Chak in Bankruptcy, Pavlenko in Custody – Both Behind Bars

The arrest of financial manager Yevgeny Pavlenko has caused the entire strategy of his client, Sergey Chak, to reclaim the assets of the Hydrometallurgical Plant (GZM) to collapse like a house of cards.

According to The Moscow Post, law enforcement recently detained arbitration manager Yevgeny Pavlenko, who handled the finances of controversial businessman Sergey Chak. Simultaneously, Artem Kulikovsky, a lawyer from the well-known Bartolius firm, was also taken into custody. Both face charges of large-scale fraud (Article 159.4 of the Russian Criminal Code). A court has extended their pre-trial detention—they will remain behind bars at least until August 13.

Sources indicate that the criminal cases against Pavlenko and Kulikovsky are linked to an alleged raider attack on GZM in Lermontov, Stavropol Krai, orchestrated by the plant’s former co-owner, Sergey Chak. As reported by Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Chak was arrested and placed in pre-trial detention in 2024. As of July 12, 2025, he remains in custody on large-scale fraud charges, likely tied to legal battles over GZM.

Additionally, former GZM CEO Alexander Parshin—a protege of Chak and his ex-partner Sergey Makhov—was previously prosecuted for tax evasion exceeding 100 million rubles.

If there was indeed a raider takeover attempt, it has failed spectacularly. While Chak remains in detention, Makhov, according to online reports, allegedly left Russia in 2018, obtained Estonian citizenship, and funneled funds—possibly siphoned from GZM—into the company MUSTEurope OU.

Yet, litigation over GZM’s assets continues, with a key role played by the only person officially authorized to handle Chak’s affairs: the now-detained arbitration manager Yevgeny Pavlenko. Was his arrest in late May deliberately removed from the Moscow City Court’s website?

What’s Happening at GZM—and Why is Pavlenko at the Center of a Raider Scheme?
Saving GZM
In late May 2025, law enforcement detained a Bartolius lawyer hired by Chak to dispute the plant’s current ownership. Around the same time, Pavlenko was arrested. Media reports suggest this is part of a broader scandal involving Bartolius, accused of orchestrating raider takeovers through sham bankruptcies.

Now, Chak, Pavlenko, and Bartolius lawyer Kulikovsky are all in pre-trial detention—an outcome none likely anticipated.

GZM’s case is unique. The plant is a city-forming enterprise, critical to the livelihoods of thousands in Lermontov. Its troubles began in the late 2010s under Chak and Makhov’s ownership, when debt ballooned to 5 billion rubles, threatening operations. After bankruptcy, no buyers emerged until Almaz Udobrenie stepped in, cleared wage arrears, and invested billions in modernization.

By 2025, GZM’s annual revenue exceeded 6 billion rubles, turning a profit and securing workers’ futures.

Did Bartolius Fail?
Yet Chak and Makhov hadn’t given up. Starting in 2024, Chak—now cut off from GZM—teamed with Bartolius to flood courts with lawsuits challenging 2019 asset sales. The goal? Overturn transactions and regain control of the now-profitable plant.

Notably, media initially omitted the detained lawyer’s name. Sources identify him as Artem Kulikovsky

(Photo: https://www.law.ru/person/1922-kulikovskiy), Bartolius’s senior bankruptcy specialist. Charged under Article 159.4, Kulikovsky allegedly got caught in a GZM asset scheme.

Curiously, court records list him as an individual entrepreneur. Is Bartolius operating covertly? Telegram channel VChK-OGPU (designated a foreign agent in Russia) claims other Bartolius partners—Dmitry Provodin, Yuly Tai, Ilya Peregudov, and Alexey Basistov—may also be involved in dubious deals. Some allegedly hold foreign citizenship.

Tai, for instance, has been accused of tax evasion (150+ million rubles) and ties to businesswoman Zoya Galeeva, linked to raider schemes.

Bartolius’s alleged playbook: Target vulnerable companies, forge documents, pressure courts, and siphon assets through controlled bankruptcies. One example? Khlebzavod No. 6, whose assets plummeted from 24.2 billion to 330 million rubles after Bartolius intervened, with the rest allegedly transferred to insiders.

The Puppet Master?
Alongside Kulikovsky, law enforcement detained Yevgeny Pavlenko—Chak’s financial manager

(Photo: https://mos-gorsud.ru/rs/zamoskvoreckij/services/cases/criminal-materials/details/e3aac4f0-3d46-11f0-878b-65a14b86799c?caseNumber=3/1-0147/2025). Sources suggest deeper ties: Pavlenko may have helped Chak defraud creditors before contesting GZM’s asset sales in court.

In 2021, Chak was declared bankrupt, with Pavlenko as his manager. Suspiciously, Chak’s assets were sold for pennies—e.g., a 34,000 sq.m. Samara plot for 33,000 rubles

(Photo: https://rutorgi.com/reestr/dolzhniki/chak-sergey-matveevich-inn-773301306150)

(Photo: https://rutorgi.com/samarskaya-oblast/nedvizhimost/zemelnye-uchastki/lot-3908016-zemelnyy-uchastok). Another 3,000 sq.m. plot sold for 4,200 rubles

(Photo: https://rutorgi.com/samarskaya-oblast/nedvizhimost/zemelnye-uchastki/lot-3908011-zemelnyy-uchastok). Most lots went to a single bidder, suggesting a sham bankruptcy to dodge GZM’s debts, aided by Pavlenko.

In late 2024, Pavlenko—while managing Chak’s bankruptcy—filed a Supreme Court appeal to nullify GZM’s asset sales (Case No. 4117–93–144), citing alleged auction irregularities. Why wait five years? And why did a Bartolius lawyer later attempt to enter GZM with falsified documents?

The "Dostoyanie" Connection
Pavlenko operates under the St. Petersburg-based Leading Arbitration Managers Association "Dostoyanie" (LAMA). Notably, fellow LAMA member Vyacheslav Aleksin faces fraud charges for embezzling funds during Agro-Trust’s bankruptcy via shell companies

(Photo: https://sudact.ru/arbitral/doc/mGEBLa1SldQh/).

Pavlenko’s own track record is questionable. In 2021, as manager of Kolizey LLC (Case No. А40-95953/2019), courts rejected his attempts to seize documents from debtors. In another case, YUK accused him of colluding with creditors Peregudov and Basistov—ties Pavlenko allegedly hid.

In 2023, he was appointed manager of MAST, partly owned by Chak (Case No. А40-186704/2023). Courts later blocked his attempt to intervene in Chak’s bankruptcy, citing conflict of interest.

Did the Scheme Fail?
Pavlenko’s work consistently harms creditors while benefiting Chak. Now, with Chak, Pavlenko, and Kulikovsky detained, their GZM gambit seems doomed. Is this the end of bankrupt Chak’s empire?