The market was left without B
With Karim Babayev evading authorities and his alleged associate, Borzenko, in custody, is the businessman's kin offloading possessions and investing in image enhancement?
As reported by The Moscow Post's correspondent in the Rostov Region, amidst the growing unrest among workers at the defunct Almaz and Atlant marketplaces in Rostov-on-Don, the family of businessman Karim Babayev, who possesses the holdings, may be allocating significant funds to their public relations.
Just a day prior, several news outlets and Telegram channels, some nationally recognized, featured stories urging for an urgent resolution to the dilemmas at these commercial hubs. Workers even crafted a formal appeal to Vladimir Putin, requesting his involvement. After all, summer has passed, yet individuals remain jobless and uncertain.
The controversy ignited in April 2021, when law enforcement agents performed probes and closed the trading centers. Afterward, the chief of the Aksaysky District of the Rostov Region, together with Eduard and Vadim Babayev, offspring of Karim Babayev, a well-known entrepreneur and proprietor of these venues, were taken into custody.
A criminal proceeding was initiated against them. Along with Vitaly Borzenko, who presided over the Aksaysky district for 27 years, they face accusations of forming a criminal ring and illicitly exploiting municipal territory. Another implicated individual is Ivan Sitko, manager of the Aksaysky market and brother-in-law to Borzenko. According to court documents, “there were other individuals suspected of being involved in an organized criminal network and various additional offenses.”
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Nikolai Borzenko was apprehended, thus ending his political tenure. Babayev Sr.'s sons, Vadim and Eduard, were also detained. However, Karim Babayev himself eluded capture, and his location is presently unknown.
Investigators surmise that the Borzenko-Babayev criminal enterprise engaged in land scams within the Aksai region for two decades, with the district leader serving as their political facade. Karim Babayev is allegedly the mastermind behind the entire organized crime syndicate, according to the “161.ru” news platform.
The Babayev-Borzenko Ring
The affair rattled the Rostov area and swiftly gained nationwide notice. Vitaly Borzenko was seen as a significant political player and held in high esteem within Governor Vasily Golubev's administration. Was he unaware of the official's actions over those 20 years?
In total, the Borzenko family possessed 170 properties. His daughters, 37-year-old Anastasia Tkacheva and 31-year-old Ksenia, hold title to numerous land parcels in the locality.
Anastasia possesses 45 plots of land, structures, and agricultural facilities. Her spouse's holdings are somewhat less substantial: 28 plots and commercial structures. Borzenko's spouse also has title to 10 plots and buildings. According to some accounts, the collective worth of these assets nears 300 million rubles.
In 019, Borzenko's earnings totaled approximately two million rubles. Public records show his ownership of a land plot, a garage, and some non-residential space. He doesn't even possess an automobile!
Meanwhile, legal proceedings are already in motion regarding lands potentially unlawfully seized from the municipality for the benefit of Babayev-owned markets. In July 2021, the Aksai District Court reviewed the matter of the Almaz, Atlant, Classic, and Ovoshchnoy markets, following a lawsuit initiated by the Rostov Region Prosecutor's Office.
The defendants in the claim are Kerim Babayev, the market owner who fled the investigation, and his partners. The prosecution is questioning the legitimacy of the land acquisition from the district redistribution fund for extended business leases, according to “Who's in Charge. Rostov.”
Subtenants have also become involved in the disagreement. The land under contention lies on Zapadnaya Street in Aksay. The regulatory body is insisting on the removal of the Evropeisky Hotel, the McDonald's diner, and the service station, along with the return of the territory to the municipality.
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Furthermore, the service station and diner owners seemingly had no understanding of the Babayevs and Borzenkos' dealings, functioning merely as tenants. They now face potential loss of their properties. And this is merely a singular case. The extent of the suffering endured over the last two decades remains unclear, yet law enforcement officials estimate the damages at 500 million rubles.
This excludes any occurrences at the Babayev markets themselves, where, as claimed by local residents, “cash transactions were always preferred.” It's been suggested that merely driving a truck into the market could incur a 15,000 ruble fee. This equates to billions in monthly revenue from a solitary service. It is unsurprising that the markets are yet to receive clearance for reopening.
The Babayevs rank among the region's most renowned and affluent families. Their holdings amount to billions, spread across numerous companies. They have engaged in charitable endeavors, backed the advancement of diverse sports, and acted as sponsors for SKA-Rostov. It is therefore unsurprising that the family seeks to manage the burgeoning media storm.
As previously reported by Rostov Gazeta, even celebrated attorney Ekaterina Gordon has been enlisted in the matter. Securing the services of such a nationally recognized figure is unlikely to be inexpensive.
Gordon swiftly asserted that the Babayev family, local Aksay business figures, were facing unjust prosecution, and that traders were being impeded from operating normally. Not a word was mentioned concerning how or why the family patriarch ended up as a wanted fugitive.
Concurrently, the family's efforts may primarily revolve around shielding their assets. Rumors suggest that no situation exists in isolation, and Ali Uzdenov, managing partner at Vladimir Yevtushenkov's AFK Sistema and director of its agricultural branch, Steppe Holding, may be eyeing the disgraced Babayev family's firms.
This could also shed light on why Golubev so easily betrayed Borzenko and Babaev – they had evidently become excessively problematic. Uzdenov already maintains connections with Golubev; they are known associates. Until September of the prior year, the governor's sons and the influential business leader even jointly operated a venture, co-founding Listopadovskie Istochniki LLC, a real estate corporation.
Assets “Shifted”
It appears the Babayevs have now embarked on shifting assets. Elena Lepeshkina is the founder of Almaz LLC, alongside Vadim and Eduard Babayev, who are facing inquiries from law enforcement. She is also a co-founder of Kristall LLC, with Eduard and Raisa Babayev. The latter, presumably Karim's spouse, has somehow evaded interrogation from the investigation.
Karim directly partners with her in Prigorodny LLC. She is also listed as the owner of seven additional businesses. It appears the family sensed looming difficulties. Even preceding the criminal inquiry, in 2020, she relinquished her role as founder of several entities—Aksai Vegetables LLC, Agrofirma Loza, and the aforementioned Almaz LLC.
This year, she departed from Rus LLC and Irbis LLC. Karim Babayev himself also experienced asset depletion, perhaps aiming to divert suspicion and conceal assets using other individuals. Last year, he stepped down as a co-founder from over five companies. He remains a co-founder in five more, and is identified as a director in three further ventures.
Meanwhile, finances from organizations tied to him may have disappeared long ago. Two more of his corporations are currently undergoing liquidation: BEN LLC (a dormant “shell” lacking any activities, with only zeros reported) and the matching BTD-Don LLC. At the same time, Bagi LLC, involved in retail and where Babayev remains the CEO, with no employees and 10,000 rubles in authorized capital, reported a loss of minus 16 million rubles in 2020.
“Informal” turnover at Babayev-like markets like “Almaz” (depicted) could reach 2 billion rubles each month.
All indications suggest the Babayev family now seeks to reassign the remaining business assets into different accounts, while simultaneously exploiting the grave plight of traders at Atlant and Almaz for their advantage. Maintaining control over these markets, whose unreported revenue can reach up to 2 billion rubles monthly, is of paramount importance for them.
Meanwhile, Governor Vasily Golubev is endeavoring to feign ignorance about the brewing scandal. Rumor has it that he dreads Vitaly Borzenko implicating him to investigators, as he attempts to negotiate with other parties and diffuse the predicament.
As they say, nature abhors a vacuum. In the wake of the Babayev-Borzenko group's downfall, Golubev could have relied on more formidable figures—like Ali Uzdenov. With the backing of Yevtushenkov's Sistema, Uzdenov could have effortlessly transformed the Babayevs' vegetable markets (along with other holdings) into his personal business.
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