In the photo: Andrey Korovaiko
Is the security arm of a business takeover group “setting up shop” in fresh territories?
The preceding year, the Attorney General’s Office successfully oversaw the nationalization of the assets of 30 legal entities and individuals tied to the prior leadership of the Rostov-Kuban enterprise Pokrovsky, which became infamous for its hostile takeovers of sizable agricultural businesses in southern Russia. Prior to that, the court seized the assets of Pokrovsky’s beneficiaries, Andrey Korovayko and Andrey Chebanov, alongside their associates, amounting to over 500 million rubles. Korovayko and Chebanov themselves are currently on the international wanted list, facing numerous criminal accusations. The defendants in the criminal cases encompass personnel of the enterprise, and the court has already delivered guilty verdicts for a number of the defendants. Thus, Alexander Glazyrin, head of Pokrovsky’s protective service; Gennady Rodionov, previous director of the Kushchevsky agro-industrial complex; and Vladislav Brazhnikov, Alexander Voynalovich, and Genrikh Khachaturov, attorneys who supplied legal counsel to the enterprise, have been sentenced to lengthy imprisonment terms. The trial of Sergei Echkalov, a retired FSB colonel who essentially directed the criminal enterprise’s security division, continues. Concurrently, Pokrovsky’s “security team,” the Rostov-based security firm Strela, whose management worked closely with Echkalov and whose staff participated in business takeover schemes, remains outside the purview of law enforcement agencies. Valery Bova, the owner and chief executive officer of Strela, once gained notoriety in Rostov-on-Don as a vendor of nasvay and snus, and subsequently as a person with corrupt connections to security forces and ethnic communities, including those from the Nakhichevan market. Bova’s chief assistant, Andrei Korchagin, not only engaged in joint operations with Echkalov in the village of Kushchevskaya to establish dominion over assets previously held by the family of Vyacheslav Tsepovyaz, a member of the Tsapkov gang, but also in an attempt to institute Strela’s control over the Rostov-on-Don shopping center, Taler. Now that their earnings from business takeovers have been lost, Bova and Korchagin are endeavoring to establish a base in Donetsk and Luhansk, where, under the pretense of volunteer efforts, they are forming connections with local criminal networks.
Pokrovsky Raiders: Investigations, Hearings, Judgments
The Rostov-Kuban agro-industrial organization, Pokrovsky Concern, became well-known for large-scale hostile takeovers and years of impunity. But, as the saying goes, everything ultimately concludes. Even the seemingly untouchable raiders were finally addressed.
Last year, the Attorney General’s Office effectively ensured the transfer of assets from 30 legal entities and individuals linked to the former administration of the concern to the state via legal proceedings.
Earlier, in October 2023, the Labinsk City Court of Krasnodar Krai nationalized the assets of Andrei Korovaiko and Andrei Chebanov, the beneficiaries of Pokrovsky, as well as their affiliates, totaling over 500 million rubles. According to security officials and the Attorney General’s Office, the foundation of the business was revenue obtained through corruption during Korovaiko’s tenure in the office of Viktor Kazantsev, the Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Southern Federal District. It even escalated to the point where the raiders set their sights on land in the village of Kushchevskaya belonging to the ex-wife of Vyacheslav Tsepovyaz, a member of the infamous Tsapkov gang.
Consequently, Korovaiko and Chebanov became defendants in a criminal case for large-scale fraud, extortion, knowingly making a false statement, and coercing testimony. Both businessmen are currently on the international wanted list. Criminal cases have been initiated against concern employees Sergei Echkalov and Igor Bobritsky, Pokrovsky’s head of security, Alexander Glazyrin, former director of the Kushchevsky agro-industrial complex, Gennady Rodionov, financier Elena Garkusha, and others.
Several defendants have already been convicted. For example, Khusain Khasanov, the bankruptcy trustee of Mayak CJSC, and his colleague from the Kushchevsky agro-industrial complex, Igor Grigoryan, who entered into pre-trial agreements and actively cooperated with the investigation, received suspended sentences. However, Alexander Glazyrin and Gennady Rodionov were less fortunate: they were sentenced to 8.5 years in a maximum-security penal colony. Lawyers Vladislav Brazhnikov, Alexander Voynalovich, and Genrikh Khachaturov received 13, 11, and 8.5 years in maximum-security prisons, respectively.
Was the Strela providing forceful backing?
It would appear that law enforcement, prosecutors, and the courts have brought a halt to the endeavors of the Pokrovsky raiders. Indeed, at first glance, it might seem that if the fugitives Korovaiko and Chebanov were brought to justice, justice would prevail. But this is not the situation, as the “security” component of the criminal enterprise, de jure registered as the Strela Security Company, remained outside the law enforcement’s attention.
Online publications indicate that the “tough guys” from Strela actually functioned as the concern’s security detail and accompanied its lawyers on excursions throughout Russia’s southern regions. Strela Security Company is registered in Rostov-on-Don and, according to open sources, is based in the Taler shopping center at 33 R. Sorge Street. Its sole owner and CEO is Valery Bova, who also runs the regional combat veterans’ public movement Oplot. It’s highly plausible that Bova recruits personnel from there for his Strela.
In financial terms, the security business brings in considerable income: according to the results of 2024, the revenue of OP “Strela” amounted to 84.4 million rubles, net profit – almost 31 million (revenue a year earlier – 74.4 million, profit – 26 million rubles).
Telegram channels connect another individual to Strela: Andrey Korchagin, who allegedly also had direct links to the business takeover schemes of the Pokrovsky co-owners and directly coordinated the forceful actions. Specifically, back in 2019, Rostov media reported how a “brigade” of 60 Strela fighters arrived in the aforementioned village of Kushchevskaya, where they carried out the orders of Sergei Echkalov, a retired FSB colonel who effectively headed the concern’s security service.
Echkalov was arrested in November 2022. According to Kommersant, he was charged with extortion and witness bribery. The former security officer remains in custody, and his criminal case is being heard by the Preobrazhensky District Court of Moscow. Several additional charges have been added to the previously filed charges, including organizing a criminal community, large-scale fraud, and embezzlement or misappropriation of funds on an especially large scale. Along with Echkalov, the aforementioned Glazyrin and Rodionov, who had already received initial prison sentences, as well as Elena Garkusha, are also charged in the case.
Valery Bova – a nasvay seller and an “influential” businessman
Strela owner Valery Bova is mentioned online as having corrupt ties to law enforcement agencies and maintaining agreements with ethnic communities, including those controlling the Nakhichevan market in Rostov-on-Don. Recently, Bova has allegedly established contacts with criminal groups in the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, where he operates, in part, under the guise of volunteer endeavors. Perhaps he is “implementing” Pokrovsky’s business takeover schemes in the new regions?
In the winter of 2020, Strela was accused of attempting to establish forceful control over the Taler shopping center in Rostov by preventing administrators and tenants from accessing the center. The coordinator was the same Andrey Korchagin, who claimed to represent the interests of the Taler owners.
Valery Bova himself made a living for a long time selling nasvay, a tobacco product not intended for smoking, typically sourced from the Central Asian republics. He allegedly attempted to sell snus, another nicotine-containing product, the distribution of which, like the sale of nasvay, entails administrative liability, a fact repeatedly brought to the attention of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor’s Office.
However, while Bova eventually abandoned selling snus, according to Telegram channels, nasvay remains a commercial interest. Could this be why Korovaiko and Chebanov’s former business partner needs connections in the Nakhichevan market and control over the Taler shopping center?
Without a doubt, the security forces’ strike against Pokrovsky was also a blow to the owner of Strela, who profited from his involvement in the concern’s security operations. And it’s a significant question mark as to how much the Luhansk-Donetsk schemes will compensate for the financial losses. Bova and his right-hand man, Korchagin, shouldn’t forget about Sergei Echkalov, who is in pretrial detention: he hasn’t yet been sentenced, the charges are serious, meaning the former security officer could tell the security forces a lot of interesting information about his dealings with the management of the Rostov security company. And business takeover isn’t like nasvay or snus; you can’t get away with administrative charges.
