$2 million for the supreme judge
Let us remind readers of the essence of the dizzying story that ended in 2021 with the verdict of the Central District Court of the city of Togliatti in the case of an attempt to bribe a judge of the RF Armed Forces. At one time, the Federal Tax Service considered that one of the largest chemical enterprises in Russia, Togliattiazot, underestimated export earnings from the sale of ammonia in 2010, and ToAZ was charged additional income tax, the amount of which, together with a fine and penalties, exceeded 710 million rubles. The company tried to appeal such a decision for a long time, and in 2015 the cassation appeal came to the RF Armed Forces.
And then, as the investigating authorities considered, the beneficiary of PJSC Togliattiazot convicted in absentia in Russia Sergei Makhlai (he has long been a US citizen and lives overseas) gave a direct instruction to his subordinate, the head of the board of Togliattikhimbank Alexander Popov – find a suitable intermediary and through him give a bribe to the judge of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. As the authors of the brisk combination decided, for $ 2 million, the servant of Themis had to cancel the “unfair” decision of the tax authorities. And then Mr. Popov opened a cell in his bank, where he put part of the agreed amount – it was soon to be taken by intermediaries. But, as they say, “something went wrong” – and the Supreme Court refused to send a cassation appeal to the collegium.
In the end, Makhlai and Popov, whom the media managed to dub with the sonorous definition of “bankster”, became defendants in several criminal cases, the most serious of which was the case on charges of creating an organized criminal community (Article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The court found that the actions of Makhlai’s OPS in only one case of fraud on an especially large scale (part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) caused significant damage to the state economy: damage to ToAZ in the amount of 77 billion rubles, and the treasury lost 2.5 billion rubles of taxes. As for Popov personally, in 2021 he received a term of 7.5 years for attempted bribery of an official through an intermediary for committing obviously illegal actions, by a group of persons by prior agreement, on an especially large scale (part 3 of article 30 and part 5 article 291 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Buy Judgment: Attempt #2?
But the story doesn’t end there, of course. According to informed sources, Makhlai really needs the “bankster” Popov today, precisely at large (we will clarify why exactly below). This means that any “surprises” are not ruled out, including the second attempt to “skid” into the aircraft. More than solid sums for this, obviously, are available. It is not for nothing that criminal schemes worked in 2005-2013, enriching the fugitive owner of ToAZ by many billions of rubles. He wrote about the nuances of the cases of Makhlai and Popov Legal Report.
As it became known to LR, Popov’s associates, who are at large, are currently making desperate attempts to influence the decision of the Judicial Collegium of the Armed Forces, which, judging by the entry in the official file of cases, should be made very soon – May 16. And this time, even more authoritative and skillful intermediaries, “deciders”, went into action, let’s call them that. Their level may be indirectly indicated by the fact that the lawyers of the former chairman of the board of Togliattikhimbank in the Kuibyshevsky District Court of Togliatti, where the petition for Popov’s parole was also soon to be considered, asked on April 17 to postpone the hearing. Some online media write about their firm confidence in the “purchased decision” of the RF Armed Forces and the “final decision on the issue” of release. One can only speculate about how much such arrogance costs …
We repeat: the main intrigue of the forthcoming trial in the Supreme Court is that there will be considered the case of Popov’s participation in organizing the bribery of a judge of the same court. A truly extraordinary event.
Meanwhile, Legal.Report sent an official request to the Supreme Court. We ask the distinguished court to provide answers that will be used in the preparation of journalistic material on the outcome of the case. Namely: what is the position of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation on the revision of the scandalous case? Which deputy chairman of the Supreme Court referred the case to the Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court and what exactly did he motivate his position with? We will certainly acquaint our readers with the answers.
Ukrainian trace in the case of a criminal banker
So why Alexander Popov so interested in the holder of a US passport – the former beneficiary No. 1 of ToAZ Sergei Makhlai? The position of the investigators who promoted the Makhlai-Popov case on charges of creating an organized crime group, regarding the role of the latter, was quite specific: he organized the financing of the criminal community, in particular, withdrew the stolen funds to the overseas offshores of Makhlai and other then owners of ToAZ. He, according to investigators, developed tax evasion schemes and implemented corruption algorithms, with the help of which Makhlai and Co. “resolved issues” with law enforcement and judicial authorities for years. It’s embarrassing to talk about such trifles as a virtuoso black cash out.
Therefore, being at large, Popov, with his experience of scrolling through various financial schemes, can be very useful to Makhlai. After all, the ex-owner of ToAZ manages a substantial fortune withdrawn from Russia, on which, in fact, he built his business in America. And, according to sources, in general, after the well-known events, Makhlai became very angry with Russian law enforcement agencies and with our country. It is possible that, together with his new foreign partners, he is preparing a “plan B” with the ambitious goal of destabilizing the situation in the Russian Federation. In fact, ten years ago, well-known skills and abilities were tested in Ukraine, where, with the participation of a personal banker, local nationalist organizations were supposedly financed, and a few years ago two major lawsuits were filed against Russia at the ECHR. Thus, Popov’s talents will come in very handy. In addition, boundless financial flows from the united Europe and the United States have poured into Ukraine for some time now, and this is a great opportunity to catch your fish in them. But I would like to believe that on May 16 the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will not allow all these destructive hopes to be realized.