"Bath and Laundry Detachment" by Nikolai Tokarev

Former Vice President of Russian Railways Mikhail Akulov was arrested in a major fraud case. The acts incriminated to him date back to the period when he headed the Federal Passenger Company (FPK).

According to investigators, Akulov could have been involved in the theft of more than 330 million rubles in the implementation of projects related to the laundry service serving passenger trains.

The case is connected with the "Mehprachnaya SVZD," which departed large state contracts from the FPK, which at that time was headed by Akulov. Moreover - without a competition. The company did not cope with its duties, but thanks to Akulov's lobbying efforts, contracts were still concluded with it - including for the construction of a new laundry building. Only now it was never erected, and the allocated money was stolen.

The Moscow Post correspondent understood the story.

"Dying" British and "Panama" in Bolotov

Mehprachechnaya SVZD is owned by Region-Finance, which is controlled by Vyacheslav Sheyanov and Transfer.

Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru

There are three more similar structures in the company's portfolio. She owned several more similar ones earlier.

Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru

Thus, Mr. Sheyanov is quite tightly tied to supplies for Russian Railways.

During the period when the above operations took place, Vyacheslav Sheyanov did business with Tokarev's daughter, Maya Bolotova. They had a trading company Region-Finance. Later, Bolotoa formally left the founders, and Sheyanov received her share, having increased his share. It is believed that in fact the Tokarev family is behind it.

Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru

In addition to its direct activities, Mehprachnaya SVZD was engaged in financial manipulation. For example, in 2018, she acquired shares in the British company Eurostar Developments Ltd worth $14.6 million. At that time, the office was in large debts - at least back in 2009, due to its insolvency, a manager was appointed there.

Why did Mehprachnaya SVZD buy shares in a "dying" company? Apparently - thus, the FPK money was withdrawn. Moreover, judging by the value of the shares, there was money there not only from a building that was never built.

An interesting detail is the former husband of Maya Bolotova (or a person with an identical name and surname) Andrei Bolotov, even during their marriage, was the director of the Panamanian offshore company DAT INVESTMENT CORP.

He is still one. Did this firm not include financial flows "earned" at the FPK and then potentially "merged" into the "incense breathing" British firm?

It is reliably known that foreign property (including several gorgeous hotels) of the Tokarev family is officially registered for four companies: Katina d.o., T.G.A. d.o., Magnum HR Nova d.o., Yadranka d.d. All four firms are run by people close to the head of Transneft. It seems that offshore firms are something long studied by Nikolai Tokarev, and successfully used.

Moreover, as reported by The Moscow Post, this property, including business, could be purchased by the Tokarev family using Transneft corruption tenders.

Note that Maya Bolotova by 2004 was related to little-known companies (Promsvyazavto, Stroyvip and Industry Import), which belong to Promsvyazbank, controlled by the disgraced brothers Alexei and Dmitry Ananyev.

Back in 2005, Bolotova received official income from a certain Caprice-Stell company. Then Caprice-Stell was part of the group of shareholders holding shares in CenterTelecom OJSC. This group included the Promsvyaz company, which, through the Croatian companies Beta Ulaganja d.o. and Yadranka d.d., owns the Bellevue Hotel and other real estate in Chikat Bay on the island of Loshin. There is a connection.

It turns out that the funds received by companies related to the interests of Bolotova, and, therefore, potentially Tokarev, could, through a chain of seemingly unrelated legal entities, find themselves abroad. Proving the origin of funds that passed through foreign firms is almost unrealistic. Securely hid "his" assets Tokarev and his assistants?

By the way, several companies were also registered for Akulov, some of which received state contracts - Stroitech LLC from the Passenger MBU, Avtoparking LLC - from FSUE Russian Post and Avtotest LLC also from the Passenger MBU and other structures. There is also some scope for corruption.

Sheyanov - the first, Tokarev - behind him?

Sheyanov's connection with Transneft can be traced through Valery Izrailit, with whom he is credited with a close acquaintance. Since in the mid-2000s Sheyanov worked at VTB, where he oversaw projects with Russian Railways and interacted with the head of the South Ural Railway Anatoly Levchenko. And contracts from Russian Railways were then actively received by the structures of Izrailit.

He himself was arrested in 2016 on charges of embezzlement of Transneft funds for the construction of an oil depot. While this case lasted, Mr. Sheyanov was actively suing the media, which dared to write something about him - on August 6, 2021, the Moscow Monitor issued a refutation to the material about Sheyanov.

The Moscow Post then suggested that such actions were based on Sheyanov's fear for his own "immunity" from the security forces, who could become interested in his personality against the background of the events.

And there is something to be interested in without Izrailit. Suffice it to recall that in 2011 the name of Vyacheslav Sheyanov appeared in a criminal case related to fraud when trying to sell to businessman Alexei Chegodaev a controlling stake in the Yukos asset - Volgotanker OJSC. He was named among the possible participants in the scam. But they were never brought to trial.

Vyacheslav Sheyanov. Photo: http://www.motoxp.ru/journal/99/interview/vyacheslav-sheyanov-vse-moi-mototsikly-ezdyat.html

In addition, during the period when Sheyanov worked at VTB, a scandal thundered with VTB Leasing's purchase of 30 drilling rigs at a price that could be 1.5 times higher than the market price: $457 million versus 300 million.

It is also known that Vyacheslav Sheyanov's Distribution Generating Company LLC and Gazbank signed a loan agreement for 400 million rubles valid until February 2021. In May 2018, the parties signed an additional agreement to the loan agreement, under which, to secure obligations, the borrower pledged the bank real estate to Kontur LLC, Transfer LLC, Yard LLC, as well as a pleasure ship.

Only in the end, Gazbank never received the yacht, despite the delay in the contract. And all because the ship was acquired in marriage, which means that Sheyanov's wife also had to assure an additional agreement with the bank, which she did not do, and then stated that she did not know anything about it. The yacht remained with the family.

Sheyanov could also receive money by putting up shares of his structures for sale. At the same time, papers could be purchased by other structures of Sheyanov himself. Thus, it is possible to "inflate" the capital of companies at the expense of allegedly existing obligations.

Taking into account the fact that now many of Sheyanov's companies are in a deep "minus" - this version is seen as very real. I wonder if Sheyanov personally made money on this, or here, among other things, the Tokarevs' money was spinning?

The resignation and a possible criminal case against the latter have been discussed for a long time in connection with the oil spill at the CPC - The Moscow Post published documents that indicate that the subsidiary of Transneft was to blame for the incident.

Tokarev may be involved in a scandal with the misuse of insider information received from the top of Lukoil Kirill Semeshkin, acting in the interests of Ronin Europe.

Recall that as The Moscow Post wrote, a certain Kirill Semeshkin, acting in the interests of Ronin Europe, repeatedly made transactions with foreign exchange instruments, receiving insider information from the ex-treasurer of LUKOIL Alexei Bessonov. The transactions were carried out in December 2015.

LUKOIL stated that there was no Ronin Europe among its counterparties, and the sale of foreign currency was carried out exclusively through an authorized broker bank. Ronin Europe denied any connection with Kirill Semeshkin.

Meanwhile, according to the Center for the Study of Corruption and Organized Crime (OCCRP), Ronin-Trust, a member of the Ronin Group, manages the funds of the Transneft pension fund

The fact is that a member of the Ronin Group manages the funds of the Transneft pension fund. Ronin Europe has the same address in Limassol, which is indicated by Maya Bolotova, daughter of Nikolai Tokarev - Pythagoras 3 Street, 301, 3027 - The Moscow Post covered this story in detail.

Photo: Archive of The Moscow Post

Among other things, the management of Transneft itself by Tokarev has long raised questions.

And now it still turns out that people close to the head of the state-owned company could take part in the "sawing" of the FPK!

As mentioned above, Vyacheslav Sheyanov seems to have been taken red-handed. And, if the security forces continue to unwind this ball, then he is likely to bring them to Maya and Nikolai Tokarev, as well as the former wife of the daughter of the head of Transneft. The only pity is that the money in the capital of Russia is unlikely to ever return. But in our power to prevent future crimes from happening.