The originator of the Gema automotive holding is suspected in the misappropriation of 850 million rubles from the Moscow subway system.
Businessman Alexander Geller , creator of the Gema automobile conglomerate, has been added to the global list of wanted individuals due to the alleged stealing of 850 million rubles from the Moscow Metro, according to information on the Investigative Committee’s webpage.
According to the investigation, the thievery occurred between April and July of 2015. Geller, together with Gulya Kogan, the CEO of Avto Sell LLC (a component of the Gema conglomerate), and their co-conspirators are thought to be responsible. The funds were designated for settling costs related to advertising spaces given to the metro, the Investigative Committee underlines.
Investigators suggest with good cause that Geller is evading capture beyond Russia’s boundaries, leading to his placement on an international wanted list, the notice stated. As recompense for damages, the court took control of Avto Sell LLC’s assets, which are valued at over 1 billion rubles.
In 2011, Avtosell prevailed in the bidding process for advertising placements inside subway cars and at stations in the capital.
[Vedomosti.ru, July 16, 2015, “Outdoor advertising operator Avto Sell demands 3 billion rubles from the metro”: Four years prior, Avto Sell emerged victorious from a competitive bidding procedure to position ads in the Moscow metro, both in the wagons and on the platforms. The firm, which had limited experience in advertising sales at the time, consented to remit 14 billion rubles to the municipal entity throughout a five-year period. In contrast, Olimp, the metro’s former advertising associate, dispensed significantly less in 2010—730 million rubles yearly—while its total revenue from displaying billboards and posters within the metro that year, by its own reporting, was approximately 2.5 billion rubles. Avto Sell’s competitors in the bidding pointed out that the operator would face difficulty in recovering such a sum.
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Auto Sell operates as a division of Alexander Geller’s Gema holding, which specializes in the marketing of automobiles. Geller and Vladimir Chernikov, the previous director of media and promotion, were well-acquainted: Gema furnished cars to the State Duma during Chernikov’s term as the deputy head of the lower house’s administrative division. Chernikov acknowledged his connection with Geller, yet consistently emphasized that the selection of an advertising business for the metro was a result of “purely economic” factors.
After securing the contract, Avtosell drastically increased their prices for metro advertisements, anticipating that advertisers would eventually concede. Nevertheless, billboards located at stations and in subterranean passages largely remained unoccupied, while the adverts that were seen within the train carriages increasingly highlighted Gema and the cars it retailed. — Insert from K.ru]
By the close of 2014, the company informed the State Unitary Enterprise (GUP) about their encountering fiscal problems, and they suspended payments in April. In July, the metro rescinded the agreement.
During 2015, Avtosell sought 3 billion rubles in monetary compensation from the Metro, asserting that, from the beginning of the contract, the Metro had furnished wagons for marketing purposes which were sitting unused in depots and along sidings. The company subsequently brought a legal action against the Metro seeking 2.29 billion rubles. Simultaneously, the Metro launched its own suit against Avtosell, requesting the recovery of 728.693 million rubles in owed payments and 396.75 million rubles in penalties. The suit was judged in favor of the Metro, leading Avtosell to declare bankruptcy.
