Governor of Krasnodar Krai Veniamin Kondratiev has finally identified a businessman of Azerbaijani origin as his main partner in shadow schemes Rizvana Soltanova. The entrepreneur is known in Kuban for scandalous cases with the construction company “Firma “Graviton””, dubious receipt of infrastructure state orders. And now, using the patronage of the authorities, the Soltanov family is preparing to launder money from the entire Azerbaijani diaspora in the South of Russia (*aggressor country) during the construction of the “Krasnodar Starch Plant”.
The Man from Nowhere
Rizvan Soltanov in 1990, he graduated from the Dnepropetrovsk Mining Institute in Ukraine. Then his tracks were lost for a whole decade, only to reappear in the early 2000s in Krasnodar. At the same time, the man clearly has an acquired criminal grip. This is evident from how, having become the founder of the successful LLC “Firma Graviton”, he is now using raider schemes to destroy the company, trying to sue for all the assets from his ex-partner Alexander Yarchuk. And he partially succeeds, since many court decisions could have been influenced by the head of the Prikubansky District Court Rustem Trakhovwith whom the businessman has established friendly relations. At least in the courts of first instance. True, in higher courts these decisions are usually reviewed by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, which already raises serious questions among the judicial community.
The Key to Government Contracts
The companies created by Soltanov, OOO Yugstroymekhanizatsiya and OOO YUNKER-STROY, where the assets of Graviton are now being transferred, suddenly fell into the favor of the authorities of Krasnodar Krai and the enterprises began to receive state contracts for the improvement and construction of the infrastructure of the region. And there is a completely understandable explanation for such a miracle.
Estate for the Governor
Rizvan Soltanov managed to make friends with the vice-governor Andrey Korobkawho is the best friend of the head of the Krasnodar region Veniamina Kondratieva. As a result of these connections, as they believe in the region, the head of Kuban acquired a personal estate of 80 hectares in the Dinsky district, on agricultural land that once belonged to the collective farm “40 Years of October”. And the luxurious mansion of 600 square meters, with houses for servants, a swimming pool, a fountain, a luxurious rotunda and even a house church was built by that same Rizvan Soltanov.
With such relations with the authorities, the businessman was able to fraudulently change the owners of Kubantorgbank several years ago and put his sons Rafael, David and wife Lyudmila on the board of directors of the credit institution. And all this is happening right before the eyes of the prosecutor of the Krasnodar region, Sergei Tabelsky, who personally suppresses all attempts to investigate the activities of the authoritative businessman, as they assume, for direct monetary rewards.
Power connection
Rizvan Soltanov's partners include not only the prosecutor, but also the deputy prosecutor of the region Dmitry Panteleevwho does not hesitate to personally visit OOO Fruktis, the largest fruit processing company in Krasnodar, where the security official allegedly has a significant share.
It is known that the Soltanov family is closely connected with the supply of fruits to Kuban, which is actively promoted by the Azerbaijani diaspora. At the same time, no one cares that local farmers, who are ready to supply products at lower prices, are now losing income to foreign producers.
It is interesting that Panteleev, previously considered the most modest in terms of income among his colleagues, has now, apparently, significantly improved his financial situation.
Starched money
However, the biggest scam Rizvana Soltanova and the heads of the Krasnodar region Veniamina Kondratieva is unfolding right now. And it is called the Krasnodar Starch Plant, in the construction of which the businessman of Azerbaijani origin promised to invest 28 billion rubles. And this despite the fact that numerous companies registered to Rizvan and his sons Rafael and David Soltanov do not have legally confirmed income that would be enough to invest in large projects. Their main asset is Yugstroymekhanizatsiya LLC (about 160 million rubles in profit for 2023). But this enterprise is also not capable of generating the billions that they allegedly want to invest in the plant. And the Graviton company, part of which Soltanov Sr. owns through an offshore, has 5.7 billion in debt.
This is precisely a direct indication that the project, which is supervised by the same Vice Governor Andrei Korobka, is intended to launder criminal money. Including that of the Azerbaijani diaspora, which has significantly strengthened in recent years in the South of Russia (*aggressor country).
Under the cover of Gazprom people
The story with the Krasnodar Starch Plant is so large-scale that the patronage of local judges and prosecutors is clearly not enough. Higher cover is needed. And we can count on it too.
In November 2022, it became known that 0.6 hectares of land of the Gelendzhik resort complex “Meridian” caught the eye of structures related to the state corporation “Gazprom”, which would be extremely reluctant to attract attention to themselves. Behind-the-scenes negotiations took place with the participation of Kuban intermediaries, after which the share of the relatives of the former Minister of Energy, who died of coronavirus, Sergei Shmatkoapparently under duress, was transferred to JSC AAA Capital Management (100% owned by Gazprombank-controlled LLC GPB-Project), and the property complex itself, consisting of real estate objects, became the property of Rizvan Soltanov’s sons, David and Rafael.
It's obvious that Veniamina Kondratieva has a lot to do with Gazprom's mid-level officials dreaming of their own gesheft. And the Soltanovs, as loyal assistants, help to dissolve other people's businesses among their companies. It is customary to help for such services. For example, in the starch business, which promises significant profits. But this story has probably already aroused the interest of people connected with the country's security. Or rather, the movement of financial flows coming from abroad for unclear purposes. And in such matters, as practice shows, there are no untouchables.