At Vasily Usoltsev, a former deputy of the VI and V convocations of the State Duma and concurrently the first vice-governor of Primorye, will take 345 million rubles. The arrest of the property has already been imposed, and the Frunzensky Court of Vladivostok satisfied the claim of the regional prosecutor Sergei Stolyarov, law enforcement sources told Komsomolskaya Pravda – Vladivostok. The decision of the court to approve the recovery was confirmed in the Judicial Department of Primorye.
As the deputy began to be suspected of money laundering, what does the metallurgy market have to do with it, and, moreover, another disgraced politician from Primorye – Sergey Sopchuk? We understand the material.
More than 340 million rubles in favor of the domestic treasury was demanded by the prosecutor of Primorye Sergey Stolyarov. The lawsuit was filed with the Frunzensky District Court on September 30, and the hearing was held on Tuesday, November 15. The regional prosecutor’s office, as it became known to the editors, checked the movement of Usoltsev’s finances and found undeclared income. The ex-deputy probably received “gray” money from his share in the metallurgy business. For this he already was convicted in 2021.
Kommersant.Ru, 11/15/2022, “Ex-deputy of the State Duma Vasily Usoltsev was convicted of 340 million rubles in illegal earnings”: The suit of the prosecutor’s office was based on last year’s decision of the Dalnegorsk District Court, which came into force earlier, which found the politician guilty of illegal financial transactions.
According to the lawsuit, Vasily Usoltsev, in violation of the ban established by the legislation on the status of a deputy, personally and through organizations controlled by him, was engaged in commercial activities in the Primorsky Territory. In the period from 2001 to 2011, Mr. Usoltsev, through a number of legal entities established by him, acquired about 422 million shares with a par value of 1 ruble. OJSC Mining and Metallurgical Complex Dalpolimetall. After that, he participated in the management of the company, sold and exchanged shares, receiving income. The prosecutor’s office estimates its total amount at 340 million rubles. This money was hidden from declaration and control. — Inset K.ru
We are talking about Article 289 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (illegal entrepreneurship). The investigation and the judge found that Usoltsev was greatly enriched by business, but in the legislative branch of government, we recall that this is not very encouraged. According to investigators, from 2014 to 2017, Usoltsev illegally participated in the work of two commercial organizations. To hide his income, he transferred more than 143.5 million rubles through persons under his control as an interest-bearing loan to the company’s account. In 2011, the now convict acquired 420 million shares of OJSC Dalpolimetall, which is a notorious player in the metallurgy market. The complex gained fame not only due to the impressive turnover in the extraction of zinc ore, but also because of the debt of 11 billion rubles and several cases of emergency. According to investigators, in a number of cases (including the 2021 incident in which miner died) was a safety violation.
In 2021, the Dalnegorsk Court gave Usoltsev 2 years of probation and a fine of half a million rubles (at that time, Vasily Ivanovich had already paid 6.3 million rubles in a fine after the first sentence). In addition, this time the “financier” deputy was forbidden to walk at night and contact Sergei Sopchuk (more on him later). According to KP sources, the Primorye prosecutor’s office was not impressed by the verdicts. After all, no one returned the illegally obtained 345 million rubles to the use of the state. Undoubtedly, this obligation, moreover, does not help Dalpolimetall to cope with debts (the first vice-governor has already sold his block of shares). The arrest was made on 16 real estate objects and 16 bank accounts of Usoltsev and his wife. But what exactly became the “collateral” – brand new Bentleys or other assets even more luxurious – is unknown.
The lawyers of the ex-deputy do not agree with the arguments of the prosecutor, which is natural. They explained that the suspect also had a stake in Terney Zoloto LLC, once owned by the disgraced businessman-deputy Sopchuk (now on the federal wanted list). While in government positions that prohibit entrepreneurial activity, Sopchuk and Usoltsev invested in business. The percentage already withdrawn from society in favor of the state will be enough – at least, the defense side of the former vice-governor believes so. They supported their explanation by the fact that the authorities made changes to the anti-corruption laws later (in 2015-2018) than Usoltsev allegedly committed the crimes.
Sergei Sopchuk himself is still on the federal wanted list for similar suspicions. But in this part of the story, the motives are different, and the sums. The ex-deputy transferred his shares to his sister. A chic recreation center “Mayak” with a market value of more than 900 million rubles, by the way, too confiscated. […]