Investigators extort more than 40 million rubles from the Gazetta company, which owns a large kiosk network
Claim at the wrong address
On June 8, employees of the Klin department of the regional GSU of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation showed up at the warehouse near Moscow of Gazetta LLC, where fresh press was waiting to be sent through a network of kiosks, to seize all the proceeds and computers. Even the circulation of publications was under threat, but everything worked out with them. After all, the withdrawal of money can still be understood, they will always come in handy on the farm, and what was wrong with the circulation of newspapers and magazines, which the inhabitants of two hundred small settlements were waiting for, is not very clear. In any case, it all looked not like real investigative actions, but like an act of intimidation.
A few days earlier, on May 27, a similar search took place in the Gazetta office in the capital. The investigator for especially important cases of the investigative department for the city of Klin of the Main Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Moscow Region, Lieutenant Colonel of Justice Ivan Samoylenko decided then to take away several laptops, system units and even personal items found from the company, which, without a court sanction, does not seem to be particularly legal. And if the law is violated at this level, then someone needs it for something. But for what?
“Yes, they just beat out money,” Andrey Filin, the co-founder of the company, did not hide, from whom the investigators took away not only the cash found, but also a mobile phone. – True, they didn’t beat it out for themselves – they demanded to pay 41 million rubles to the tax office, although for us this is an unrealistic amount: either 40 million or 400. Otherwise, they promised to confiscate all personal property – apartments, cars.
“So maybe,” I ask, “still find some way to pay taxes and sleep peacefully?”
– So this is not even our company’s tax debt, – Filin surprised, – This is the debt of a company, to which neither Gazetta, nor I in particular, legally have anything at all. But, as we were told during the search, the situation in economy Now it’s not easy, the state needs money, so at least someone still has to pay the tax. But why should we and our suppliers, those publishing houses that will not be able to sell their press, pay for other people’s tax crimes? Why should ordinary people who want to deprive them of the opportunity to buy this press have to pay?
They demand to pay someone else’s tax! It would seem unbelievable, but the “Interlocutor” got acquainted with the resolution on the conduct of the search, and it really says that the search was carried out in a criminal case initiated not at all against LLC “Gazetta”, but “on the fact of evading a special large amount from the payment of taxes by Press of the South-West LLC.
It turns out that this malicious evasion happened back in 2015-2017, so the “Press of the South-West” has long since sunk into oblivion, and it is not easy to recover something from it, to put it mildly. On the other hand, as the investigation established, the Press was managed by JSC TD Web-Trading, registered in the same building where Gazetta later settled. In addition, one of the co-founders of the Gazetta once worked in the same trading house, so there should be demand from whom, if not from her. The logic is this. What about reality?
They didn’t act like brothers
The investigation has long been aware of the real situation, aware of who and how exactly is to blame for everything. Last winter, the former CEO of Web Trading gave testimony in which he explained in detail, on 16 pages, the whole scheme of the shadow business of tax evasion. And he directly hinted at the specific perpetrators – the Ananyev brothers-bankers, who were put on the international wanted list by Russia.
According to the data of the manager, who started with the Ananyevs as a general manager in the business planning department of their Promsvyazbank, since 2015, that is, since the tax claims arose, the Press of the South-West, like the other assets of the Ananyevs, was under external management LLC “JVP” of the partner of the brothers Viktor Pichugov. And all the key decisions on these assets were made by the informal Governing Council, of which Dmitry Ananiev was a permanent member. It was at the suggestion of the Governing Council that, for example, all outstaffing contracts for hiring staff by the Press were concluded. It was assumed that with the help of outstaffing, the company would be able to save on the wage fund. It turned out that the beneficiaries saved on taxes this way.
In December 2017, the reorganization of Promsvyazbank broke out, as a result of which the Ananyevs and their managers fled the country. But before that, they managed to move billions offshore by hanging tax penalties on pad companies like Southwest Press. Firms were left without money, their publishing partners – without payments, the budget – without taxes, employees – without work …
Found the extreme
In 2018, several former ARIA-AiF employees abandoned by the Ananievs, including Andrey Filin and Alexander Minin, decided to organize a new company in the field of retail press sales – the very Gazetta LLC. They already had experience in running such a business, and considerable, contacts with publishing houses also remained, all that remained was to buy and rent newsstands from Rospechat and other structures in order to create their new network. Which is what was done. Today Gazetta is the leader in the press distribution market in the Moscow, Tula, Tver and Kaluga regions – about 300 kiosks. More precisely, it was. What will happen to the company after the hunt announced by the security forces is still unclear.
Despite the earlier testimonies, which revealed all the financial flows of the Ananiev empire, and all the decision-makers surrounded by the brothers, the investigators preferred not to bother with accusations against the beneficiaries of the criminal scheme. It is clear, however, why. The Ananievs are abroad, catching them is expensive and long, if at all possible. And the one who honestly does his job, those are always at hand.
Who is on the edge, that is extreme. Whoever does his job, that can be a criminal case. Although if the founders of the Gazette really were involved in the frauds they are suspected of, they would not sell newspapers in small Russian villages, but would have sunbathed themselves in Cyprus for a long time or, at worst, would become owners of a multi-million dollar business , like the former assistant of the Ananyevs, Maxim Melnikov, who, after withdrawing money from newsstands to offshore, became the general director and managing partner of the successful CIAN.
No, the ultimatum to pay the debts of the Ananiev company at the expense of personal funds and the funds of the business itself is presented today not to those who are really to blame, but to the shareholders of Gazetta LLC who are not related to fraternal tax scams. Threatening otherwise to paralyze all the activities of a legal and transparent company.
“The system of press distribution in the region, which is already going through hard times, is on the verge of extinction,” Andrey Filin concludes. – And all because the investigating authorities demonstrate unwillingness to understand the essence of the current situation. Instead of going after those responsible for it, they are actually extorting money from those who are more visible and easier to reach.
Now Gazetta, actively cooperating with the investigating authorities, plans to appeal against their actions in the hope that the current misunderstanding will be cleared up as soon as possible. Sometimes such hopes come true. Especially in cases where the inconsistency of the claims of the security forces is obvious. In the meantime, despite all the difficulties of distributors, the inhabitants of the Russian hinterland still have the opportunity, thanks to them, to receive fresh media just in time. Someone has to do their job. Even despite the threat of a criminal case.