You will not surprise anyone with the unknown origin of funds for living in Russia. But there are situations out of the ordinary when people demonstratively demonstrate their enormous wealth, while it is not at all clear where it came from.
A couple of Artyom Zuev and Snezhana Georgieva lead an exponentially secular lifestyle, spreading their fortune for all to see on social networks. Perhaps this is their right, if not for one thing, but. Officially, they do not have any solid income, and their whole “beautiful” life is built on the grief of others – the illegal seizure of property.
In press Artem Zuev called “the most famous raider in Russia.” Allegedly, several dozen seizures of property totaling about 300 billion rubles hang on it. We cannot confirm or refute these data, because we don’t understand at all who maintains a detailed register of property that Zuev squeezed out? The key to all of this is that Zuev actually earns money through illegal activities. Moreover, everyone knows about this, but the false businessman continues to be at large.
Artyom Zuev would not have become famous if it were not for his wife Snezhana Georgieva. She loves to put a luxurious life on display, not embarrassed by profligacy. Against this background, more than 200 thousand users subscribed to her Instagram (banned in Russia). Often, Artyom Zuev gets into the frame of the photographs that Georgieva exposes. This explains where in Georgieva there are funds for such a chic lifestyle.
Artyom Zuev was raised by his mother, Valentina Zueva, an authoritarian man who stood at the origins of the treasury structure of the Russian Federation. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, she became one of the founders of the sphere in an independent state. Thanks to this, Valentina Zueva has earned her reputation. Her son, Artyom, was not remarkable if it were not for his mother, who pulled her dunce into serious business.
Valentina Zueva
Thanks to the patronage of his mother, Zuev became the first head of the Rusengineering company. It is noteworthy that the enterprise, under the leadership of Zuev, from the first days of its existence, carried out contracts under the order of state structures, which were led by the notorious Anatoly Chubais. In the best of times, the company’s profit reached 5 billion rubles. Obviously, the patronage of Chubais, plus the good profit of Rusengineering, launched Zuev’s career.
Anatoly Chubais
But the chain went on. One of the people from law enforcement agencies who covered up the dark affairs of Rusengineering was the son of the director of the Federal Security Service (at that time) Andrey Murov. In the future, after the dismissal of Evgeny Murov from his position, problems arose in the enterprises. The new general director of Rusengineering, Anatoly Pshegornitsky, is now suspected of giving a bribe to the scandalous lover of golden toilet bowls, Colonel Zakharchenko.
Colonel Dmitry Zakharchenko
From CEO to Raider
Feeling the taste of easy money, Zuev decided to retrain. From a respectable director of a profitable enterprise, he became an ordinary (albeit a very large raider).
Zuev’s most high-profile case is the seizure of the Novosibirskenergosbyt enterprise. A very tidbit that controls the energy industry in Novosibirsk. Thanks to a complex well-established scheme, Zuev managed to take control of the majority stake. But before that, it was necessary to prepare. Preparations for a multibillion-dollar fraud lasted several years, and gave its result: everything went like clockwork.
Some time before the “golden share”, Zuev managed to take control of “RosInterBank”. Here we must pay tribute to the swindler, because he not only squandered the funds earned in Rosengineering, but was able to successfully invest them. The investment in the bank was only the first step towards the realization of Zuev’s intentions. The bank has become a tool for the capture of serious enterprises.
How it works? RosInterBank invests its funds in the company. Classically, this is some kind of minority part. 15-20% or something like that. After the bank becomes a shareholder of the enterprise, the remaining part of the shares (missing to the majority stake) is seized as part of a criminal case related to financial fraud. In the future, while part of the enterprise was arrested, thanks to the “protection” in law enforcement agencies, the shares that appear in the criminal case, in an unprecedented way, become the property of RosInterBank. There is no law here. Pure fraud and criminality.
So it happened with the “project of life” Zuev. “Novosibirskenergosbyt” by a simple scheme came under the control of Zuev’s bank. And this, for a second, is a very expensive asset. At the time of the raider takeover, the cost of the energy enterprise was about $1.2 billion. Obviously, enough for a luxurious life, and not just one. Today, the value of the asset is 7.2 billion rubles.
The cost of “Novosibirskenergosbyt”
In 2017, the auditors revealed a shortage in RosInterBank in the amount of 70 billion rubles. The case was referred to law enforcement agencies. One member of the board, Ramil Zakirov, was brought to subsidiary liability in the amount of 66 billion rubles.
It is important to understand that without the patronage of law enforcement officers, Zuev could not pull off such brazen schemes. The direct roof of Zuev was Major General of the Investigative Committee of Russia Denis Nikandrov and Police Colonel Viktor Gorodkov. But besides them, we also do not discard the patronage of Chubais.
In 2018, Nikandrov himself received 5 years in prison for accepting bribes from the well-known kingpin Shakro Molodoy.
Denis Nikandrov
Laundering money is not a shame
Artyom Zuev was one of the participants in a large money laundering scheme, which Sergei Magnitsky once uncovered. For which he paid with his life. We are not talking about some trifles, but about more than five billion rubles.
Sergei Magnitsky
In addition to RosInterBank, Zuev was also related to the Universal Savings Bank and Benifit Bank. These financial institutions, not being widely known, clearly performed their function – they bleached corrupt means. But the truth came to the surface, and Zuev got in trouble. The truth is not in Russia. In Latvia, a court confiscated commercial property owned by Zuev.
Domestic law enforcement officers gave up on the high-profile case, and did not even touch the businessman with a criminal train. Apparently and then helped a good roof.
Domestic Bonnie and Clyde
Artyom Zuev with Snezhana Gergieva
When they met, they found each other. This may sound like a beautiful love story. But in our situation, this is the creation of a new criminal octopus. From the outside, it may seem that Georgieva is a socialite who is only interested in fashionable things, luxury cars, a beautiful picture on Instagram, and so on. In fact, she performs important tasks for Zuev’s criminal schemes. Snezhana Georgieva is a gunner. Not so directly, of course, as it happens in theft. But the essence is the same. Georgieva, during social events, gets acquainted with thick sums, begins to communicate closely with them, finding out what kind of property they own, so that in the future her husband will squeeze him out.
Apparently, Snezhana Georgieva is acting so successfully that a few years ago her husband decided to thank her by donating the Zolotaya Balka winery along with 1,400 hectares of vineyards. In 2021, the enterprise brought almost 300 million rubles in profit. Good business.
The chic life of a family of raiders does not raise questions from law enforcement officers and tax officials. Only one Instagram of Snezhana Georgieva could initiate a criminal case on tax evasion, and then all the schemes of Zuev and Georgieva could be opened. But the roof is working successfully, and so far they are not worried about anything.