major fraud

The Basmanny Court of Moscow found guilty of major fraud the former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Vladimir Nosov, the former general director of the OJSC Moscow Regional Trust Company established by the regional government, Vladislav Telepnev, and the economist of NES-Finance LLC Elena Kuznetsova.

“The court sentenced Nosov to 14 years in prison and a fine of 1 million rubles, Vladislav Telepnev and Elena Kuznetsova - ten and seven years in prison, respectively. The convicts will serve their sentences in a general regime colony,” said Anna Fadeeva, press secretary of the Basmanny Court, TASS reports.

Former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region received 14 years for fraud

The Basmanny Court of Moscow found former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Vladimir Nosov guilty of major fraud and sentenced him to 14 years in prison, court spokeswoman Anna Fadeeva told TASS.

The court also ordered him to pay a fine of 1 million rubles.

The former general director of the Moscow Regional Trust Company established by the regional government, Vladislav Telepnev, and NES-Finance economist Elena Kuznetsova also appeared before the court in this case.

Former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region was sentenced to 14 years in prison

The Basmanny Court of Moscow sentenced the former First Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov to 14 years in a general regime colony in the case of the theft of 10 million rubles, the Moscow Agency reports.

The court also imposed a fine of 1 million rubles on the former official as an additional punishment.

Sister and former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region received 21 years in prison between them

Participants in high-profile financial fraud with the budget of the Moscow region were sentenced by the Basmanny Court of the capital. The former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region and the sister of ex-Minister of Finance Alexei Kuznetsov, who had been hiding abroad for a long time, were sentenced to imprisonment. As MK learned, the defendants were found guilty of theft of 11 billion and received actual prison sentences.

Ex-Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region sentenced to 14 years in prison

Former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov was sentenced to 14 years in prison. The Basmanny Court of Moscow found him guilty of embezzling 10 billion rubles, Interfax reports.

“Nosov was sentenced to 14 years in prison to be served in a general regime colony, as well as a fine of 1 million rubles,” said court press secretary Anna Fadeeva.

The former deputy minister was left under arrest in the case of extortion of 80 million rubles

Alexey Kuznetsov has so far managed to successfully hide from the investigation. Last August, the Rossiya 1 TV channel released an investigative film, “Area of ​​Increased Embezzlement.” It tells not only about the exploits of Kuznetsov, who brought the Moscow region to the brink of bankruptcy, but also about the activities of other high-ranking officials. Among others, the hero of public investigations of the Justice organization, Minister of Transport of the Moscow Region Petr Katsyv, is also mentioned. Channel 2, in particular, told the story of the purchase of Mercedes buses for the needs of the region and the role Katsyv and his son Denis played in this.

Moscow Region Deputy Minister agreed to arbitrariness

From the verdict announced in court, it followed that former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov, producer Albert Guchigov, who organized the arrival of world boxing legend Michael Tyson to Russia, and ex-adviser to the mayor of Grozny, and now businessman Ruslan Khatsiev, specializing in debt restructuring, were accused of .3 tbsp. 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Extortion”). The defendants extorted money from the main shareholder of the development company Energoconsult, Vladimir Borodkin (Kommersant talked about this on April 26).

The court sentenced the Moscow region deputy minister to 4.5 years in a penal colony. Four more in my mind

Valery Nosov Former First Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov was sentenced to four years in a penal colony for extortion. His accomplices Albert Guchigov and Ruslan Khatsiev received 3 years and 10 months in a penal colony each. This was reported by Lenta.Ru. Nosov was accused of extorting 70 (according to other sources, 80) million rubles from businessman Vladimir Borodkin. According to the investigation, in 2008, Borodkin’s company borrowed 60 million rubles from the financial company Horizon, whose board of directors was headed by Nosov. Nosov was unable to get the money back - Borodkin said that he had nothing to pay with.

Valery Nosov agreed to 4 years under the article for arbitrariness

The Investigative Committee has completed a criminal investigation into the former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov and his two accomplices. They are accused of fraud and legalization of stolen funds. The investigation estimates the damage caused to the budget at more than 3.5 billion rubles. The organizer of this scam, former Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Government Alexey Kuznetsov, is on the international wanted list. Meanwhile, the prosecution requested a four-year sentence for Mr. Nosov in another case.

Former Moscow region official received four years for extortion

Nosov was accused of extorting 70 (according to other sources, 80) million rubles from businessman Vladimir Borodkin. According to the investigation, in 2008, Borodkin’s company borrowed 60 million rubles from the financial company Horizon, whose board of directors was headed by Nosov. Nosov was unable to get the money back - Borodkin said that he had nothing to pay with.

In the Presnensky Court of Moscow yesterday, the verdict was announced in the case of former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov, producer Albert Guchigov and ex-adviser to the mayor of Grozny, and now businessman Ruslan Khatsiev. They were accused of extortion, but eventually agreed to go to jail for arbitrariness.

From the verdict announced in court, it followed that former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov, producer Albert Guchigov, who organized the arrival of world boxing legend Michael Tyson to Russia, and ex-adviser to the mayor of Grozny, and now businessman Ruslan Khatsiev, specializing in debt restructuring, were accused of .3 tbsp. 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Extortion”). The defendants extorted money from the main shareholder of the development company Energoconsult, Vladimir Borodkin.

Internet portal Openspace.ru stopped working

The socio-political portal Openspace.ru was closed for economic reasons. Information about this was posted on the online publication’s Facebook page on February 8.

Openspace.ru website announced closure

Information about this appeared on the resource’s Facebook page

Valery Nosov's extortion was replaced by arbitrariness

In the Presnensky Court of Moscow yesterday, the verdict was announced in the case of former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov, producer Albert Guchigov and ex-adviser to the mayor of Grozny, and now businessman Ruslan Khatsiev. They were accused of extortion, but eventually agreed to go to jail for arbitrariness. According to the RF Investigative Committee, Valery Nosov, while still the Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region, met entrepreneur Valery Borodkin. The latter was engaged in the construction business and participated in the implementation of a number of regional programs.

Ex-Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region received 4 years of imprisonment in an extortion case

Former Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov received four years in a penal colony. He was accused of extorting more than 70 million rubles from businessman Valery Borodkin. Ex-adviser to the mayor of Grozny Ruslan Khatsiev and producer Albert Guchigov, who once organized the visit of Mike Tuckson to Chechnya, who were accused in the same case, will be sent to a penal colony for 3 years 10 months.

According to investigators, Nosov, being the Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region, met Valery Borodkin, who was engaged in the construction business. After leaving the regional government, Nosov headed the board of directors of CJSC Financial Company Horizont. In 2008, Borodkin’s structures borrowed 60 million rubles from Horizon. When the time came to pay off the debt, the builder declared that he had no funds. Horizon filed a lawsuit, and it turned out that Borodkin transferred all his property in Russia - land in Chigasovo, apartments, Rolls-Royce - to his wife Tatyana Lonskaya, having previously divorced her. Then Nosov turned to Khatsiev and Guchigov. The first worked as an adviser to the mayor of Grozny, and the second worked as a public relations manager for Triumph Gallery LLC. Guchigov was a fairly well-known character in the Moscow crowd and even received the nickname “Gucci” for his passion for clothing from luxury brands. Horizon assigned the right to claim the debt from Borodkin to Rostorgservis, which was associated with Guchigov. According to investigators, Guchigov and Khatsiev demanded that Borodkin hand over several buildings worth 80 million rubles and a Rolls-Royce car to Nosov, threatening otherwise to plant drugs on the businessman or kidnap his son. The businessman contacted law enforcement agencies, and in February 2010 Nosov, Guchigov and Khatsiev were detained.

The hearings began in the Presnensky Court this spring and were accompanied by interesting incidents. Borodkin, who drove a Rolls-Royce with bodyguards, said that he works in the Ryabinushka shopping center and receives a salary of 5.5 thousand rubles. He claimed that the defendants once beat him at a meeting in a restaurant. CCTV footage was shown in court. At one point, Borodkin said: “Now Guchigov hit me with his fist,” but the enlarged frame showed that Guchigov’s hands were lying on the table. Lanskaya, talking about the threats to kidnap her child, stated that they came to her over the phone, giving the exact time of the conversation and the number of the caller. However, a printout of telephone connections showed that at the indicated time no one called Lonskaya at all. The Investigative Committee alleged that Nosov, Guchigov and Khatsiev extorted four plots of land in Chigasovo, a cottage and a sports Rolls-Royce from the victims. Experts from different regions of Russia assessed the value of the property, and a specialist from one of the companies located in the North Caucasus, when determining the price of Rolls-Royce, drew an analogy with a Chevrolet NIVA car of the same year of manufacture and “similar configuration.”

As a result, the prosecutor's office asked to reclassify the charge from Art. 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (extortion) at Art. 330 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (arbitrariness) and assign four years of imprisonment to each defendant, writes Rosbalt.

15 million did not release the financier

The Tverskoy Court of Moscow yesterday authorized the arrest of Valery Nosov, former first deputy minister of finance of the Moscow region, owner of the Horizon financial company and the publishing house Artmedia Group LLC.

Valery Nosov in the courtroom

Investigators sent a petition to the Tverskoy Court of Moscow for the arrest of the former First Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region. Valery Nosov is suspected of fraud.

The ex-Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region, released in an extortion case, was detained for fraud; his boss, fugitive vice-governor Alexei Kuznetsov, was charged with a second charge.

Valery Nosov was released on his own recognizance

Former First Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region, owner of the financial company Horizon and the publishing house ArtMedia Group LLC, Valery Nosov, after detention and interrogation, was released on his own recognizance. As Kommersant writes, Nosov is suspected of extorting 80 million rubles from the main shareholder of the development company Energoconsult, Vladimir Borodkin. Earlier, as part of this case, producer Albert Guchigov, who organized the visit of world boxing legend Michael Tyson to Russia, and businessman Ruslan Khatsiev, specializing in debt restructuring, were arrested. The defense claims that the defendants in the case were only trying to repay the loan issued to the developer.

Open spaces for sale

As Chaskor learned, Openspace is in dire need of financial support. The Internet portal covering issues of cultural life began to experience great difficulties after its owner Valery Nosov came under investigation, which had already led to a financial crisis in the publication.

MOSCOW REGION CANNOT RETURN THE STOLE $1 BILLION

The Investigative Committee under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation conducted searches in the offices of the ORSI company and in the cottages of its top managers. These events took place as part of a criminal case regarding the theft of property in the Moscow region worth about $1 billion.

As a source in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation told Rosbalt, on August 5, early in the morning, investigators from the Investigative Committee and employees of the Department of Economic Security of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation visited three addresses. They visited the ORSI office in Butikovsky Lane, several offices of the company’s management in house No. 10 on Ostozhenka Street, as well as the cottages of top managers Georgy Kopylenko and Andrey Pashkovsky in the elite Benelux village on Novorizhskoye Shosse. Documents, electronic media, etc. were confiscated there. According to the agency's source, Georgy Kopylenko and former deputy general director of ORSI Zoya Galeeva were detained at the company's offices. They were taken for interrogation to the building of the Investigative Committee at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. “It was not possible to find Pashkovsky either in the office or at home, so measures are now being taken to establish his whereabouts,” noted the Rosbalt interlocutor. However, no formal charges were brought against any of the detainees.

Investigative actions are taking place as part of a criminal case against former First Deputy Minister of Finance Valery Nosov and General Director of Russian Investment Group LLC Dmitry Kotlyarenko. They are suspected of stealing property from the Moscow region worth about 30 billion rubles. “During the investigation, it was established that part of the stolen property, which after restructuring by the ORSI company was supposed to be returned to the state, was either sold or transferred to the balance sheet of controlled and offshore companies,” noted the agency’s interlocutor in law enforcement agencies. – In this regard, questions arose for the leaders of ORSI.

The deputy minister replaced the case with another

Newspaper "Kommersant", No. 75 (4860), 04/26/2012

Accused of stealing billions will be tried for extorting millions

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (ICR) has completed a criminal investigation into the former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov, producer Albert Guchigov, who organized the visit of world boxing legend Michael Tyson to Russia, and ex-adviser to the mayor of Grozny, and now businessman Ruslan Khatsiev, specializing in debt restructuring . They are accused of extorting money from the main shareholder of the development company Energoconsult, Vladimir Borodkin. The defense claims that the defendants in the case were only trying to repay the loan issued to the developer.

The Investigative Committee has completed the investigation of one of two criminal cases, in which former Deputy Minister of Finance Nosov is involved. Recently, he and his alleged accomplices completed familiarization with 72 volumes of a criminal case on extortion, and it was sent for approval to the Prosecutor General's Office. In addition, the ex-official is accused of embezzling 25 billion rubles from the budget of the Moscow region.

The investigation into the Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region has been completed

Rosbalt, 04/24/2012, 16:02

MOSCOW, April 24. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation submitted for approval to the Prosecutor General's Office a criminal case against the former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov, ex-adviser to the mayor of Grozny Ruslan Khatsiev and the famous Chechen boxer Albert Guchigov. They are accused of extorting 80 million rubles from a married couple of businessmen.

As a source in law enforcement agencies told Rosbalt, Nosov, Guchigov and Khatsiev were finally charged under paragraph “b” of Part 3 of Article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (extortion). The other day they finished getting acquainted with 72 volumes of the criminal case, which were submitted to the Prosecutor General's Office for approval. The supervisory authority has not yet decided whether to send these materials to the court. Lawyers for the accused filed a complaint with the RF GP about numerous violations that, in their opinion, took place during the investigation.

According to the Russian Investigative Committee, Nosov, Khatsiev and Guchigov extorted 80 million rubles from businessman Valery Borodkin and his wife. Valery Nosov is also a defendant in the case of the theft of 27 billion rubles from the budget of the Moscow region.

"ArtMedia Group" ceased to exist

Despite the rumors that were recently circulated in the press - Openspace.ru, they say, was bought by the structures of Roman Abramovich - the online publication is still in search of an investor. And the legal entity behind the portal has been liquidated.

In April, the information that the ArtMedia Group publishing house was experiencing great financial difficulties became impossible to hide. After the arrest of the main sponsor of the project - Moscow region businessman Valery Nosov - it became clear that the publishing house could not survive without a new investor. Here and there new details began to appear. The other day, the English-language portal specializing in covering issues related to art, Theartnewspaper.com, reported that ArtMedia Group had ceased operations, although no official statements were made on behalf of the company. The company's website is currently closed with a promise to open a new one in the spring of 2010.

The court will consider the case of the former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region

MOSCOW, April 26 - RIA Novosti. Former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov will appear in court on charges of extorting 73 million rubles from an entrepreneur, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office reported on Thursday. Also, charges were confirmed in the cases of two more defendants in this criminal case - businessman Ruslan Khatsiev, who specializes in debt restructuring, and producer Albert Guchigov, who organized the arrival of world boxing legend Mike Tyson to Russia.

“According to the investigation, the accused in December 2009 and at the end of January 2010 met in Moscow with one of the capital’s entrepreneurs, demanding 73 million rubles from him. Otherwise, they, hiding behind supposedly existing connections in the law enforcement agencies of the Chechen Republic, threatened the businessman to initiate a criminal case against him, take him into custody and take him to the territory of Chechnya.

They also threatened his son with violence,” the release said. Guchigov and Khatsiev, exerting moral pressure on the victim, demanded that the rights to real estate belonging to his wife be transferred to them, reports the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation. They are accused of committing a crime under paragraph “b” of Part 3 of Article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (extortion committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, with the threat of violence, in order to obtain property on an especially large scale). The maximum sanction of the article is imprisonment for 15 years. The materials of the criminal case will be sent to the Presnensky District Court of Moscow for consideration on the merits.

The ex-owner of the OpenSpace portal is being tried for extortion of 73 million rubles. under threat of kidnapping

Today, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Viktor Grin approved the indictment in the criminal case of the former deputy head of the Ministry of Finance of the Moscow Region, who is accused of extorting 73 million rubles from one of the Moscow entrepreneurs, the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office reports. Former First Deputy Minister of Finance of the Government of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov, as well as his accomplices Albert Guchigov and Ruslan Khatsiev are accused under paragraph “b” of Part 3 of Art. 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (extortion committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, with the threat of violence, in order to obtain property on an especially large scale).

According to investigators, these individuals met with one of the capital’s businessmen in Moscow in December 2009 and at the end of January 2010, demanding 73 million rubles from him. Otherwise, they, “hiding behind their alleged connections in the law enforcement agencies of the Chechen Republic,” threatened to initiate a criminal case against him, take the entrepreneur into custody and take him to the territory of Chechnya. They also threatened to use violence against his son.

“In addition, Guchigov and Khatsiev, exerting moral pressure on the victim, demanded that the rights to real estate belonging to his wife be transferred to them,” notes the Prosecutor General’s Office. Nosov, Khatsiev and Guchigov were detained by law enforcement officers, where the victims had previously applied. The materials of the criminal case will be sent to the Presnensky District Court of Moscow for consideration on the merits. Valery Nosov was also known as the owner of the ArtMedia Group publishing house, which included the website OpenSpace.ru (after his arrest, sold together with debts for next to nothing) and several art magazines. He also owns the factoring company Horizon.

The deputy minister and Gucci were involved in extortion

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation submitted for approval to the Prosecutor General's Office a criminal case against the former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov, ex-adviser to the mayor of Grozny Ruslan Khatsiev and the famous Chechen boxer Albert Guchigov. They are accused of extorting 80 million rubles from a married couple of businessmen. When Valery Nosov was arrested in February 2010, investigators did not hide the fact that they were interested in him not so much because of the extortion story, but in connection with the investigation into large-scale theft of funds from the budget of the Moscow region.

A series of cases were initiated based on this fact, which were later combined into one proceeding by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. According to investigators, more than 27 billion rubles of state money were stolen with the participation of Valery Nosov. The preliminary investigation into this case was completed in the fall of 2011. At the same time, Nosov, Guchigov and Khatsiev were finally charged under clause “b”, part 3 of Article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (extortion). The other day they finished getting acquainted with 72 volumes of the criminal case, which were submitted to the Prosecutor General's Office for approval.

The supervisory authority has not yet decided whether to send these materials to the court. Lawyers for the accused filed a complaint with the RF GP about numerous violations that, in their opinion, took place during the investigation. According to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Valery Nosov, while still Deputy Minister of Finance, met entrepreneur Valery Borodkin. The latter was engaged in the construction business in the Moscow region and participated in a number of regional programs. When Nosov left the post of deputy minister, he became chairman of the board of directors of CJSC Financial Company Horizon.

Back in 2008, Borodkin’s structures borrowed 60 million rubles from Horizon, the loan was officially issued. And when the time came to return the money, the businessman said that he could not pay. Nosov’s company went to the courts, but it quickly became clear that there was nothing to take from Borodkin. The businessman transferred all his Russian property (land plots in Chigasovo, apartments, Rolls-Royce, etc.) to his wife Tatyana Lonskaya, whom he prudently divorced. Then, according to the Russian Investigative Committee, Nosov turned for help to his acquaintances from Chechnya - Albert Guchigov and Ruslan Khatsiev.

The latter, at the time of his arrest in February 2010, was an adviser to the mayor of Grozny. Guchigov was listed as the public relations manager of Triumph Gallery LLC. He is a well-known athlete in Chechnya, an international master of sports in boxing, was the champion of the RSFSR, and performed in the professional ring. On August 8, 2000, a powerful explosion occurred in the passage under Pushkin Square in the capital, as a result of which 12 people were killed and 52 were injured. Guchigov disappeared after the incident, and the police began to suspect that he might be involved in the terrorist attack.

He was detained by employees of the capital's Regional Organized Crime Control Department in the spring of 2001. During the search, Guchigov was found to have a cigarette case containing 160 g of plastid. During interrogations, Albert denied his participation in the terrorist attack, claiming that the plastid was planted on him. As a result, Guchigov’s involvement in the terrorist attack could not be proven, but he was convicted under Art. 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (illegal possession of weapons or ammunition). Upon his release, Albert became a regular participant in various social events. “Guchigov is a typical partygoer who never missed a single significant party,” a person familiar with the detainee told Rosbalt. - Most often he could be seen in the retinue of Umar Dzhabrailov.

Moreover, he hung out all over the world, knew many of our stars, and during parties abroad he also met local celebrities. He especially often communicated with the same Michael Tyson. I think he met Nosov at some party.” According to the agency's interlocutor, Guchigov always dressed fashionably, for which he received the nickname Gucci. He drove around Moscow in a Lamborghini, where instead of a license plate there was a “Gucci” sign. “At one time, it was Guchigov who organized the arrival of Michael Tyson in Chechnya,” noted a Rosbalt source. “Gucci certainly could not have had anything to do with the terrorist attack.” As a result, FC Horizont CJSC assigned the right to claim debt from Borodkin’s structures to Rostorgservis LLC, which was associated with Guchigov.

According to investigators, after this Gucci and Khatsiev demanded that Nosov be given several buildings worth 80 million rubles, registered to Borodkin’s ex-wife, as loan repayment. He replied that this was impossible. Then the people from Chechnya explained what could await the entrepreneur in the future. As the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs told Rosbalt, the visitors threatened the man with the kidnapping of his son. They also said that, using connections in law enforcement agencies, they would plant drugs on the businessman and he would end up in prison. Borodkin filed a complaint with law enforcement agencies.

On February 19, 2010, after another meeting with the businessman, Guchigov and Khatsiev were detained. Valery Nosov was also taken into custody. Guchigov's lawyers at various times proposed to the court to release him on bail of 17 million rubles, as well as on the guarantee of famous boxers Alexander Lebzyak and Vyacheslav Yanovsky. However, he, like the other accused, remains in custody. “The investigation into this case was conducted with numerous violations,” Guchigov’s lawyer Ivan Kostenko told Rosbalt. -In our complaint to the Prosecutor General's Office, we indicated that there was no extortion even close. There are two court decisions that Borodkin owed money.

There was a formal agreement for the assignment of the right to claim the debt. The maximum that my client’s actions lead to is arbitrariness, and that’s a big question. The investigators violated the defense’s right to provide information; the information we collected was not taken into account at all. I hope that the Prosecutor General’s Office will sort everything out.”

Open spaces for sale

As Chaskor learned, Openspace is in dire need of financial support. The Internet portal, covering issues of cultural life, began to experience great difficulties after its owner Valery Nosov came under investigation, which had already led to a financial crisis in the publication. At the moment, the management of ArtMedia Group, which owns the Internet portal Openspace and the magazines Blacksquare and Art+Auction/Russia, is negotiating with several investors, but the final decision has not yet been made. Editorial Director of ArtMedia Group Daria Trolle confirmed to Chaskor the fact of negotiations.

“The negotiations concern investments in all ArtMedia Group projects, but we cannot name specific names until a decision is made.” Therefore, one can only guess about a possible investor. According to Chaskor’s assumptions, the media group “Live!” could become an investor in ArtMedia Group. (magazine “Snob”, portal of the same name, newspaper F5 and TV channel about a healthy lifestyle “Live!”), sponsored by billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, or “National Media Group” of Yuri Kovalchuk (TV channels REN and Channel Five, newspaper “Izvestia”). Both media holdings may have enough free finances to invest in publishing houses.

Openspace, in turn, could easily fit into the structure of both media corporations. In NMG, taking into account the recent restructuring of the Fifth and REN, an Internet portal about culture would meaningfully complement the broadcast of television channels that appeal to a thinking, above average intellectual level, television audience. Members of the elite network “Snob” also fully correspond to Openspace’s intellectual qualifications.

On the other hand, it can be assumed that other investors who believe in the prospects of Internet media, among which Openspace has established itself as a quality publication, may also show interest in this vibrant publication. Perhaps, the appeal to an intellectual audience with texts, not all of which are easily understandable for the average reader, made Openspace an original and even outstanding phenomenon of the Runet, the role of which for quality Internet media was in some ways comparable to the appearance of Esquire among the merciless Russian gloss. Having opened two years ago, the portal on average collects several thousand views per article (this statistics is available on the site itself, while statistics on Liveinternet are closed) and, with the exception of the “Society” section, writes about current events in modern cultural life. Some texts even become events in public life, as happened with Andrei Loshak’s column “Shorted,” which was read by almost half a million people in more than a month.

The investigation into Mr. Nosov’s case, of course, somewhat reduces the media group’s chances that the search for new investors will go quickly and painlessly, but nevertheless we can hope that a solution will be found as soon as possible. If the reason for searching for an investor had been slightly different, there would be no doubt that this high-quality Internet asset would have been torn off hands and feet. And although the portal is not yet profitable, its business model remains promising and promising.

The case of the ex-deputy minister of the Moscow region was transferred to the Prosecutor General's Office

Valery Nosov, Ruslan Khatsiev and Albert Guchigov are accused of extorting 80 million rubles from businessman Borodkin. The Investigative Committee of Russia has submitted for approval to the Prosecutor General's Office a criminal case against former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov, ex-adviser to the mayor of Grozny Ruslan Khatsiev and famous Chechen boxer Albert Guchigov, who are accused of extorting 80 million rubles from a married couple of businessmen. According to the Investigative Committee, Nosov, while Deputy Minister of Finance, met businessman Valery Borodkin, who was engaged in construction in the Moscow region and participated in a number of regional programs.

After leaving the government, Nosov headed the board of directors of the financial company Horizon. In 2008, Borodkin’s structures borrowed 60 million rubles from Horizon. When the time came to give the money, the businessman said that he could not pay. Nosov filed a lawsuit, but it turned out that Borodkin really had no funds. The businessman transferred all his Russian property - land plots, apartments and Rolls-Royce - to his wife Tatyana Lonskaya, from whom he prudently divorced. Then Nosov turned to Chechen acquaintances Albert Guchigov and Ruslan Khatsiev for help. At the time of his arrest in February 2010, Khatsiev was an adviser to the mayor of Grozny.

Guchigov, who was an active Moscow partygoer and earned the nickname Gucci for his passion for fashionable clothes, was listed as the public relations manager of Triumph Gallery LLC. “Horizon” ceded the right to claim debt from Borodkin’s structures to Rostorgservis LLC, which was associated with Guchigov. After this, Gucci and Khatsiev demanded that Borodkin transfer to Nosov several buildings worth 80 million rubles, registered in Lonskaya. He replied that this was impossible. In response, the Chechens threatened the man with kidnapping his son, a source in the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs told Rosbalt. Guchigov and Khatsiev also promised Borodkin to plant drugs on him.

Borodkin contacted law enforcement agencies, and on February 19, 2010, Guchigov, Khatsiev and Nosov were detained. All three were charged in the final version under paragraph “b” of Part 3 of Art. 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in the fall of 2011. The other day they finished getting acquainted with 72 volumes of the criminal case, which were submitted to the Prosecutor General's Office for approval. The supervisory authority has not yet decided whether to send the materials to the court. Lawyers for the defendants filed a complaint alleging numerous violations that they alleged occurred during the investigation.

Who framed the Minister of Finance?

In October 2007, V. Nosov, believing in his importance, agreed to “sit on” the boss and with “revolutionary fervor” became an active participant in the coup. Nosov’s main task was to pit Panteleev, Gornostaev and Kuznetsov against each other (familiar, one might say, Bolshevik methods). Having provoked a real confrontation between the most significant officials of the regional Government, Nosov and Co. understood that they could cope with each other only with the help of Gromov. And the general really doesn’t like internal conflicts and most likely will not understand anything, but will simply get rid of all three. That’s basically what happened.

The calculation turned out to be correct. In fact, Nosov “ordered” Kuznetsov from Rotenberg, while informing him that it could lead to a conflict between Gromov and Kuznetsov, on the basis of what information (and misinformation) the governor would dismiss his deputy. But you need to pay for the “order”. Nosov was going to pay for Mr. Rotenberg’s “services” at the expense of his former boss, promising most of the assets accumulated during his work in the private banking and investment sector even before public service. Rotenberg's Northern Sea Route Bank would receive these assets.

Why is Valery Nosov imprisoned?

Kovalchuk, the eldest, tried for the arrest of Valery Nosov. He personally went with documents to his comrade Alexander Bastrykin. His son Kovalchuk Jr., who was once appointed by the people of Anatoly Chubais to the position of General Director of JSC INTER RAO UES, asked him to do this, and it was they who asked him for this service. It seemed to the people of Anatoly Chubais that the non-repayment of the loan to their associate and junior partner Vladimir Borodkin from the company of the disgraced regional deputy minister Valery Nosov was a resolved issue. But Valery Nosov did not want to donate money to the raiders and ran into trouble, that is, re-arrest (this was two years ago, he is still in pre-trial detention). Another customer of Valery Nosov in a case trumped up on his knees were the raiders of ORSI LLC, relations with whom Valery Nosov did not work out only because he was in no hurry to part with the asset of the Moscow region, which, by a strange coincidence, turned out to be registered in his name, or in his name wife - Natalya Nosova, now living in an elite area of ​​London.

And yet, what happened to the Moscow region?

It is this information that came to the governor’s desk that forces him to dismiss Kuznetsov, and it is this information that appears in the media on August 19-21, 2008 in order to discredit and isolate the removed minister. Later, realizing the absurdity of such statements, information appeared in the media that Kuznetsov “stole” not funds from the regional budget, but land near Moscow worth 20 billion dollars. And this is almost all the land in the region that is privately owned. By the way, not a single plot belonging to Kuznetsov has yet been found. Facts about “espionage” activities, or about the withdrawal of money from the budget, or about countless land holdings have never been found.

Cases gradually disappear, but almost immediately new ones appear: theft of bank loans, housing and communal services debts, etc., etc. Nosov and ORSI completed the minimum program: A. Kuznetsov was suspended. But Gromov, still suspecting that the matter is dirty, does not appoint Nosov as the region’s minister of finance, despite requests from very influential acquaintances. After yet another unsuccessful attempt at appointment, Nosov begins a fight with Rotenberg and makes an attempt to “transfer” part of Kuznetsov’s assets to his beloved. To do this, in October 2008, Nosov bought the Horizon Financial Company for $5 million. Rotenberg, dissatisfied with the actions of V. Nosov, is seeking resignation from the post of Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region.

After leaving the government of the Moscow region, V. Nosov tries to organize “support” for himself through his friend Anton Borisevich in the person of the children Patrushev and Bortnikov, working at VTB Bank, and achieves this. V. Nosov is the owner of the Horizon company. Actively invests funds stolen from regional companies into projects of his partners and acquaintances

The arrest of ex-Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Nosov has been extended until May

MOSCOW, February 7 – RIA Novosti. The Moscow City Court on Tuesday extended until May 12 the arrest period for former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov, accused of extorting 80 million rubles from the shareholder of the Energoconsulting company Vladimir Borodkin, the RAPSI agency was told / the press service of the court.

The court extended the arrest of the former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region

MOSCOW, November 9 – RIA Novosti. The Moscow City Court on Wednesday extended until February 12 the arrest period for former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov, accused of extorting 80 million rubles from the shareholder of the Energoconsulting company Vladimir Borodkin, the RAPSI agency was told / the press service of the court. “The judge, at the request of the investigation, decided to extend Nosov’s period of detention for three months, that is, until February 12, 2012,” the press service noted. Previously, the court extended the arrest for the same period for two more defendants in this criminal case - businessman Ruslan Khatsiev, who specializes in debt restructuring, and producer Albert Guchigov, who organized the visit of world boxing legend Michael Tyson to Russia.

The term of arrest of the ex-Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region has been extended

The Tverskoy Court of Moscow extended the arrest of former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov, accused of large-scale fraud, until August 3. Anna Usacheva, head of the press service of the Moscow City Court, announced this on Tuesday. link:

The former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region alone will answer for 27 billion

On Thursday, the capital's Tver Court issued a warrant for the arrest of former First Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov. He is suspected of causing damage to the budget of the Moscow region in the amount of almost 27 billion rubles.

Former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov was arrested in court

Former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Valery Nosov was arrested in the Tverskoy Court of Moscow. Nosov is suspected of major fraud. He will remain under arrest until May 3, unless the decision is successfully challenged in the Moscow City Court, RIA Novosti reports.

Financier Valery Nosov did not stay free

A new criminal case has been opened against the former Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region, Alexey Kuznetsov. As Interfax reported on Wednesday, citing a source in law enforcement agencies, the ex-minister is suspected of causing damage to the budget of the Moscow region in the amount of 27 billion rubles. “A criminal case has been opened against the former Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Region Government, Minister of Finance Alexei Kuznetsov, former First Deputy Minister of Finance

Assets worth 25 billion rubles were returned to the state as part of the case of the ex-Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region - Ministry of Internal Affairs

One for all 03/12/2010

A collector and a well-known partygoer who acted in the interests of the ex-Deputy Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region and the owner of the Openspace.Ru website were arrested

Original of this material
© "Kommersant", 03/01/2010, Exceeding debt powers

Sergey Mashkin

As Kommersant learned, after detention and interrogation, Valery Nosov, the former first deputy minister of finance of the Moscow region, owner of the financial company Horizon and the publishing house ArtMedia Group LLC, was released on his own recognizance. He is suspected of extorting 80 million rubles. from the main shareholder of the development company Energoconsult, Vladimir Borodkin. Earlier, as part of this case, producer Albert Guchigov, who organized the visit of world boxing legend Michael Tyson to Russia, and businessman Ruslan Khatsiev, specializing in debt restructuring, were arrested. The defense claims that the defendants in the case were only trying to repay the loan issued to the developer.

[Forbesrussia.ru, 02/27/2010, “Owner of the Openspace.ru website Valery Nosov was detained”: Businessman Valery Nosov was detained on suspicion of extorting 80 million rubles, the press service of the Department of Economic Security of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation said in a statement. Nosov is the owner of Artmedia Group, which includes the website Openspace.ru and several art magazines. He also owns the factoring company Horizon. […]
Valery Nosov worked in the government of the Moscow region at a time when there a scandal erupted, related to the activities of his immediate superior, regional finance minister Alexey Kuznetsov. In October 2000, Kuznetsov, together with several other ministers of the Moscow region government, initiated the creation of a regional investment fund - the Moscow Investment Trust Company (MOITK), which took out loans from various banks for construction. Then the regional government created several more similar investment structures that it owned. As a result, a classic financial Pyramide: these companies could only pay off previously assumed obligations by attracting new debts. At the beginning of 2008, the companies had problems, and in May of the same year Kuznetsov disappeared. Soon Valery Nosov resigned and focused on managing his company Artmedia Group. - Insert K.ru]

According to both the participants in the investigation and the defense of those involved in this case, it is based on a dispute over a loan that was not repaid on time. According to lawyers, in February 2008, Valery Nosov's company Horizon issued a two-month loan in the amount of 60 million rubles to the Moscow development company Energoconsult. for the construction of an energy substation in Butovo. The owner of a controlling stake in Energoconsult, Vladimir Borodkin, personally vouched for the timely repayment of the loan. However, he never built the substation, and did not return the money, citing force majeure circumstances that arose due to the economic crisis.

The dispute between Horizon and Energoconsult over the loan was dealt with in courts of various levels, which ultimately ordered the debtor to pay the creditor, taking into account fines and interest, about 73 million rubles. However, by that time it turned out that Mr. Borodkin, who, according to the plaintiff, had “sufficient personal financial resources to repay the debt,” as well as real estate in the Russian Federation and abroad, sold the company and all his assets. Moreover, the main buyer, according to representatives of the plaintiff, was the wife of Vladimir Borodkin, with whom he divorced in advance. After the court's decision, the ex-owner of Energoconsult informed the creditor that the only assets he had left were the trade pavilion in Rybinsk, where he himself currently works. This outlet, according to a certificate from the tax service, brings in a monthly income of 5.5 thousand rubles, from which, as Mr. Borodkin explained, he is ready to conscientiously deduct a quarter to repay the unrepaid loan.

The management of Horizon decided to assign the problem debt obligation to a collection company for 30% of the amount. As a result, a writ of execution for 73 million rubles. passed to Ruslan Khatsiev, co-owner of the diversified company Rostorgservis, which has a license for collection activities. He, in turn, issued a power of attorney to negotiate with the debtor to his friend, well-known producer in Chechnya Albert Guchigov, who, in particular, organized the visit of world boxing star Mike Tyson to Grozny and Gudermes in September 2005, where the athlete was received by the then vice-president Prime Minister of the Republic Ramzan Kadyrov. In Moscow, Mr. Guchigov is known as a regular at social events, to which he arrives in his own Lamborgini with the inscription “Gucci” instead of the standard license plate.

[IA “Rosbalt”, 02/27/2010, “Gucci caught extorting”: The most colorful figure of this trinity is Albert Guchigov. He is a well-known athlete in Chechnya, an international master of sports in boxing, was the champion of the RSFSR, and performed in the professional ring. According to operatives, in the 1990s, Guchigov maintained relations with the group of “authority” Bisultanov, and then created a travel company in Moscow, the office of which was located on Pushkinskaya Square.
On August 8, 2000, a powerful explosion occurred in the passage under the square, as a result of which 12 people were killed and 52 were injured. Guchigov disappeared after the incident, and the police began to suspect that he might be involved in the terrorist attack. He was detained by employees of the capital's Regional Organized Crime Control Department in the spring of 2001. During the search, Guchigov was found to have a cigarette case containing 160 g of plastid. During interrogations, Albert denied his participation in the terrorist attack, and also stated that the plastid was planted on him. As a result, Guchigov’s involvement in the terrorist attack could not be proven, but he was convicted under Art. 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (illegal possession of weapons or ammunition). Upon his release, Albert became a regular participant in various social events.
“Guchigov is a typical partygoer who never missed a single significant party,” a person familiar with the detainee told Rosbalt. - Most often he could be seen in the retinue of Umar Dzhabrailov. Moreover, he hung out all over the world, knew many of our stars, and during parties abroad he also met local celebrities. He especially often communicated with the same Michael Tyson. I think he met Nosov at some party.” According to the agency's interlocutor, Guchigov always dressed fashionably, for which he received the nickname Gucci. […]
Another detainee, Ruslan Khatsiev, had with him the ID of an assistant to the mayor of Grozny. Operatives suspect that this man, only under a different name, is wanted by the Kazakh authorities on suspicion of murder. “If this is the Ruslan I’m thinking about, then the situation was like this,” an interlocutor in Chechnya told Rosbalt. - An influential Makhmatkhanov family lived in Kazakhstan; its members had a conflict with local residents. All this was accompanied by house burnings, shootings, and murders. Several people then, including Ruslan, fled from Kazakhstan to Russia.” - Insert K.ru]

Messrs. Khatsiev and Guchigov, as their partners told Kommersant, met with Vladimir Borodkin more than once and discussed various debt repayment schemes. In particular, the debtor allegedly offered his Rolls-Roys as a down payment, but the deal was rejected because the car was registered to the ex-wife of Vladimir Borodkin. The possibility of the debtor transferring his cottage with a plot of land in the village of Chigasovo in the area of ​​Rublevo-Uspenskoye Highway was also considered. At the last stage of negotiations, which took place on February 19 in the lobby of the hotel complex on Starovolynskoye Highway in Moscow, the parties came to the conclusion that the cost of the cottage with the plot approximately corresponded to the amount of debt, but the problem was that this property was also registered in the name of Mr. Borodkin’s ex-wife . It was not possible to finally agree on the re-registration of the property, because operatives from the Department of Economic Security (DES) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB of the Russian Federation burst into the hall. In the DEB press release issued in connection with this operation, it was noted that during the arrest, Mr. Khatsiev presented an ID card as an assistant to the mayor of Grozny, the authenticity of which is being verified, and Mr. Guchigov was previously convicted of illegal possession of explosives. As Kommersant previously reported, he was detained in 2001 as part of the case of a terrorist attack committed in an underground passage on Pushkinskaya Square on August 8, 2000; as a result, he served a year for possessing a cigarette case with plasticine.

A few days later, the detainees were charged with extortion on a large scale, committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy (Part 3 of Article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), they were arrested by the Kuntsevsky Court of Moscow for two months. Valery Nosov was at that time on business with his media business in London, and learned about the arrests from his representatives in Moscow who called him. “We told him that the situation is complicated and it’s better to stay abroad for now, but Valery said that he doesn’t feel any guilt, so he will come to give evidence to the investigation,” Murad Musaev, a lawyer for the defendants in this case, told Kommersant.

Having arrived in Moscow last Thursday, the businessman went to the investigation department at the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Western District of Moscow in the afternoon. There he was interrogated, however, unlike other defendants, he was released on his own recognizance.

The DEB believes that Mr. Nosov was the organizer of the extortion, since it was carried out in his interests. “The court decision obligated the debtor to pay the creditors monthly money from wages,” the department explained. “However, Nosov, in collusion with the Guchigovs and Khatsievs, demanded that the debt be paid immediately. In offset, they wanted to receive real estate worth more than 80 million rubles, which belonged to the same not to the debtor, but to his ex-wife." According to investigators, the cost of the mansion on Rublyovka exceeded the loan amount even taking into account all the fines and interest. In addition, representatives of Rostorgservis, as the police say, not only demanded that the property be re-registered to them, but allegedly threatened, if they refused, to kidnap the businessman’s son and initiate criminal proceedings against him for drug trafficking, to which Mr. Borodkin was not involved.

“Borodkin took out a loan, knowing in advance that he would not repay it, that is, he himself acted fraudulently,” says lawyer Murad Musaev. “This is evidenced by the haste with which he transferred all his property to his wife and filed a divorce from her.” I am convinced that Vladimir Borodkin turned to law enforcement agencies in order to avoid responsibility for his own crimes. I think that Valery (Nosov. - Kommersant) and I managed to convince the investigator that he was right during interrogation, therefore my client and were not taken into custody."

Former head of the investment block of the Ministry of Finance, former first deputy ex-minister of the Moscow region Alexandra Kuznetsova

Owner of the financial company "Horizon" and the publishing house "ArtMedia Group" LLC. I met the Investigative Committee in March 2010 (extortion of a bribe). The result of the stormy business activity was a prison.

Biography

Career

Family

Married, two children.

Compromising evidence

Creators and beneficiaries of the Moscow region default

Case summary

For several years, high-ranking officials in the Moscow region have freely stolen and transferred tens of billions of rubles abroad, using the System of Extra-Budgetary Financing of Investment Projects in the Moscow Region. The scale of the thefts was so impressive that in 2008 they provoked a chain of defaults on debt obligations of the “subsidiary” structures of the regional government that were part of the System - the Moscow Regional Mortgage Agency (MOIA), Mosobltrustinvest (MOITK), the Mortgage Corporation of the Moscow Region (IKMO), etc.

Introduction

In the period from 2000 to 2008. The growth rate of the Moscow region's economy significantly exceeded the Russian average, and since 2003 - even the capital's. The volume of gross regional product from 2000 to 2008 increased from 176.7 billion rubles. up to 1,685.5 billion rubles. - i.e. almost 10 times. In terms of GRP, the Moscow Region has firmly established itself in the top four since 2005 - after Moscow, the Tyumen Region and the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, leaving St. Petersburg behind.

The revenues of the consolidated budget of the Moscow region grew at approximately the same rate: if at the end of 2000 they amounted to only 35.2 billion rubles, then in 2008 - almost 300 billion rubles. Again we see an almost tenfold increase. It would seem that with such indicators, the region should stand confidently on its feet. However, in reality, the Moscow region is one of the most financially problematic subjects of the federation. Despite the record increase in its income during the “fat” years, the region managed to accumulate so much debt that it almost led to a default.

Thus, at the end of 2008, bonds of the Moscow region were circulating on the markets for a total amount of about 89.6 billion rubles. Another about 28.8 billion rubles. companies affiliated with the regional government - Mosoblgaz, Mosoblgaz-finance, Energotsentr, Moscow Regional Mortgage Agency (MOIA), Mosobltrastinvest (MOITK) and SpetsStroy-2 - owed on bond loans. Moreover, in the overall structure of regional debt, bonds amounted, according to various estimates, from 40 to 50%, the rest accounted for bank loans, budget guarantees, etc. The unwillingness or inability to service its debt load led to the fact that on December 18, 2008, Standard & Poor's reduced the long-term credit rating of the Moscow region to the default level SD (selective failure by the borrower to fulfill its obligations). At that time, the media and economic experts seriously discussed the possibility of declaring the region bankrupt.

At first glance, the situation in which the Moscow region finds itself has much in common with the debt crisis recently experienced by Greece. However, upon closer analysis it becomes clear that these analogies are inappropriate. Greece has been increasing its debt load for many years in order to provide its citizens with an undeservedly high standard of living. In our case, the borrowed funds were cynically stolen through a system for transferring funds abroad created and managed by representatives of the leadership of the Moscow region. So, not all residents of the Moscow region became the beneficiaries of this large-scale scam, but at best only a couple of dozen high-ranking regional officials. At the same time, the leadership of the Moscow region is currently doing everything possible to relieve itself of responsibility - both criminal and financial - for the long-term practice of theft of budgetary and borrowed funds.

I. How to steal a billion

1.1. The collapse of the extra-budgetary financing system in the Moscow region

In the early 2000s. The government of the Moscow region created a system of extra-budgetary financing of investment programs in the Moscow region. Officially, its task was to stimulate the implementation of construction and infrastructure projects in the region. The fact is that, according to the Budget Code, the subject of the federation did not have the right to attract borrowed funds in an amount exceeding 50% of its own budget revenues. And the income of the Moscow region in the early 2000s. were quite modest, which inevitably limited borrowing limits. In this regard, the then Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region, Alexei Kuznetsov, developed a clever scheme that made it possible to bypass the restrictions of federal legislation.

As a result, the regional Ministry of Property established several legal entities that were 100% owned by the administration, but at the same time were full-fledged commercial structures. Three of them played a key role: OJSC Moscow Regional Investment Trust Company (Mosobltrastinvest, MOITK), OJSC Mortgage Corporation of the Moscow Region (IKMO) and OJSC Moscow Regional Mortgage Agency (MOIA).

It was assumed that MOITK (100% subsidiary of the Moscow region) would take on the functions of an investor in the construction of residential, municipal and public buildings within the framework of investment programs approved by the government of the Moscow region. IKMO (founders - the regional government and 14 municipalities) was supposed to become an investor-developer of housing under the Moscow Regional Mortgage Program, as well as refinance mortgages and loans. The task of MOIA (100% subsidiary of the Moscow region) was to attract funding for the implementation of IKMO programs.

Funds for the construction of MOITK and MOIA had to be raised by issuing and placing their own bonds on the financial market, as well as by borrowing from commercial banks. On paper, the scheme worked perfectly, benefiting all parties involved.

Thus, the regional government not only received an additional tool for attracting borrowings in the form of MOITK, IKMO and MOIA, but also delegated to them the daily routine concerns of implementing labor-intensive investment projects.

In turn, the banks, by financing MOITK, MOIA and IKMO, at first glance, did not risk anything. Some of the loans were issued to regional subsidiaries under official guarantees from the regional administration. The other part is for unofficial ones. The fact is that for most of the objects a special decree of the Moscow region government was issued, in which the investor company was given a direct instruction to raise funds for construction. In essence, this document was a kind of offer, a promise to buy the facility after commissioning, compensating for all expenses incurred by the investor: during construction (on average 1-2 years), the government could easily find this money and advance the necessary expenditure item to the regional budget.

Finally, MOITK, IKMO and MOIA themselves had to take advantage of their hybrid status - a commercial structure affiliated with the Moscow region authorities. Working with “extra-budgetary” financing, there was no need to comply with various formalities that significantly slowed down the implementation of construction projects: the “subsidiaries” were free to choose contractors, were not obliged to hold tenders, or endlessly coordinate inevitable changes in estimates. At the same time, they had serious administrative resources that made it possible to quickly resolve issues related to obtaining various permits, approvals, and land allotments from municipal and regional authorities.

However, in practice, the activities of the System of Extra-Budgetary Financing of Investment Programs of the Moscow Region turned out to be so unprofitable that at the end of 2008, after a loud scandal provoked by the default on the bonds of MOITK and MOIA, Moscow Region officials themselves initiated bankruptcy procedures for them. By this time, the total debt of the three subsidiaries of the regional government exceeded $2 billion, amounting to 68.3 billion rubles.

DEBTOR	NUMBER OF CREDITORS INCLUDED IN THE REGISTER	TOTAL AMOUNT OF CLAIMS (BILLION RUBLES)
MOIA	35	10,4
MOITK	103	45,8
IKMO	45	12,1
Total:68.3		68,3

Source: data from creditor registers

Considering the deplorable state of the balance sheets of MOITK, MOIA and IKMO, we can safely say that a significant part of this debt to creditors - the state and commercial structures - will never be repaid. In particular, according to an analysis carried out by the consulting company NBK-group on behalf of the arbitration manager IKMO, the estimated income from the sale of the debtor’s property was estimated at only 8.7 billion rubles. Thus, about a third of all creditor claims against IKMO will likely remain unsatisfied. And this is not the worst option.

The situation with MOITK and MOIA may be even more disappointing.

As an analysis of available sources shows, such a sad ending was predetermined in advance, since under the guise of the System of Extra-Budgetary Financing of Investment Programs of the Moscow Region, a kind of pump was initially created to pump budget and credit billions to offshore companies. Moreover, in contrast to the implementation of construction and infrastructure projects, the system coped very well with theft and withdrawal of funds abroad.

Chronology of Moscow region default

1.2. How it really worked

To fulfill its apparently main task - the withdrawal of funds to offshore companies - the system of extra-budgetary financing of investment programs near Moscow was slightly modified.

Firstly, “our own” people were put in charge of MOITK, MOIA and IKMO. Thus, Vladislav Telepnev, a former employee of Kuznetsov, became the general director of MOITK, and the two remaining “subsidiaries” of the regional government were headed by Dmitry Demidov, a native of RIGroup.

Secondly, a number of legal entities were introduced into the configuration of MOITK, MOIA and IKMO. First of all, we are talking about Russian Investment Group LLC (RIGroup), which has become a “strategic partner” of regional construction and infrastructure programs. Unlike the above-mentioned regional subsidiaries, RIGroup was a completely private company. Until mid-2008, its president was Zhanna Bullock (Bulah), the wife of the then Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister of the regional government Alexei Kuznetsov, who had American citizenship. In fact, it was RIGroup that took on the functions of the construction customer for many projects, overnight turning into the largest developer in the Moscow region.

Another customer to whom projects for the reconstruction and construction of social, sports, cultural and entertainment facilities (municipal cultural centers, stadiums, sports and recreation centers) were awarded was LLC Construction Company SpetsStroy-2, also affiliated with RIGroup (at first informally, and then through OJSC Rosweb).

The subsidiary of RIGroup (67%) and MOITK (33%) - RIGroup-Finance - received the status of a financial agent of the Moscow region government. Through it, extra-budgetary financing was attracted - the issue and placement of bonds, lending from banks, etc. In November 2009, the Vedomosti newspaper tried to find out from A. Kuznetsov how it happened that an unknown structure that belonged to his wife suddenly became a financial agent of the regional administration. To this, the ex-minister gave a more than strange answer, the essence of which is as follows: RIGroup-Finance won the competition, and in general Kuznetsov did not interfere in these issues, they were supervised by the head of the investment block of the Ministry of Finance, his first deputy Valery Nosov.

At the same time, for some reason the ex-minister kept silent that by the time of the interview Nosov had already been his right-hand man for about 15 years. It was Kuznetsov who took Nosov from his student days to work at Inkombank. Then, after the bankruptcy of the bank, to the Russian Investment Society created by Kuznetsov, and in 2000 to the government of the Moscow region.

In addition, Kuznetsov forgot to mention that Nosov, being the head of the investment block of the Ministry of Finance, was at the same time a junior partner of Zhanna Bullock in RIGroup - as it turned out later, he controlled the offshore Trivalent Advisors SA, which owned a blocking stake in Russian Investment Group LLC. Thus, we can say with confidence that RIGroup-Finance managed to become a financial agent of the regional government not so much through an official competition, but due to its affiliation with senior officials of the Moscow region administration.

Finally, another structural element of the created system of transferring funds abroad was the Moscow Mortgage Bank (MZB), which, since about 2004, was also controlled by RIGroup. The MZB held all the accounts of organizations included in the implementation of investment programs in the Moscow region, and it was their paying agent. In fact, the balances on the current accounts of MOITK, IKMO, MOIA, Mosoblgaz, Moslift and other structures associated with the government of the Moscow region were the basis of MZB’s liabilities; the bank developed its retail business only as a cover.

Schematically, the work of the System of Extra-Budgetary Financing of Investment Programs of the Moscow Region can be described as follows. MOITK, IKMO and MOIA placed their bonds on the financial markets. The organizer of the bond issue was RIGroup-Finance, receiving its commissions for this. There were no particular problems with placement, since the borrowers were considered reliable - after all, the government of the Moscow region stood behind them. As a result, bonds of regional subsidiaries entered the portfolio of many investment companies - not only Russian, but also foreign.

In total, 3 issues of MOIA bonds were placed for a total amount of 9.5 billion rubles, 2 issues of MOITK bonds for a total amount of 7 billion rubles. Also in 2008, the debut issue of IKMO bonds worth 3 billion rubles was being prepared, but the subsequent bankruptcy and the collapse of the entire

Systems of extra-budgetary financing of investment programs in the Moscow region.

Issue 1 12/21/2005 1,500,000,000 Guarantee of MOITK and IKMO

Issue 2 06/22/2006 3,000,000,000 Guarantee of MOITK and IKMO

Issue 3 05/11/2007 5,000,000,000 Guarantee of MOITK and IKMO MOITK

Issue 1 08/16/2006 3,000,000,000

Issue 2 01/25/2007 4,000,000,000

IKMO Issue 1 06/30/2008 3,000,000,000

The release did not take place

In parallel with the issue of bonds, all three companies actively attracted loans from commercial banks.

Extra-budgetary funds accumulated in this way were used to finance construction projects being implemented in the Moscow region. In fact, money from the accounts of MOITK, MOIA and IKMO was transferred to RIGroup itself, its “daughters” and “granddaughters”, who, as a rule, acted as construction customers. At the same time, the project estimates approved by MOITK and IKMO did not undergo any independent examination, which made it possible to unhindered inflate costs.

According to various estimates that appear in the public press, the cost of work was inflated by an average of 30-50%. For example, according to data published in the media, the regional budget through MOITK spent about 2 billion rubles on the construction of the Arena Khimki stadium with a capacity of only 18 thousand spectators. A later assessment of the cost of work and materials (the stadium was built from inexpensive lightweight structures) showed a twofold excess of the estimated cost over the market one.

The funds allocated by MOITK and IKMO were actively used through contractors affiliated with the construction customer, ending up in the pockets of the same group of people. After completion of the project, the amounts paid according to inflated estimates were compensated by MOITK and IKMO from the regional budget. Part of this money was used to pay off bond coupons and interest on loans, the rest was pumped back into construction projects or stolen in more sophisticated ways.

Like any financial pyramid, this scheme could work for quite a long time if certain conditions were met, the main one of which was ensuring a constant influx of budget funds in volumes sufficient to service the current financial obligations of regional subsidiaries.

However, quite quickly the appetite of the authors of the described scheme grew so intense that not a single regional budget could satisfy it: in 2007-2008. construction projects grew and multiplied like mushrooms after rain, requiring ever new funding. In 2007 alone, RIGroup-Finance placed 14 bond issues totaling RUB 14.8 billion. Moreover, the issuers were not only regional subsidiaries, but also the structures of RIGroup themselves (Russian Investment Group LLC, SK SpetsStroy-2 LLC, etc.).

At the same time, the flow of funds withdrawn from the Extrabudgetary Financing System to the West through offshore companies has sharply increased. According to rough estimates, in 2006-2007. RIGroup, RIGroup-Finance and RIGroup-Media alone brought more than $172 million abroad. Of this amount, about $147 million was spent on the purchase of prestigious real estate, art and luxury items in the USA and Europe (data from ORSI-Group, which was involved in the restructuring of RIGroup’s debt).

The collapse of this pyramid was accelerated by the economic crisis that broke out in 2008. First, available funds disappeared from the world financial markets, and then the revenues of the Moscow Region budget fell sharply. Deprived of an influx of external financing, the system created by Kuznetsov collapsed under the weight of its own debts, which no one, apparently, is going to repay.

Anticipating such a outcome, Deputy Prime Minister of the Moscow Region Government and Minister of Finance Alexei Kuznetsov resigned at the end of July 2008 “for family reasons” and immediately left the country. Following him, law enforcement agencies opened several criminal cases on various episodes of the activities of MOITK and IKMO. The results of the investigation can only be fully assessed during the trial. But even those crumbs of information that have already leaked to open sources make it possible to imagine with what audacity and scope budgetary and credit funds were stolen.

II. Theft schemes

2.1. Fraud during the construction of the Plaza shopping and entertainment complex in Serpukhov

In 2004, Alexey Kuznetsov, retaining his post as Minister of Finance, became first deputy prime minister of the regional government. In the same year, the government of the Moscow region, the Serpukhov administration and RIGroup signed investment contract No. 249/58-04 in the amount of 55.1 million rubles for the construction of the RIGroup Plaza business center in the city with a total area of ​​9,700 sq. m. m. According to the terms of the investment contract, 10% of the project cost was to be paid to the Serpukhov budget.

The actual construction of the Plaza began only in 2006. MOITK allocated funds for it by concluding agreement No. 23-05/05-ID-02 with RIGroup. According to it, the initially declared cost of the work increased five (!) times - from 55 million to 286 million rubles. This was not the last adjustment to the estimate.

Some time later, RIGroup attracted its subsidiary Rosweb-Office as a co-investor, which, according to documents, invested another 200 million rubles in the construction of the Serpukhov Plaza. As a result, the total cost of the project was already 486 million rubles. On September 21, 2007, the Plaza business center in Serpukhov was inaugurated with the participation of the mayor of the city Pavel Zhdanov, the president of the RIGroup Zhanna Bullock, as well as the cultural attache of the German and US embassies.

As mentioned above, according to the terms of the investment contract, RIGroup was supposed to transfer 10% of the project cost to Serpukhov’s budget. Despite the fact that during the construction process RIGroup Plaza increased in price almost 9 times, the municipal budget received only 5.5 million rubles - i.e. 10% of the originally stated amount of 55 million rubles. But this is not the end of RIGroup’s machinations around the Plaza. The Serpukhov administration was offered to buy the business center building, and it agreed without hesitation. Moreover, the assessment of “Plaza” was carried out not by the buyer, but by the seller, as a result, its cost was already 717 million rubles.

REFERENCE

A little earlier, on July 9, 2007, the Plaza business center with a total area of ​​about 3 thousand square meters. m was also opened in Klin, near Moscow. On July 27 of the same year, the object, by decision of the head of the Klinsky district, Alexander Postrigan, was purchased from RIGroup for 207.9 million rubles and accepted onto the city’s balance sheet. Payment was made from the district budget in agreement with deputies of the municipal assembly. For comparison, only 853 thousand rubles were allocated for the implementation of the municipal target program “Young families - decent and comfortable housing” in 2007 in the Klinsky district, and 5.6 million rubles for gasification of rural settlements in the region. The district budget deficit during the same period was more than 650 million rubles.

The head of Serpukhov, Pavel Zhdanov, did not bargain, agreeing with the amount proposed by RIGroup. However, there were no such funds in Serpukhov’s budget. Moreover, even if there were, the City Duma would hardly agree to spend it on buying out the business center. Therefore, an elegant solution to this problem was found - the administration bought the Plaza not itself, but through a 100% subsidiary of the municipality - Serpukhov Investment Projects LLC (SIP). SIP borrowed 217 million rubles from MOITK, the missing 500 million were received as a loan from Sberbank.

Moreover, according to Zhdanov, negotiations with the bank were conducted not by SIP employees, but by the general director of RIGroup Dmitry Kotlyarenko and the general director of Rosweb-Office Artem Vasiliev.

Already in December 2008, the repayment period for the Sberbank loan expired, and the 4 million rubles available in the SIP account were clearly not enough for this. Therefore, at the request of the bank, the Plaza building was seized. SIP's debt to MOITK also remained unpaid.

The bottom line is that RIGroup earned, according to various estimates, from 400 to 430 million rubles from just one project - the construction of the Serpukhov Plaza. In turn, MOITK was damaged in the amount of 217 million rubles, the municipality of Serpukhov did not receive part of the money owed to it under the terms of the investment contract, and the Plaza building itself went to Sberbank for debts, while its value is unlikely to cover all the losses incurred by the bank.

There is every reason to believe that the experience of Klin and Serpukhov was planned to be extended to the entire Moscow region - their own “Plazas” were to appear in all more or less large regional centers. In particular, by 2007, similar projects began to be implemented in 14 more cities. In total, according to the information memorandum of RIGroup, published in December 2006 on the eve of the placement of the debut bond issue, the company planned to build 22 business centers in the Moscow region with the code name “RIGroup Plaza” with a total area of ​​287,774 square meters. m.

Around the same time, the government of the Moscow region created a working group to implement the program for “creating multifunctional shopping centers” in the region. As Pavel Zhdanov, who was a member of this body, later admitted, municipalities were recommended to locate separate structures of city administrations in these multifunctional shopping centers, and take the buildings themselves on their own balance sheet (i.e., buy them from the construction investor). The program was not explicitly linked to the “plazas” of RIGroup, but municipal officials were well aware of exactly which “multifunctional shopping centers” they were talking about.

The full implementation of this ambitious and extremely ruinous program for the Moscow Region budget was prevented only by Kuznetsov’s departure abroad and the bankruptcy of the “off-budget” financing system he created.

2.2. Scam involving the purchase of Leren LLC

In May 2007, MOIA placed the third issue of its bonds in the amount of 5 billion rubles. The organizer of the issue was RIGroup-Finance. The holders of the bonds, the placement of which was carried out in accordance with the order of the Moscow region government, were large Russian and international financial institutions, including such an investment giant as Goldman Sachs.

The funds raised were to be used to implement the program “Development of the housing mortgage lending system in the Moscow region in 2005-2010.” Therefore, they were transferred to the program operator - IKMO. Already on June 15, 2007, the director of IKMO, Dmitry Demidov, entered into an agency agreement No. 15/06/07-1 with RIGroup-Finance, according to which this company was to organize for IKMO the purchase of Leren LLC for $41.5 million (at the then exchange rate for 1 .07 billion rubles). As is easy to see, the amount involved was more than a fifth of the funds raised as part of the third bond issue. What attracted IKMO to such an asset as Leren LLC?

According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (USRLE), the company was registered back in 2000. Its founder and general director was initially listed as Vera Sergeevna Isaeva. Apparently, the company has not conducted any business activities since registration, the authorized capital did not exceed the minimum allowable size for an LLC.

Leren's only asset was the investment contract concluded back in 2002 between V. Isaeva and the Administration of the Klinsky district of the Moscow region. According to this document, Leren LLC received the right to develop a residential complex on the outskirts of Klin (the so-called microdistrict 11) with a total area of ​​275 thousand square meters. m. However, neither in 2002 nor later did the investor begin to implement the contract. In 2007 (as well as now), microdistrict 11 was an open field. Moreover, in the literal sense of the word - the site planned for development consisted of agricultural land [according to some experts, this site was unsuitable for development from the very beginning, since connecting utility infrastructure to it (electricity, water supply, sewerage) made any project too costly and unpaid].

For a good commission, RIGroup-Finance had to conduct a comprehensive audit of Leren LLC, ensure the purchase of 100% of the share in its authorized capital in favor of IKMO, and also ensure that the corresponding changes were made to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. Otherwise, according to clause 3.3 of the agency agreement, RIGroup-Finance was obliged to return to IKMO both its commissions and 1.07 billion rubles transferred to pay for a 100% share in the purchased company.

The specificity of this situation that was not publicly advertised was that in 2007 LLC Leren belonged to RIGroup itself. It is unknown when exactly V. Isaeva ceased to be the owner of the company. But already in the reports of RIGroup LLC for 2006 it is indicated that Leren is its 100% subsidiary. This is also evidenced by the actual address of the “Klin developer” - Moscow, Slavyanskaya Square, 2/5/4/, building 3 (many legal entities affiliated with RIGroup, including RIGroup-Finance, were registered under it).

Only closer to the deal with IKMO did Leren formally change its owner - to the Cyprus company Nova Prova Engineering Limited, registered at the end of 2006. Apparently, the offshore was needed not only to cover up their tracks, but also to “legally” transfer abroad the money received from the sale of Laren.

Thus, the beneficiaries of RIGroup not only received a decent amount from IKMO for a shell company, but also did not disdain agent commissions for allegedly checking the subject of the transaction. However, this is not enough. Having concluded a purchase and sale agreement with a Cyprus offshore company on its own behalf on July 3, 2007, RIGroup-Finance never formalized the acquired share in IKMO, thereby grossly violating the terms of the agency agreement.

There is no clear answer to the question why a 100% stake in Laren was never registered with IKMO. Perhaps the organizers of the scam simply forgot about it, and the head of the mortgage company near Moscow did not remind his agent about the unfulfilled contractual obligations.

The situation changed only after A. Kuznetsov and Zhanna Bullock fled from Russia. Realizing how the discovery of the scam with Leren LLC could end for him personally, in October 2008 D. Demidov turned to the law enforcement agencies with a statement about the disappearance of 1.07 billion rubles, transferred on his instructions to RIGroup-Finance back in the summer of 2007. However, apparently, the further turn of events was unexpected for him: after interrogating the general director of RIGroup-Finance Lyudmila Bezdel, law enforcement agencies decided to arrest Demidov himself, charging him under Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“fraud”).

In the pre-trial detention center, the head of a mortgage company near Moscow has worsened his chronic diseases. And already at the beginning of 2009, by court decision, Demidov was released on bail of 1.5 million rubles. At first, he regularly attended interrogations, but at the beginning of 2010 he disappeared and was put on the international wanted list. Demidov was found only a couple of months later in a prestigious cottage village near Moscow.

However, neither the re-arrest nor the new charges helped investigators recover the $41.5 million stolen and transferred abroad. As a result, when in 2009, one of the investors of MOIA - Goldman Sachs - demanded in an ultimatum to repay the debt to him on the third issue of bonds, The Moscow region had to take out a targeted loan from the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation in order to get out of a difficult situation.

2.3. Default on SpetsStroy-2 bonds

Projects for the reconstruction and construction of social, sports, cultural and entertainment facilities in the Moscow region were implemented by MOITK in partnership with Construction Company SpetsStroy-2 LLC. Since its founding in 1993, this company has not stood out in any way and was only involved in the reconstruction of some bus station buildings near Moscow.

However, unexpectedly in the mid-2000s. she was entrusted with the construction of more than 25 sports and recreation centers, stadiums in Khimki, Noginsk, Podolsk, Lukhovitsy, Zhukovsky, and the reconstruction of at least 20 regional cultural centers. In most cases, IC "SpetsStroy-2" acted as a customer, and in some cases - as a general construction contractor.

The largest objects of SK "SpetsStroy-2"

OBJECT FUNCTION SK SPETSSTROY-2 RECEIVED SK SPETSSTROY-2 (RUB) 1. FOC, Protvino Customer 311,650,000 2. FOC, Pushchino Customer 396,950,000 3. FOC, Kurovskoye Customer 207 137,563 4. FOC, Orekhovo-Zu evo Customer 223 million 1,000,000 10 .FOK, Bolshevik Customer 371 468 960 11.FOK, Motobaza Customer 180 000 000 12. Stadium "Novator", Khimki Customer 3 467 000 860 13. Stadium "Trud", Podolsk Customer 2 610 311 579 14. SK "Module", Chekhov Customer 320000032 15.Meteor Manezh, Zhukovsky Customer 1 030 069 531 16.SK "Znamya", Noginsk Customer 183,000,000 17.Obukhovo Stadium, Noginsk Customer 317,500,000 18.School, Bronnitsy Customer 650 000 000 19.DOK , Shakhovskaya Customer 183 911 716 20. Aviator Stadium, Lukhovitsy Customer 336 204 741 21. Sports Complex, Ivanteevka Customer 289 777 151 22. Sports Complex, Solnechnogorsk Customer 158 325 576 23. Boiler House, Tomilino Customer 174 39 8 351 24.Noginsk Drama Theater Customer 154,500,000 25.DKG, Podolsk General Contractor 166,500,000

The appearance of such tasty orders with guaranteed financing coincided with changes in the composition of the company’s founders. By the beginning of the 2000s. "SpetsStroy-2" belonged to father and son - Evgeniy and Igor Polubotko. However, already in the first quarter of 2006, the situation changed: Polubotko had only 11.11% of the company left (the holder is Stroyserviskomplekt LLC), the remaining shares were divided between Basis LLC (a subsidiary of RIGroup) and MOITK. By 2007, MOITK's share was increased to 99.73%, and then, in December 2007, it was transferred to Rosweb OJSC (by that time already controlled by RIGroup). However, at all stages of changing the composition of the founders, the management of IC SpetsStroy-2 remained the same; the new owners did not even change the general director Igor Polubotko, who controlled a symbolic 0.27% of the authorized capital.

According to rough estimates, in 2007-2008. At least a billion dollars were pumped through IC SpetsStroy-2 - a huge amount of money, especially considering the rather modest scale of the company itself, which employed several dozen people. It can be assumed that the mechanism for using these funds differed little from similar techniques used by Kuznetsov and Co. at other sites and with other customers, for example, the same RIGroup: inflating estimates, withdrawing funds through affiliated contractors, etc. It is difficult to create a more detailed picture due to the lack of information in open sources.

However, even those scattered facts that appeared in the media clearly demonstrate the level of financial discipline in IC SpetsStroy-2.

Thus, on May 29, 2008, 1.6 billion rubles were “erroneously” transferred from the company’s accounts in the MZB to the account of a certain Logistic LLC. A month and a half later, on July 14, 2008, the “mistake” was repeated - this time in the amount of 352 million rubles. But only on August 21, the general director of SpetsStroy-2, I. Polubotko, sent notice No. 11/156-2 to the chairman of the board of the MZB, in which he demanded to return the money back, stating that they had been transferred to the account of Logistic LLC without proper payment orders. It is unclear why the head of the company did not react immediately as soon as about $80 million disappeared from his bank account at the exchange rate at that time. It is unlikely that the disappearance of such an amount can go unnoticed for a long time both for the company’s accounting department and for its management.

An interesting detail: MZB was by no means a stranger to IC Spets-Stroy-2 as a paying agent. The company owned almost 23% of MZB shares. So, if he wanted to influence the banking management of SpetsStroy-2, he had the opportunity.

It is not surprising that the result of the company's economic activities was bankruptcy. As of the 1st quarter of 2009, the debt of IC SpetsStroy-2 to the Moscow region, regional structures and external creditors amounted to more than 14 billion rubles. Of these, 2 billion is debt on a bond loan, for which MOITK acted as a guarantor (it is possible that it was for the sake of providing a guarantee that MOITK for some time became the main owner of the company).

It is worth noting that there could be much more debt. In 2008, it was planned to issue a second issue of bonds - this time for 3 billion rubles. Apparently for this purpose, in 2007, the authorized capital of IC SpetsStroy-2 was artificially inflated from 390 million to 1.43 billion rubles. by adding unfinished construction projects to it [this technique was first used in 2006, on the eve of the debut issue of bonds, when the authorized capital increased from 30 million rubles. up to 390 million rubles]. Fortunately for potential investors, these plans were not destined to come true due to Kuznetsov’s hasty departure abroad.

2.4. Scam with “debts” for housing and communal services

At the end of 2008, law enforcement agencies stumbled upon large-scale theft of budget funds in the Pushkinsky district. As they found out, about 600 million rubles allocated from the regional budget for the needs of housing and communal services were transferred through shell companies to offshore companies. The leadership of MOITK was directly involved in this scam, which served as the basis for the arrest of the then general director of the Moscow Regional Investment Trust Company, Vladislav Telepnev.

The Pushkin episode forced the investigative group of the Investigative Committee to conduct an audit of the expenditure of housing and communal services funds in other municipalities of the Moscow region. As a result, it was discovered that similar cases took place in about a dozen districts, including Shatursky, Klinsky, Kolomensky, Noginsky, Chekhovsky, Khimki, etc. The total amount of funds withdrawn, according to the investigation, amounted to more than 3 billion rubles.

The pattern of theft was approximately the same everywhere. During 2006-2008. The management of a number of municipal unitary enterprises (MUPs) operating in the housing and communal services sector created a fictitious debt from the regional budget to themselves for supposedly rendered services. Then the right to claim these “debts” was assigned to third legal entities at a discount. As a rule, they were all “fly-by-night” companies registered on the passports of homeless people, alcoholics, prisoners in Russian prisons, etc. It was to them that the regional budget repaid debts in full, and then these funds were transferred to offshore companies.

Neither the municipal assemblies, which gave the go-ahead for the assignment of the “debt,” nor the MOITK, which reconciled reports of completed work and transferred funds to fly-by-night companies, nor the regional Ministry of Finance raised any questions about this situation.

According to a number of media outlets, in addition to the named authorities, some commercial banks were also involved in the described scheme, which provided loans to municipal unitary enterprises that did not receive timely financing from the regional budget. The attention of the SKP was mainly attracted by the VTB24 bank, which actively financed utility companies near Moscow under guarantees from the regional government. As a representative of the investigation told Rosbalt news agency, there are serious suspicions that the loans were also fictitious.

QUOTE

“We suspect that the money might not have left the banks at all, and that its receipt by housing and communal services enterprises existed only on paper, in connection with this we had serious questions for certain representatives of VTB24.” IA "Rosbalt", 02.12.2009

According to the opinion expressed by some media, some light on the true role of VTB Bank in this scam could be shed by the then director of the department for work with large clients, Oleg Zhukovsky. However, in December 2007, Zhukovsky’s body was found at the bottom of his own swimming pool in a cottage near Moscow.

The case caused a noticeable resonance in the media due to the extraordinary circumstances of the banker’s death. On the one hand, he left a suicide note, from which one could conclude that he had decided to commit suicide. However, Zhukovsky’s hands and feet were tightly tied. Such an exotic method of suicide immediately gave rise to a version of murder disguised as suicide. The media suggested that the VTB employee became an unwanted witness to some financial fraud, for which he was removed.

Meanwhile, official representatives of VTB categorically denied the criminal nature of Zhukovsky’s death. A public statement on this matter was made by his assistant Timur Valeryevich Telepnev (last known position - director of the Second Department for Work with Large Clients of VTB). Subsequently, about two years later, journalists will remember this episode, noting that the surname and patronymic of Zhukovsky’s former deputy strangely coincide with the surname and patronymic of the arrested general director of MOITK, Vladislav Valerievich Telepnev. However, no one could provide any evidence of their relationship, and Timur Telepnev himself did not publicly comment on this issue. In February 2010, the court, leaving Vladislav Telepnev in custody, seized his property. However, without a doubt, it is unlikely to be enough to compensate for the multi-billion-dollar damage caused to the Moscow region budget due to this episode of MOITK’s activities alone.

2.5. Construction of the “Two Captains” business center and gaining control over OJSC “Rosweb”

The project of the “Two Captains” business center in the Myakininskaya floodplain of Krasnogorsk, next to the Crocus Mall shopping complex and the Government House of the Moscow Region, was launched by RIGroup at the end of 2006. The total area of ​​the facility is 96 thousand square meters on a plot of 2.4 hectares. The volume of necessary investments was estimated, according to various sources, from 7 billion to 10 billion rubles. But even before the approval of the project estimate, MOITK allocated 9.55 billion rubles in advance. to the construction customer ZAO Stroyinvest - a 100% subsidiary of RIGroup.

The general contractor of the project was SK Oniks LLC. According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, the founder of this company was a certain Russian citizen. However, its legal address - Moscow, Slavyanskaya pl., 2/5/4, building 3 - leaves no doubt about the affiliation of Onyx with the investor and developer (many RIGroup companies are registered at this address - in particular, CJSC IFC RIGroup- Finance", LLC "Leren", LLC "Vista", LLC "RIGroup-Plaza", LLC "RIGroup-Media", etc.).

In December 2006, Onyx hired JSC Strabag (the Russian subsidiary of the Austrian Strabag) as a contractor, which undertook to complete construction in the third quarter of 2009. The contract amount was 5 billion rubles. Subsequently, in May 2008, Onyx assigned its rights and obligations as a general contractor to Stroybusinessnovatsiya LLC, registered at the same address as Onyx on Slavyanskaya Square. By the end of 2008, Strabag built the Two Captains building and tried to get money for the stage of work already completed. However, Stroybusinessnovatsiya was unable to pay the invoices. It was then that it was discovered that the funds allocated by MOITK to Stroyinvest had actually disappeared. Of those transferred in advance, 9.55 billion rubles. only 2.4 billion were spent on the construction of the business center. The remaining amount - almost 7.2 billion - was withdrawn and, apparently, went to buy out the additional issue of Rosweb OJSC in favor of RIGroup.

REFERENCE

OJSC Rosweb was established by MOITK in March 2007. The company's authorized capital was formed by contributing a number of assets that belonged to the Moscow region. In mid-2007, the Ministry of Finance of the Moscow Region decided to conduct an additional issue of shares of Rosweb OJSC. The second and third issues of shares were distributed by private subscription in favor of the companies Kraft LLC and Plaza LLC, affiliated with RIGroup. As a result, MOITK's share in Rosweb decreased to 49%, and RIGroup increased to 51%.

In December 2009, Strabag filed a claim with the Moscow Arbitration Court against Stroybusinessnovatsiya for payment of debt in the amount of 3.2 billion rubles. and 13.6 million dollars. Third parties in the case were the companies Onyx and Stroyinvest. In June 2010, the court partially satisfied the claim of the Austrian subsidiary for 1.7 billion rubles. However, according to the general director of JSC Strabag, Alexander Ortenberg, Stroybusinessnovatsiya did not pay this amount. As a result, on July 9, 2010, Strabag filed a claim with the Arbitration Court of the Moscow Region. This time the Moscow region government was the defendant, and Stroybusinessnovatsiya was a third party. "Strabag" demanded that interim measures be imposed on the assets - the unfinished business center "Two Captains" and the land plot under it.

If the Strabag claim is satisfied, the government of the Moscow region may even lose the concrete shell of the business center, the construction of which it fully financed through MOITK three years ago.

2.6. Purchase of real estate and luxury goods

An audit of the financial transactions of MOITK and RIGroup in 2006-2008, carried out after Kuznetsov’s flight from Russia, was able to give a rough idea of ​​how the funds transferred to the West were spent. The result of this work was a scheme for the passage of financial flows through offshore companies, published in August 2010 in the RBC daily newspaper.

Apparently, participants in fraud with budget funds in the Moscow region believed in their complete impunity and inaccessibility to justice. If it were otherwise, they would have tried to more thoroughly confuse all financial transactions. Now, in some cases, it is possible to easily reconstruct how and on what the funds were spent.

RIGroup beneficiaries spent more than $24.5 million on art alone. Money for these purchases was transferred through the offshore companies Jazz Art Foundation, Howard Fund Limited and Layzar Holdings Limited. In addition, funds withdrawn from Russia were used to buy a house in the resort of St. Tropez, as well as mansions in the most prestigious world capitals - London, New York and Paris. The cheapest mansion cost $12 million (Saint-Tropez), the most expensive - almost $40 million (London).

Additionally, the company SAS “Societe des Hotels d’Altitude”, which owns the Courchevel hotels SAS Pralong and SAS Crystal, was acquired. Considering the unbridled love of Russian officials and business elite for this Alpine resort, one can assume that such an investment should quickly pay off.

Finally, in 2007, through the offshore company Elwood Ventures Limited, the sea yacht Tzarina (English: “Queen”) was purchased. According to some reports, the acquisition was made with IKMO money transferred abroad through the purchase of Leren LLC from the Cyprus offshore company Nova Prova Engineering. EPS managed to find traces of the yacht in the French Antibes in the port of Vauban, famous for its billionaires' pier (accommodating 630 yachts up to 130 meters in length). It is there that the Tsarina is moored at the International Yacht Club.

NAME: Tzarina (previously called: Teddy, Tigre Dos, Tigre D "Or) SHIPYARD: Amels (Holland) YEAR OF LAUNCH: 1997 TYPE: Motor yacht (2 diesel engines) LENGTH: 50 m DISPLACEMENT: 538 t SPEED: 15, 4 NM (max.), 14 NM (cruise) Crew: 11 people NUMBER OF CABINS FOR Crew: 6 (including captain's) NUMBER OF GUEST CABINS: 1 owner, 2 VIP, 2 doubles, 1 children's double

Immediately after purchasing the yacht, Zhanna Bullock, who appears in the documents as the owner of the Tsarina, decided to radically change its interior. For this purpose, the Italian architectural studio Alhadeff, owned by Giancarlo Alhadeff, was hired. The new design was developed by studio lead Michael Lewis.

As a result, the interior of the “Tsarina” acquired extravagant futuristic forms, practically devoid of right angles. As the designers themselves stated on the Alhadeff studio website, when creating it they were inspired by the bizarre shapes and interweaving of coral reefs.

Yacht Tzarina. Bedroom sketch. Design: Michael Lewis

Yacht Tzarina. Dining room sketch. Design: Michael Lewis

The purchase and reconstruction of the yacht was expensive for the budget of the Moscow Region - in total, about 20-25 million were spent on the Tsarina (contracts for architects and designers alone amounted to 20-25 thousand per month).

In general, the nature of acquisitions made through offshore companies (real estate, yachts) reveals that the buyers are ordinary nouveau riche, who view money exclusively as a means of ensuring prestigious consumption. One would expect different behavior from professional banker Alexey Kuznetsov, because he is well versed in finance and certainly knows how to use its investment potential. Therefore, it is possible that, if not all, then a significant part of the purchases were made in favor of certain third parties, with a more limited outlook and primitive needs.

One way or another, so far no one - neither the media nor the investigation - has given a clear answer to the question of who exactly was the main beneficiary of the system of total theft of the budget of the Moscow region built by Kuznetsov. The electronic journal "EPS" tried to fill this gap, based on an analysis of available facts and sources.

III. Persons involved in the Moscow region scam

3.1. Criminal proceedings

Immediately after the departure of A. Kuznetsov and J. Bullock from Russia, data began to leak into the media about criminal cases initiated on various episodes of the activities of the System of Extra-Budgetary Financing of Investment Projects near Moscow. This information was often quite contradictory, which apparently was due to attempts by various interested parties to influence the course of the investigation in one way or another.

Currently, the media mainly writes about three criminal cases. The first was investigated by the Main Investigation Department of the Moscow Region Main Internal Affairs Directorate into the theft of 1.07 billion rubles from IKMO. (see above section about the scam with LLC “Laren”). According to Rosbalt news agency, the investigation was completed in February of this year. Charges under Article 159 (“fraud”) were brought only to the general director of RIGroup Finance Lyudmila Bezdel and the head of the Rosweb Office company Artem Vasiliev (according to the investigation, he was behind Leren LLC). Materials regarding other accused - Dmitry Demidov, the former general director of the two largest subsidiaries of the Moscow Regional Government - MOIA and IKMO, and the former general director of the RIGroup company Dmitry Kotlyarenko - have been separated into separate proceedings.

Another case - about the theft of funds intended for the needs of housing and communal services (see the corresponding section above) was opened at the end of 2008 by the Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee for the Moscow Region, and then transferred to the Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. On November 10, 2009, as part of this case, former general director of MOITK Vladislav Telepnev and former head of the department for financing state programs of MOITK Svetlana Shatalina were charged under Art. 159 part 4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“fraud on an especially large scale committed by a group of persons”). On November 25 of the same year, Telepnev was charged with another charge - under Art. 210 clause 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“participation in a criminal community”).

Finally, only on February 12, 2010, the Investigative Committee under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation opened criminal case No. 280008 on the fact of causing damage to the budget of the Moscow region in the amount of 27 billion rubles. Various episodes related to the activities of MOITK and RIGroup were merged into this case. The main suspects are Kuznetsov, Bullock, Kotlyarenko, Nosov and Demidov.

None of the listed cases has yet been brought to court, so it is difficult to assess how well the work of the investigators was done. At the same time, from the scraps of information that were leaked to the media, as well as from the few comments from representatives of law enforcement agencies, one can get a preliminary impression of the results of the investigation.

The first thing that catches your eye is the blatantly short dock. In fact, it consists of only executors and nominee directors of companies through which billions were withdrawn [with the exception of Deputy Minister of Finance Valery Nosov, who is currently in custody]. Some of them actually actively served the system of theft of budget funds built by Kuznetsov. The other part, apparently, ended up behind bars for only a few signatures on documents made in order to save their jobs and salaries.

The main defendants, who are assigned the role of organizers of the criminal community - namely the former head of the Moscow region Ministry of Finance A. Kuznetsov and his wife, RIGroup President J. Bullock - will apparently observe the process from a safe distance. At the same time, according to numerous media reports, American citizen Bullock currently resides permanently in the United States, and her husband Kuznetsov lives in France. They make no secret of this. So, in January 2009, the ex-minister under investigation was spotted in Courchevel, where at the same time, according to established tradition, the cream of the Russian political and economic elite, including the manager of President Kozhin and the director of the FSO, General Murov, were resting.

QUOTE

Vladimir Ovchinsky, retired police major general: “The cases against him [Kuznetsov] are being conducted in such a way that, apparently, no one is looking for him.” “Moment of Truth”, TVC, 01/21/2009

Moreover, if Bullock’s inaccessibility to Russian justice can still be somehow justified, the US authorities are reluctant to extradite their citizens at the request of third countries [it is also worth considering that in 2008, Bullock became related to an influential American politician and owner of the New York banking group Pryor Cashman, Harmond Remmel , having given her daughter from her first marriage, Zoya, to his son Towson], then in the case of Kuznetsov there is no plausible explanation for the passivity of Russian law enforcement agencies. All this makes the former minister look like the hero of Joe jokes, who is elusive because no one catches him.

According to the majority of experts interviewed by the EPS, the current situation has a very simple explanation: for Kuznetsov’s and Bullock’s accomplices, who are still in Russia and occupy high leadership positions in the authorities of the Moscow region, it is much more profitable for the ex-minister and his wife to remain in exile and under This made us feel relatively safe.

Otherwise, there is an extremely high risk that they will abandon the role of the main “plunderers of people’s property” that has been carefully imposed on them and will begin to “merge” the remaining beneficiaries of the system of theft of budget and extra-budgetary billions. The fact that Kuznetsov has significant compromising evidence on the powers that be in the Moscow region is beyond any doubt. Nobody wants to open this Pandora's box - neither accomplices, nor investigators (you never know what will end up there - then it won't be a sin). It’s easier to condemn Kuznetsov in absentia as the creator of the OPS, giving him the opportunity, without particularly sticking out, but without hiding, to live out his life somewhere in St. Tropez.

The attempt to present Kuznetsov and Bullock as the main “villains” who for several years brilliantly manipulated regional and municipal authorities in the Moscow region, using them “in the dark” for personal enrichment, is also unconvincing because the ex-minister and his wife could never boast impeccable reputation. Rather, it's the other way around. By the time Kuznetsov was hired by the government of the Moscow region, both he and Zhanna Bullock had already become involved in an international scandal - in the case of money laundering through the Bank of New York (BoNY). In any country in the world, this would be enough to keep people with such a background as far as possible from both budgetary and extra-budgetary funds.

These and other doubts force us to take a closer look at the career trajectories of Kuznetsov, Bullock, Nosov and other defendants in order to understand their actual role in the grandiose scam outside Moscow.

3.2. Kuznetsov: from a witness in the BoNY case to the governor’s trusted financier

Ex-minister Kuznetsov is a professional financier, whose formation took place at Inkombank. Knowledgeable people say that in 1990 he came to the president and owner of the bank, Vladimir Vinogradov, “wearing only sneakers,” but quickly made a career there, eventually becoming almost the “gray eminence” of this largest financial and credit organization in pre-default Russia.

Kuznetsov Alexey Viktorovich

• Born on November 6, 1962 in Moscow. Having graduated from the Moscow Financial Institute in 1985 with a degree in finance and credit, in October of the same year he began working as an economist and design engineer in the main computer center of the State Bank of the USSR.
• In January 1990, he became a senior economist at Inkombank and quickly advanced in his career, becoming the head of the credit resources department of the economic planning department, and then the head of the liabilities department. In 1992, Kuznetsov took the post of deputy chairman of the bank’s board, and already in 1994 he received the position of first vice president of Inkombank.
• In February 1998, he left Inkombank, becoming president and one of the founders of CJSC "Investment Company "Russian Investment Society - R.I.O." (engaged in restructuring the debts of banks and large corporations). Also, until 2000, he served as general director of the Standard MTK company and was the founder of the Fintechcom company.
• In March 2000, after Boris Gromov was elected governor of the Moscow region, he was appointed to the position of acting minister of finance of the region, and a few months later he took up this post on a permanent basis.
• Since 2004, Deputy Prime Minister of the Moscow Region Government (while retaining the post of Minister of Finance).

Not the least role in Kuznetsov’s high status in Inkombank was played by his involvement in the functioning of the money withdrawal and money laundering system created there. Information about it leaked to the media in 1996, when American shareholders of Inkombank filed lawsuits demanding payment of dividends. The plaintiffs’ lawyers found out that the bank’s management was embezzling funds and transferring them to offshore companies, and both the bank’s president, Vladimir Vinogradov, and top managers, including Kuznetsov, benefited from the fraud. To launder money withdrawn from Russia, various offshore accounts were used in Bank of America, Citibank and especially in the Bank of New York, with whose name this story eventually became associated.

According to a number of media outlets, a significant part of the funds withdrawn through Inkombank belonged to representatives of the Russian power establishment. The American authorities did not officially comment on this version, however, judging by how skillfully the scandal was hushed up, we can conclude that the political component in the BoNY case was very significant. According to the information available to the EPS, Kuznetsov was one of the key witnesses in the case.

One can only guess about the content of his testimony to American law enforcement agencies. It is possible that the most interesting information concerning the Russian owners of funds withdrawn and laundered through Inkombank and BoNY became the subject of some kind of deal with American justice (and intelligence services), because Kuznetsov ultimately did not suffer any punishment for his participation in financial fraud. Meanwhile, enough evidence was collected against him, and American law usually punishes such crimes very severely. In particular, Kuznetsov’s involvement in the offshore companies Avalon Capital and Tetra Finance Establishment, through which money was siphoned to accounts in the United States, was established. The first nominal director was Kuznetsov's then mistress Zhanna Bullock (at that time her last name was written as Bulakh). Through Avalon Capital, Bullock and Kuznetsov also purchased a house in New York's Southampton for $575,000.

Shortly before Kuznetsov’s dismissal from Inkombank in February 1998, Vinogradov’s American lawyer accused him of issuing $15 billion worth of bad loans to controlled legal entities. However, the official wording of the first vice president’s resignation was still non-scandalous - “at his own request.” Perhaps in order not to undermine depositors' confidence in the bank's stability.

Be that as it may, Inkombank is perhaps the only one of the TOP-10 Russian banks that was never able to revive after the 1998 default, albeit with a different name. Its founder and president, Vladimir Vinogradov, is also said to have died almost in poverty.

Unlike his boss, Kuznetsov was able to painlessly survive the default by founding his own company, the Russian Investment Society, and after Boris Gromov was elected governor of the Moscow region, he received an offer to take the post of Minister of Finance in the regional government. It is unknown who exactly brought the controversial financier together with the former “Afghan” general. According to some information, he was appointed on the recommendation of the then Administration of the President of the Russian Federation; Kuznetsov himself claimed that they were introduced to Gromov by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Moscow Region government, Mikhail Babich. The latter did not manage to stay on the new governor’s team for long, but his likely protégé not only managed to gain a foothold in it, but also rose to the rank of first deputy prime minister.

And if at first, according to a number of observers, Kuznetsov had certain friction with Gromov’s “right hand” - Vice-Governor Alexei Panteleev, who was supposed to oversee the work of the regional financial department, then later he managed to establish contact not only with the “Afghan” wing of the regional administration, but also by the leaders of the economic bloc - the ministers of transport, property, and construction. Relations with the governor of the Moscow region, according to various experts, also gradually went beyond the purely official. According to Internet sources, the families of Kuznetsov and Gromov even spent their holidays together, vacationing abroad.

The nature of Kuznetsov’s relationship with the governor can also be assessed by the way the resignation of the ex-finance minister was arranged. Most of all, it resembles not the expulsion of a black sheep from the herd, but the urgent evacuation of a member of a team, a brotherhood due to force majeure. Even the wording of the dismissal - “for family reasons” - speaks for itself. It is noteworthy that since Kuznetsov’s departure abroad, there have been no other statements assessing his activities as Minister of Finance from the leadership of the Moscow region government.

3.3. Bullock: From Banker's Bed to Guggenheim Foundation Board of Trustees

The wife of the former Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region, Jeanne Bullock, is quite worthy of becoming a character in an adventure novel. Her biographical information is quite sparse.

Bulakh Zhanna Mikhailovna (Janna Bullock)

• Born on May 12, 1967 in Kobrin, Brest Region (Belarusian SSR).
• In 1991 she emigrated to the USA. Around 1992-1993, she got a job in the law office of Emmanuel Zeltser, who represented the interests of Inkombank in the USA. At the same time, she met A. Kuznetsov and became his mistress.
• In 1994, she founded and headed the company Avalon Capital, through which Inkombank funds were withdrawn and laundered. Subsequently, she became a witness in the BoNY case.
• In 1998 she received US citizenship.
• After 1998, she founded the company RIGroup (Renovation Interiors Group) in the USA, which was engaged in the resale and renovation of mansions in New York.
• In 2000, she established RIGroup LLC (Russian Investment Group) in Russia.
• From 2007 to 2010 - member of the board of trustees of the Solomon Guggenheim Foundation in New York.

In the 2000s, when Jeanne Bullock became the legal wife of a high-ranking official near Moscow, her official biography was significantly edited. As a result, the story of the former Zhanna Bullock was actually pushed to the periphery of the public space, and her place was taken by the success-story of businesswoman Janna Bullock. Apparently, Bullock’s PR consultant R. Couri Hay, a well-known columnist in New York bohemian circles, gossip columnist, and former lover of pop art creator Andy Warhol, had a hand in the creation and implementation of the new image.

According to the official legend, Zhanna Bullock studied at the Faculty of Philosophy at Leningrad State University, then moved to New York and at first took on any job there - she was a nanny, a packer in a grocery store, etc. Gradually, as happens with all talented and persistent self-made women, she managed to rise from the social bottom by starting her own business. This successful experience was eventually transferred to Russia, where Zhanna Bullock headed the largest investment and development company near Moscow. The real story of the transformation of provincial Zhanna Bulah into society lady Janna Bullock was noticeably different from the created PR legend. Apparently, Bulakh did not have time to complete any higher education before leaving for the USA.

In any case, St. Petersburg State University (formerly Leningrad State University) denies that they had such a graduate [Only in 2003, Jeanne Bullock received an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University in North Carolina]. Perhaps his studies had to be interrupted due to his early marriage and the birth of his daughter Zoya. However, the marriage and the birth of a child could not keep Zhanna Bulakh in her homeland and, leaving little Zoya in the care of her mother, the future owner of RIGroup moved to New York on a temporary visa.

5 years later, in 1996, Moskovsky Komsomolets directly wrote that Bulakh came to America as an elite prostitute, on call from a certain client. This information remained unrefuted; in any case, the EPS was unable to find any refutation either in MK or in other media. According to MK journalists, after the contract expired, Bulakh managed to extend his visa. As a result, she remained living in New York.

Bulakh pulled out the winning ticket by getting a job as a secretary-assistant (according to other sources, a translator) in the law office of Emmanuel Zeltser, a Jewish emigrant from Moldova, involved in several high-profile scandals representing the interests of Russian nouveau riche in the West [in particular, recently his name did not leave the pages of the Russian and Western press in connection with the division of Badri Patarkatsishvili’s inheritance, because of which Zeltser even ended up in the Belarusian KGB pre-trial detention center in Minsk]. At that time he was an American solicitor for Inkombank. As mentioned in one of the publications, one day Zeltser sent Bulakh to the airport to meet Kuznetsov there. So Zeltser’s assistant and the vice president of Inkombank became lovers (at that time each of them was still in an undissolved official marriage).

However, from the very beginning, the relationship between Bulakh and Kuznetsov was not limited to the romantic component. It was a production and business novel. For Bulakh, Kuznetsov became a chance to get out of immigrant poverty and instability. For Kuznetsov, Bulakh was an insider in Zeltser’s office and a trusted agent who permanently resided in the United States. In 1994, Bulakh registered and headed the already mentioned company Avalon Capital. Whose business it really was is evidenced by the fact that Kuznetsov’s credit card was used to pay for the services required to prepare the necessary documents. Subsequently, when the details of the BoNY case emerged, Bulakh’s involvement in other offshore companies through which money was pumped to the West was established.

At the same time, information was published that Bulakh used the corporate gold card of Inkombank (which she was not entitled to by status) for large personal purchases - mainly clothes and lingerie of prestigious brands. The BoNY scandal threatened to put an end to such a sweet life at the expense of Inkombank shareholders. However, as in the case of Kuznetsov, Bulakh managed to avoid the punishing hand of the American themis by testifying to the investigation [it is possible that the matter was not limited to testimony and Bulakh, as well as Kuznetsov, were included in the development of the American intelligence services, agreeing to cooperate with them.

In any case, this hypothesis fits well with the logic of the recruitment of agents by foreign secret services: a potential agent is caught in a crime and, through blackmail, is forced to cooperate in exchange for exemption from punishment and further protection]. This is despite clear evidence of her involvement in the laundering of Russian millions, not to mention other offenses. Thus, according to MK, even during the registration of Avalon Capital, Bulakh managed to seriously violate US laws: when filling out the documents, she introduced herself as an American lawyer Evgenia Mikhailovna Baratynskaya [according to some sources, that was the name of Bulakh’s cousin, who lived in Belarus]. Meanwhile, falsely declaring yourself to be an attorney is a criminal offense in New York State.

Left with Kuznetsov’s money and free, Bulakh nevertheless received such publicity that should have forever closed the doors to decent society in front of her. Apparently, at that moment the American PR man Corey Hay turned up to her, who undertook to correct this almost disastrous situation. And, I must admit, on the whole he succeeded.

The first step was a change of surname - the Belarusian Bulakh (in English transcription Bulakh) was replaced by the easily remembered Bullock in the States, which made Zhanna the namesake of the Hollywood star Sandra Bullock. As a result, if you enter “Bulakh” into the Google search bar, references to one of the defendants in the BoNY case will pop up. If “Bullock” is another edition of the American dream embodied in a retelling of the fashionable New York magazines with which Corey Hay collaborates. And these two persons - a swindler and a successful businesswoman of Russian origin - practically do not intersect with each other in the information space.

The second step was financially more expensive, but also much more effective from a PR point of view. As a former lover of Andy Warhol, it was not difficult for Corey Hay to introduce Jeanne Bullock into the world of contemporary art, or more precisely, into the coterie of gallerists and art dealers who represent it. So Bullock became not just “another Russian” with capital of unknown origin, but a collector and philanthropist.

Mikhail Shemyakin, artist:

“Gallerists are trying to get close to the money of the new Russians, and these are very uneducated people - they earned easy money and now they want to get into high society. I bought a painting from Saatchi and became a big collector of modern art and found myself in a society where they would never have been allowed.” Russian Newsweek, No. 37 (304), 6-12.09.2010

The most notable achievement on this path was the entry in 2007 of Jeanne Bullock into the board of trustees of the Solomon Guggenheim Foundation, which oversees the contemporary art museums of the same name [the first Russian businessman elected to the board of trustees of the Guggenheim Foundation was Vladimir Potanin in 2002]. Such an honor probably cost Jeanne Bullock a decent fortune. However, from the point of view of achieving the ultimate goal - entering “high society” - these investments were completely justified. However, the bankruptcy of the system of extra-budgetary financing of investment projects in the Moscow region and the subsequent collapse of the Bullock business empire in Russia (RIGroup, MZB, Rosweb) actually nullified all the efforts of Corey Hay. It got to the point that Bullock even had to leave the board of trustees of the Guggenheim Foundation - The New York Times reported this in April 2010.

The legend of Jeanne Bullock's entrepreneurial talent has also faded. As it turned out, the American business of RIGroup died out just like the Russian one. According to media reports, in 2010, Bullock’s New York company had only a debt of $27 thousand and “not a single serious project” in its portfolio.

In general, an analysis of the available facts that shed light on the circumstances of Jeanne Bullock’s career takeoff indicates that in the grandiose scam outside Moscow she was assigned the role of just a screen, a nominal owner - exactly the same as in the case of Avalon Capital, only this since the scale of the thefts was different. Of course, Bullock is difficult to compare with the wife of the nouveau riche, who was assigned a boutique or beauty salon for fun and to satisfy her boredom. Formally, she led an empire with a capitalization of more than a billion dollars. However, she could not be either the brain or the engine of the scam with budget money in the Moscow region. Most likely, Bullock had a certain tactical freedom within the framework of the activities of the structures under her control. But the strategy was developed by other people, mainly by her husband, the ex-head of the Moscow Region Ministry of Finance.

This is best seen in the next episode. After the Bullock-Kuznetsov couple fled abroad, the question arose about clearing out the debt rubble left by RIGroup - not everyone would be able to sort out double and triple accounting. To solve this problem, Kuznetsov’s partners hired the ORSI company. Negotiations with her were conducted personally by the former Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region. It is Kuznetsov who is listed in the memorandum on debt restructuring signed with ORSI as the person who actually controls RIGroup and its affiliated companies. There is no mention of Jeanne Bullock in this document.

3.4. Nosov: from apprentices to junior partners

Valery Nosov’s professional path began at Inkombank, where Kuznetsov brought him. Since then, one might say, they have not parted - with the exception of only a short period of time from 1998 to 1999.

Nosov Valery Vladimirovich

• Born August 28, 1971.
• From 1993 to 1998 worked at CB Inkombank - economist, head of the lending department, head of the trade finance department, deputy director of the trade finance department.
• From June to September 1998 - Director of the Directorate of CJSC IC Russian Investment Society.
• From October 1998 to December 1999 - JSCB Neftekhimbank. He started as an advisor, then became deputy chairman of the board, from June 1999. - Chairman of the Board.
• From December 1999 to June 2000 - member of the board of directors, vice president, director of the corporate finance directorate of CJSC IC Russian Investment Society
• Since June 16, 2000, Deputy (then First Deputy) Minister of Finance of the Government of the Moscow Region.
• He was a member of the board of directors of MOIA.
• In parallel with the civil service, he developed his own business - Promexport LLC, Intermash Group LLC, Artmedia Group LLC, FC Horizon (in most cases, Nosov’s wife Natalya was the formal founder). He also controlled a blocking stake in RIGroup LLC.
• Arrested in March 2010 in connection with the theft of 27 billion rubles. from the budget of the Moscow region, is also involved in the case of extortion of 80 million rubles.
• Married, two children.

Apparently, Nosov became a worthy student of Kuznetsov, and pretty soon their relationship reached a fundamentally new level - a business partnership. This is evidenced by the fact that Nosov, through the offshore company Trivalent Advisors, owned a quarter of the authorized capital of RIGroup LLC.

According to EPS experts, Nosov, along with Kuznetsov, owned all the details of the scam involving money from the Moscow Region budget. It is possible that behind his teacher’s back, Nosov carried out his own operations, not coordinated with Kuznetsov, which have not yet become the subject of study in the framework of criminal cases. In particular, according to EPS interlocutors, it has become common practice for municipalities to demand a “kickback” for the allocation of funds from the regional budget.

The funds were transferred to structures affiliated with the extortionists under fictitious contracts. As a result, the money often reached not the one who needed it most, but the one who was more willing to share it. It is difficult to prove anything in such a situation, since municipal officials themselves are not interested in disclosing their own participation in such financing schemes.

One way or another, according to some signs, by the time of Kuznetsov’s resignation, his relationship with Nosov had deteriorated. It seems that the latter was still trying to “make money” from the funeral of the RIGroup business and the entire system of extra-budgetary financing of investment projects in the Moscow region. Bullock and Kuznetsov almost openly accused him of this in their interviews from abroad. However, as the further course of events that ended in March of this year with the arrest of Nosov shows, Kuznetsov’s former “right hand” did not manage to fit into the new situation near Moscow.

The only thing that can be said with certainty is that today Nosov is the biggest fish among those detained in the case of the theft of a billion dollars from the budget of the Moscow region. And in fact, the only one who knows how and, most importantly, for whom this system worked.

3.5. Ordinary performers: from students to senior chairmen

The vast majority of those arrested are ordinary executors, in fact, the central chairmen of companies through which the theft of budget funds was carried out. Everyone, apparently, had their own motivation for participating in the machinations of Kuznetsov and Co.

Thus, Lyudmila Bezdel, who at the age of 50 got a job as an auditor in one of the structures affiliated with RIGroup, probably did not want to lose the job she received (where can you find another one at pre-retirement age?). In addition, for the formal leadership of RIGroup-Finance, which was expressed in the signing of various documents, she was probably entitled to an attractive salary increase.

Bezdel Lyudmila Ivanovna

• Born on September 12, 1955 in Shcherbinka, Moscow Region.
• In 1977, she graduated from the Faculty of Economics of the Moscow Economic and Statistical Institute with a degree in economics. Has an auditor certificate.
• Since February 2005, she worked at Sovtex LLC (a company affiliated with RIGroup) as an auditor, then as director of the audit department.
• Since the summer of 2005, he has been part-time general director of RIGroup-Finance LLC.
• Arrested at the end of 2008 on charges of fraud.

The rest of the defendants are yesterday's students born in 1979-1981, without much life experience or understanding of modern Russian corruption and economic realities. This is true both for the directors of the subsidiaries of the Moscow region government (Telepnev and Demidov) and for the “top managers” of RIGroup (Vasiliev and Kotlyarenko). The real leaders of the system of total embezzlement of budget funds, in fact, turned the youths into their puppets, skillfully playing on their career ambitions, desire to earn a lot, and break into the business elite.

Telepnev Vladislav Valerievich

• Born on October 13, 1981 in Moscow.
• Graduated from the Commercial and Banking College of the Ministry of Education of Moscow, Moscow University of Economics, Statistics and Informatics.
• For some time he worked at the Tax Inspectorate No. 27 in Moscow.
• Until 2005, he headed the investment department in the government of the Moscow region, then he was deputy general director of MOITK.
• From 2005 to October 2008 – General Director of MOITK.
• He was a member of the board of directors of the Moscow Collateral Bank (MZB), OJSC Energocenter, OJSC Mosoblgaz, OJSC IKMO, OJSC Rosweb, LLC Rosweb-Office, etc.
• In December 2008, he was arrested on charges of fraud and organizing a criminal community.

Demidov Dmitry Alexandrovich

• Born on April 2, 1979 in Kolomna.
• In 2001 he graduated from the Moscow State Open University with a degree in jurisprudence.
• Until 2005, he worked in the Kolomna administration, then at RIGroup LLC.
• In 2006 he headed IKMO, in 2007 - MOIA (part-time).
• In August 2008, he took up the post of mortgage adviser to the assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Arkady Dvorkovich, but two months later he left this position, again becoming the general director of IKMO and MOIA.
• In December 2008, he was arrested on charges of fraud. In 2009, he was released on bail in the amount of 1.5 million rubles.
• In January 2010, he disappeared and was put on the international wanted list. In February 2010, law enforcement agencies discovered him in one of the elite villages of the Moscow region.

Vasiliev Artem Alekseevich

• Born in 1980. After graduating from Novocheboksarsk secondary school No. 13, through the TV competition “Clever Men and Clever Girls,” he entered MGIMO (U) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, which he graduated in 2003.
• In 2002-2003 worked as a legal assistant in the representative office of KPMG Treuchand Beiten Burkhardt (Germany). In 2003 - assistant lawyer at Nerr Stiefenhofer Lutz LLC, then until 2007 - lawyer in the same company.
• Since 2007 - Deputy Director of the Legal Department of RIGroup LLC, at the same time - Director of Rosweb Office LLC. In 2007-2008 was listed as a member of the boards of directors of Rosweb Office LLC, Elemash-Energo LLC, Belgorod Energy Sales Company OJSC, Kursk Energy Sales Company OJSC, Smolensk Energy Sales Company OJSC.

Kotlyarenko Dmitry Feliksovich (Dmitry Kotlyarenko)

• Born in 1980, he immigrated to the United States with his parents as a child. He is a citizen of the USA and Russia.
• He graduated from Cornell University in New York and worked for some time at Bear Stearns & Co. - one of the leading investment banks on Wall Street.
• In 2003, Kotlyarenko took the post of vice president for management control of Russian Investment Group LLC (RIGroup), and in November 2006 he headed the company’s board of directors and became its general director.
• He was also Chairman of the Board of Directors of RIGroup-Finance, OJSC Utility Investments and Technologies, member of the Board of Directors of KB

"Moscow Mortgage Bank".

In December 2008 he was put on the federal wanted list, in March 2009 he was put on the international wanted list on charges of fraud, after which he was detained by Interpol in Cyprus. In July 2010, after the Larnaca District Court decided to extradite the detainee to his homeland, he was taken into custody by the Cypriot police.

These deputy chairmen did not take any full part in the division of billions stolen from the budget. At best, they could count on a bonus, albeit a considerable one. For example, for his signature on the transaction to purchase Leren LLC, Demidov, according to investigators, received 0.5% of the contract amount (about $200 thousand).

In general, everyone carried out the instructions of their “senior comrades” without any questions asked. Only the director of IKMO and MOIA, Demidov, quickly realized what kind of scammers he was working for, and tried to add his own criminal business to the system of theft of budget funds created by Kuznetsov. This is how the construction company “Zakazchik.Ru” was born, the general director of which was Alexander Demidov, the brother of the head of a mortgage company near Moscow.

It was risky to transfer money directly to this company. Therefore, the head of IKMO used the following scheme: payment for the work of contractors occurred only if the first tranche was transferred to the accounts of “Customer.Ru”. Thus, in the spring of 2008, Stroy Reaktsiya+ LLC alone, under the threat of cessation of financing for the construction of a residential complex in Zvenigorod, was forced to transfer more than 572 million rubles to Zakazchik.Ru LLC.

The funds stolen in this way were used to purchase land plots in the Moscow region, as well as to purchase an impressive fleet of vehicles, which Dmitry Demidov used. In total, his garage consisted of about 20 expensive foreign cars, including Maybach, Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, and Porsche. Circumstances did not allow Demidov to finally gain the taste - the flight of Kuznetsov and Bullock abroad and the subsequent collapse of the system of off-budget financing of investment projects in the Moscow region.

An analysis of the available facts shows that no matter how far individual Zits-chairmen advanced along the path of building their small geshefts, it is obvious that these were just crumbs from the master’s table, a small imperceptible stream in a huge stream. This means that the current composition of defendants in criminal cases near Moscow does not answer the main question that should concern the investigation: who are the main beneficiaries of the system created by Kuznetsov.

IV. Shadow figures

4.1. Administrative and political support of the scam

In the history of the grandiose scam near Moscow, there is one important aspect that people usually try to omit. The system of extra-budgetary financing of investment projects in the Moscow region, in essence, was a complex organizational and bureaucratic mechanism. In order for it to pump budget and extra-budgetary funds into offshore companies without failure for several years, the ill will of its architect, Alexey Kuznetsov, was not enough. The operation of this system had to be ensured by a serious administrative and political apparatus.

QUOTE

Vladimir Ovchinsky, retired police major general:

“Stealing $2 billion, getting huge loans, sending them to offshore companies, calmly going abroad when criminal cases have been opened against you - one person cannot... They say he [Kuznetsov] is a capable financier, but no matter how talented a person is, one he can’t steal a billion.”

“Moment of Truth”, TVC, 01/21/2009

MOITK, IKMO and MOIA worked at the intersection of the competencies of at least three regional ministries: the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Property and the Ministry of Construction. Their representatives always served on the boards of directors of regional subsidiaries, made decisions on issuing bonds, and approved financial plans and reports of the executive bodies of these companies.

And if, judging by the logic of the investigation’s conclusions, the behavior of representatives of the Ministry of Finance can be explained - after all, it was Valery Nosov himself, who actively participated in the theft of funds, and the employees dependent on him, then finding any justification for the criminal negligence of representatives of other ministries is problematic. Let us note that the status of many members of the board of directors implied their high competence and ability to understand what was happening.

Thus, the chairman of the Board of Directors of IKMO was the then Minister of Construction, First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Moscow Region, Alexander Gornostaev. His first deputies - Nikolai Gornostaev and Vladimir Zhidkin - also served on the boards of directors of MOITK, MOIA and IKMO.

Gornostaev Alexander Vasilievich

• Born in 1949.
• Education:
• 1982 – Tashkent Polytechnic Institute (mechanical engineer);
• 1989 – Academy of Social Sciences under the CPSU Central Committee (Department of Economics);
• 2009 – Moscow State University of Civil Engineering.
• Career:
• In 1964-1968. worked as a mechanic mechanic at the Salavat motor transport enterprise, then went to serve in the USSR Armed Forces.
• Upon returning from the army, he worked as a toolmaker at the Salavat convoy in 1970-1971, and at the Mechanical Repair Plant of the Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combine (Uzbek SSR) in 1971-1978.
• Then he began his career in party and Soviet bodies. In 1978-1982. - Secretary of the Party Committee of the Navoi Machine-Building Plant of the Navoi MMC. In 1982-1990 - second secretary of the district committee, head of the regional committee department, first secretary of the city party committee of Navoi. In 1990, he was elected to the Navoi City Council of People's Deputies and became its chairman.
• In 1992-1995. worked as deputy board member of the Kyzylkumredmedzoloto concern.
• In 1995 he moved to Russia and headed the board of CB Mosfilmbank. In 1995-1997 - General Director of JSC Stitis Ltd. In 1997-1998 - First Deputy General Director of JSC Mosoblstroy Company.
• In 1998-1999 - Deputy Minister - Head of the Capital Investment Planning Department of the Ministry of Construction Complex of the Moscow Region. In 1999-2003 - Deputy Minister, then Minister of Construction of the Moscow Region. In 2001-2008 Deputy, then First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Moscow Region.
• In November 2008 he was dismissed.
• In June 2010, he was appointed advisor to the president of the Olimpstroy state corporation.

Most likely, it was Gornostaev’s signature that should be on the document approving the fraudulent transaction for IKMO’s purchase of a 100% stake in Leren LLC for $41.5 million. The then head of the Moscow Region government apparatus, Boris Zhiganov, should have voted for this decision. The Ministry of Property assigned representatives of lower status to the boards of directors - mainly at the level of a specialist or even a department consultant. This approach to participation in the corporate governance of regional “subsidiaries” provokes many questions to the then head of the department, Alexey Bodunkov, because it was the Ministry of Property, being the founder of MOITK, IKMO and MOIA, that was obliged to ensure that the management of the companies was engaged in the implementation of the statutory tasks. In fact, it turned out: either they were poorly monitored, or the tasks themselves were presented differently.

Bodunkov Alexey Feliksovich

• Born on June 9, 1966 in Moscow.
• Education:
• In 1993 he graduated from the Moscow Civil Engineering Institute named after. Kuibysheva.
• Career:
• In 1988-1993 by distribution he worked in the construction complex of Moscow. In 1993-1995 - Head of the energy department of the NPO (research and production association) “Science”. In 1995-2001 – successively held the positions of head of the expert department, deputy director - head of the expert department, head of the expert department - deputy general director at CJSC Regional Mortgage Company (he was also its co-founder, according to the Moscow Registration Chamber), at the same time in 1996 headed CJSC National construction group" (MCI data).
• In 2001-2002 - Deputy Head of the Department for Supporting the Activities of the Government Office of the Moscow Region, Deputy Minister of the Government of the Moscow Region - Head of the Government Office of the Moscow Region.
• In 2002 - First Deputy Minister of Property Relations of the Moscow Region.
• In 2002-2010 – Minister of Property Relations of the Moscow Region.
• On January 26, 2010, he moved to the position of adviser to the governor of the Moscow region.
• Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Moscow Regional Basketball Federation, member of the PS of the Russian Basketball Federation, president of the Khimki basketball club.

According to the Moscow Registration Chamber, in the 1990s - early 2000s. was a co-founder of Legal Company Consultations LLC. Real Estate", LLC "Vira-L", LLC "Legal Consultants", founder of LLC "Spetsstroygarantiya".

Finally, the general curator of all three ministries was the then vice-governor, in fact the “gray eminence” of the regional administration, Alexey Panteleev. Without his knowledge, as they say, it was impossible to realize anything at all in the Moscow region.

Panteleev Alexey Borisovich

• Born on February 2, 1959 in Kuibyshev (now Samara).
• Education:
• 1980 - Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School named after. Supreme Council of the RSFSR;
• 1989 - Military Academy named after. Frunze;
• 2001 - Volga Region Academy of Public Administration (jurisprudence).
• Career:
• In 1976-2000 served in the Armed Forces, including in Afghanistan, where he was an aide-de-camp to the commander of the 40th Army Boris Gromov (now the governor of the Moscow region), then served in the Main Operational Directorate and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian Defense Ministry, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the State Duma of the Russian Federation .
• In 2000, after Gromov was elected governor of the Moscow region, he was appointed chief of staff of the government of the Moscow region. In 2001-2002 - Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Moscow Region. In 2002-2003 - First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Moscow Region. In 2003-2009 - Vice-Governor of the Moscow Region.
• In July 2009, he went to work in the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, as a senator from the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Member of the Legal and Judicial Affairs Committee and the Cultural Commission.

After Kuznetsova and Bullock fled Russia, all three - Bodunkov, Gornostaev and Panteleev - left their posts. Their dismissal leaves an ambivalent impression: either this is a veiled punishment, or in this way they were trying to get them out of harm’s way.

Whether they were interrogated (at least unofficially) as part of the investigation into the Moscow-area scam is still unclear. Meanwhile, it was these people who ensured the actions of the management of MOITK, MOIA, IKMO with all the necessary approvals both at the level of the regional government and at the level of the regional duma under its control. That is, they were key figures in the System of Extra-Budgetary Financing of Investment Projects near Moscow.

4.2. The richest person in the government of the Moscow region

As the EPS was able to find out, some current members of the Moscow region administration can also find interesting and promising intersections with those involved in the scandalous Moscow region scam from the point of view of further study. In particular, we are talking about Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Petr Katsyv.

Katsyv Petr Dmitrievich

• Born on February 5, 1953 in the city of Slavuta, Khmelnitsky region, Ukraine.
• Graduated from the Moscow Automobile and Highway Institute (1975).
• 1975-1982 – traffic safety engineer for the Khimki passenger motorcade.
• 1982-1994 – Moscow Department of Passenger Motor Transport (from head of the traffic safety department to first deputy general director of the state enterprise Mostransavto).
• 1994-2001 - General Director of State Unitary Enterprise Mostransavto.
• Since 2001 - Minister of Transport of the Moscow Region.
• Since 2004 - Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Moscow Region - Minister of Transport.
• Honored Transport Worker of the Russian Federation. Doctor of Technical Sciences.
• Married, has a son.

An analysis of available sources and registration database data gives reason to say that Petr Katsyv is very close to Igor Polubotko, the former general director and co-owner of the Spetsstroy-2 insurance company.

Initially, LLC Construction Company Spetsstroy-2, created in 1993, was engaged in small contracts for the repair and construction of bus stations for the State Unitary Enterprise MO Mostransavto, which since 1994 was headed by Petr Katsyv. Over time, Katsyv and Polubotko actually became business partners. Formally, Katsyv, while in the civil service, could not conduct commercial activities. Therefore, in some legal entities controlled by Polubotko, Katsyv’s son, Denis, born in 1977, was introduced as a co-founder.

At a minimum, we can talk about three such companies: Global Trans Logistic LLC, Alice-Moscow LLC and Spetsstroydetal-2 LLC. Although in reality, Pyotr Katsyv’s participation in joint business projects with Polubotko could have been significantly wider. REFERENCE

LLC "Global Trans Logistics" Founders: Polubotko Igor Evgenievich - 35%, Katsyv Denis Petrovich - 35%, Timin Andrey Nikolaevich - 30%. General Director – Timin Andrey Nikolaevich. (

Born on March 5, 1941 in Moscow. Father - Nosov Boris Afanasyevich (born 1916). Mother - Nosova Zinaida Ivanovna (born 1917). Wife - Svetlana Grigorievna Nosova (born 1944). Has two daughters: Marina Valerievna (born in 1965), Natalia Valerievna (born in 1971).

In 1958, after graduating from a Moscow secondary school, V.B. Nosov joined the All-Union Electromechanical Institute as a laboratory assistant and worked until 1960. At the same time, he studied at the evening department of the Moscow Energy Institute. In 1960, he transferred to study full-time at the Moscow Automechanical Institute, which he graduated in 1964. In those years, the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR was in force that students of the first two years of the full-time department of the institute should work simultaneously, and only in blue-collar specialties, and learn. Therefore, in parallel with his studies, from 1960 to 1962, V.B. Nosov worked as a machine operator of automatic lines at the First State Bearing Plant (GPZ-1). In July 1964, after graduating from the institute, he went to pre-graduation practice at the Moscow Automobile Plant named after. I. A. Likhacheva (PO ZIL) and works as a technician in the technical part of the vehicle assembly and testing building for 3 months, while simultaneously preparing his thesis in the department of the chief designer. Having defended his diploma with excellent marks at the end of 1964 and received the specialty of a mechanical engineer, V.B. Nosov sought assignment to ZIL and in January 1965 came to work at the plant in the project management as an engineer; then works as a bureau chief, in various engineering positions. In May 1972, V.B. Nosov, as part of a group of factory specialists, went on a business trip abroad to the USA, where, together with the famous American company Jervis WEBB, for six months he designed an automated transport system for a new automobile assembly building under construction. After returning from the trip, he is appointed deputy head of the new automobile assembly building under construction - head of the technical department. In 1975 he became first deputy, and from 1976 - head of the automobile assembly building. This ultra-modern building for that time was built and commissioned with his direct participation.

In 1979, V.B. Nosov was appointed head of the quality control department, then deputy general director for production. In this position, he successfully manages the production divisions of the plant. During the day, over 800 cars are assembled on 2 conveyors, the most popular and modern ZIL-130 and ZIL-131. By the end of the 80s, the plant's capacity reached 210 thousand vehicles per year, and the plant turned into the largest enterprise in Europe. During these years, the association fulfills the State Plan ahead of schedule in all respects, products for agriculture, as well as cars and spare parts for the national economy are delivered ahead of schedule.

In 1984, V.B. Nosov became first deputy general director of ZIL Production Association. Working in this position, he fully oversees and resolves all production and social issues of the association.

Over 20 years of work at ZIL, V.B. Nosov has established himself as a highly qualified specialist and competent manager. Under his direct leadership, extensive work was carried out to reconstruct the association for the production of a new truck with a diesel engine. He always delves deeply into production and technical issues, taking into account modern developments in science and technology, finding the right solutions. With his active participation, work was carried out to increase the economic efficiency of production, improve the quality of products, and increase the durability and reliability of ZIL vehicles.

High efficiency and responsibility for the assigned work, the constant desire to improve the forms and methods of work, the leadership style of V.B. Nosov to a large extent served as the basis for his appointment in 1985 as general director of the Production Association “State Bearing Plant No. 1” (PO GPZ- 1), which at that time was in a catastrophic state. Having worked at GPZ-1 for 12 years, he brought the plant into the ranks of the leading enterprises in Moscow and Russia. Unlike many other enterprises, the GPP carried out corporatization in the form of 100% collective ownership, new types of bearings were developed and introduced in the production sector, which were in great demand not only in Russia, but also abroad, exports of products to developed capitalist countries increased significantly, which reached more than 50% of the total output.

In January 1997, when ZIL was practically standing and going through the most difficult years in its 80-year history, by decision of the Moscow Government, V.B. Nosov was appointed general director of AMO ZIL.

During 2 years of work in this position, with his active participation, production was completely revived. In a short time, the plant managed to overcome the crisis, improve its economic condition, expand the range of products and significantly increase the plan for their production and sales, bringing the production of cars to 24 thousand per year by December 1998. Workers and specialists began to return to their jobs.

Best of the day

During this period, many types of production were restored and technological processes were improved. Many technical innovations were introduced and fundamentally new design solutions were introduced. New types of cars were developed and put into production - buses, vans, fire trucks, and a new brand of two-chamber refrigerator was put into production.

V.B. Nosov is active in teaching, is the author of many works, books, articles and monographs, as well as six inventions and patents. He is a Doctor of Technical Sciences, professor, academician of the Russian Academy of Engineering, the Academy of Industrial Management and the Academy of Transport of the Russian Federation. In the 80s he was elected as a deputy of the Proletarian Council of People's Deputies of Moscow.

In 1991, for his great contribution to the development of the automotive industry, he was awarded the high title of Hero of Socialist Labor of the USSR. He was also awarded the Order of Lenin, two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, the Order of the Badge of Honor, the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree, many medals of the USSR, was awarded the Prize of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the honorary title “Honored Mechanical Engineer of the Russian Federation.”

Loves classical and modern music, theater. Favorite actors: Alexey Batalov and Tatyana Samoilova. Favorite sports are football and hockey. He prefers to spend his free time in the near Moscow region, in the fresh air with his family. He is a motorist not only by profession, but also by vocation.