As it became known to Kommersant, the Main Investigative Directorate of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for Moscow completed investigative actions in a criminal case on the theft of controlling stakes in a large car-sharing company BelkaCar and the company Brainston. The amount stolen, according to investigators, exceeds 4 billion rubles. In the meantime, the Moscow City Court recently rejected a petition from the investigation to extend the detention of the defendants in this case – the general director of Singular C.IS, a German citizen Ralph Novak and financier Ilnur Azmukhanov – and transferred them under house arrest. Two more defendants, German businessman Fabian Kroycher and businessman Boris Zimin (included in the register of foreign agents), son of Dmitry Zimin, founder of VimpelCom, were arrested in absentia and put on the wanted list.
Moscow police have completed an investigation into a high-profile criminal case involving the theft of a controlling stake in the car-sharing company BelkaCar and the Brinston company. Now the accused and their lawyers, according to Kommersant, are already getting acquainted with the materials collected by the investigation. At the same time, German businessman Ralph Nowak and investment director of the Swiss investment fund Winterberg Group Ilnur Azmukhanov read volumes of their case while under house arrest. Recently, the Moscow City Court rejected the investigation’s petitions for another extension of the term of detention, softening the measure of restraint for the defendants after almost a year and a half of detention in a pre-trial detention center.
Recall that Singular C.IS CEO Novak, financier Azmukhanov, as well as wanted German citizen Fabian Kreicher and businessman Boris Zimin are considered by the investigation to be active participants in a criminal group that stole 52.47% of the shares of one of the largest Russian car sharing companies BelkaCar and 50% shares of Brownston LLC. The shares belonged to German businessman Benedikt Sobotka, who was recognized as a victim in the case. Judging by the materials of the investigation, the Brownston company managed the Russian assets of the businessman, and the stake in BelkaCar stolen by his partners then passed to him after Mr. Sobotka invested his funds in a car-sharing project at the stage of its launch.
The damage from the actions of the defendants is estimated by the investigation at a little over 4 billion rubles.
As previously reported by Kommersant, since September 22, 2021, the 10th department of the Main Investigation Department of the capital’s police headquarters, which specializes in cases related to the economy, has been engaged in this investigation. Note that initially the criminal case was initiated under Part 2 of Art. 201 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (abuse of authority that entailed grave consequences) in relation to unidentified persons. However, after Ralph Novak and Ilnur Azmukhanov were detained on February 15, 2022, the qualification of the crime they were charged with was changed. As a result, both defendants were charged with fraud on an especially large scale (part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). After the charges were brought against the defendants, they chose a measure of restraint: Mr. Novak was placed under house arrest, and his accomplice was placed in custody. However, later a German citizen was also sent to a pre-trial detention center.
A few months later, the investigation brought charges in absentia against Messrs. Kroycher and Zimin, who were also arrested in absentia and put on the wanted list.
According to the investigation, the criminal scheme aimed at stealing securities was developed by the defendants in 2017. At this time, according to the case file, the defendants entered into an agreement with persons from the management of the Cypriot offshore BelkaCar Ltd, not identified by the investigation. After that, these unidentified accomplices of the defendants, who have “organizational and administrative powers”, together with the accused, having deceived Mr. Sobotka, sold 35.5 thousand shares of the Cyprus offshore behind his back.
The Swiss Bryanston Resources AG, controlled by the accused, acted as the buyer of the stolen shares, according to the criminal case.
At the same time, the investigation is sure that the transaction for the purchase and sale of securities was fictitious, since there was no real payment for the shares. Almost in parallel with it, it follows from the case, under the leadership of Mr. Novak, 50% of the shares of the Russian “Bryanston” were also stolen.
It is worth noting that as part of interim measures, the Preobrazhensky Court, having satisfied the petition of the investigation, arrested 100% of the shares of the Russian Carsharing JSC, which is the management company of BelkaCar.
Mr. Zimin himself, after being charged in absentia, connected the criminal case with his political activities. He, in particular, was one of the public sponsors of the now convicted politician Alexei Navalny.