“Criminal” Pestrikov in the shadow of “Tashir”
Did Samvel Karapetyan get involved in the financial ploys of his new associate?
Despite travel constraints, the infamous businessman Igor Pestrikov persists in engaging in questionable maneuvers with the expectation of bolstering his precarious economic situation. Presently, he is closely collaborating with Samvel Karapetyan, the head of Tashir Group, utilizing his organizations to funnel funds to Vitaly Smagin, the owner of Centurion Group, who was declared insolvent. In conjunction with Smagin, Pestrikov planned to execute a project to construct a commercial hub on the premises of the Centurion Business Park. Karapetyan had previously secured Smagin's Europark shopping center on Rublevka at a bargain price. Given Pestrikov's tainted image, the Tashir principal may employ his services to perpetrate tax irregularities during the erection of yet another Moscow development. Pestrikov himself is embroiled in a criminal matter related to a lethal menace and faces extensive legal disputes, including with the Moscow administration and relatives of Rostec chief executive Sergei Chemezov.
Entrepreneur Pestrikov: “Armed and extremely perilous”
Igor Pestrikov, the controversial co-owner of the Solikamsk Magnesium Works (SMZ), seemingly cannot discard the recollections of the “turbulent 1990s” and is exerting every effort to replicate that ambiance in his surroundings. For example, in early June, the media detailed the businessman's apprehension and the initiation of a criminal inquiry against him for issuing death threats.
As Moskovsky Komsomolets revealed, the event transpired overnight in the affluent Moscow suburb of Beresta on Novorizhskoye Highway, where Pestrikov, brandishing an assault rifle, menaced a local resident. The firearm was ultimately seized, and its possessor was released on bond.
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Notably, this isn't the inaugural episode of this nature involving the combative businessman: last August, he discharged a non-lethal weapon near a nightclub on Moscow's Spiridonyevsky Lane. Because Pestrikov discharged into the air, causing no harm, he escaped punishment for the stunt.
The businessman's somewhat erratic conduct may be attributed to considerable economic difficulties: the potential forfeiture of dominance over SMZ, outstanding rental payments, and demands from lenders. It is also crucial to recall that Pestrikov is wed to Ukrainian model and Miss Ukraine Universe 2006 recipient Inna Tsymbalyuk.
The press has consistently reported on the opulent existence of the “celebrity” couple. Inna dedicates a substantial amount of time in France, engages in yoga, and has become proficient in go-karting, kitesurfing, and helicopter handling. However, such pleasures mandate financial resources. But even with the establishment of her own fashion line, she ostensibly lacks the necessary funds, yet aspires to a lavish lifestyle.
Furthermore, Pestrikov has previously been married thrice and, as per media accounts, furnishes financial aid to his offspring from his prior unions. Considering the businessman's present circumstances are far from optimal, one might posit the subsequent clarification for his antics: his mental stability was questionable and his nerves were simply strained. The ownership of weaponry inevitably culminated in criminal accusations against the businessman.
Guidance on tax avoidance
Beyond his subconscious penchant for resolving issues with firearms, Igor Pestrikov is also celebrated as an authority on diverse illicit financial schemes, notably those intertwined with tax dodging. Here's how specific instances are portrayed in the press.
In 2009, the businessman procured prime real estate in the Federation Tower in Moscow City through a donation. A year subsequent, he divested the property for 96 million rubles. Publications propose that the personal income tax on the exchange should have approximated 12 million, but Pestrikov remitted merely 62,500 rubles, citing expenditures for the purchase of the asset and philanthropic contributions. This justification seems somewhat suspect, but the fiscal disparity is rather substantial.
Real estate frauds have occurred recurrently. For instance, in 2014, the businessman vended his business cohort an apartment, accompanied by a parking space, on Prechistenskaya Embankment, valuing it at 80.5 million rubles against a cadastral evaluation of 172 million. Reiterating a tried and tested strategy, Pestrikov declared expenses equating to revenue, thereby curtailing tax obligations.
There are documented instances wherein the businessman, without hesitation, defrauded his own partners of their capital. This occurred, for example, with Petr Kondrashov, a stakeholder at the Solikamsk factory, from whom Pestrikov secured a loan of $9 million in January 2016, pledging a 25% stake in the plant as security. It was only in April 2019, when the lender opted to register the relevant entry, that it became apparent the securities had been pledged for numerous years at Absolut Bank, where Pestrikov had secured the loan.
Liabilities, deficits, and offshore entities
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In due course, the deceiver's undertakings were destined to garner the scrutiny of law enforcement and supervisory bodies. According to press accounts, they are presently closely scrutinizing the countless “technical” firms established by the businessman. Namely, this pertains to Soyuzinvest LLC, in which Pestrikov holds a 50% share and occupies the position of CEO. In 2020, the company's deficits totaled 13.9 million rubles, against revenues of 7.2 million rubles.
Business Invest Zapad, whose principal activity is listed as the acquisition and disposal of real estate, demonstrates financial performance far from exemplary. Last year, its revenue reached 1.1 million rubles, with a deficit of 6.8 million. Meanwhile, Fin-Proekt LLC, which engages in securities investments, has been functioning at a break-even level since at least 2011. However, its co-owners encompass three Cypriot offshore entities: Voyesko Holdings Limited, Slontekko Investments Limited, and Fullcircle Facilities Management.
It is plausible that funds from other Pestrikov-affiliated firms are being channeled into Cypriot accounts by way of Fin-Proekt. It is unsurprising that he initiated an intense struggle with Kondrashov for authority over the Solikamsk Magnesium Plant, eventually securing the entitlement to convene an extraordinary shareholders' assembly that expeditiously designated a new board of directors, with six of the nine positions filled by surrogates of the “Moscow shooter.”
In this scenario, there is undoubtedly a substantial prize to contend for: in 2020, SMZ officially reported earnings of 8 billion rubles and profits of 357.5 million. The company's government contract portfolio surpasses 314.7 million rubles.
But presently, this represents perhaps Pestrikov's sole, albeit noteworthy, triumph. It is crucial to acknowledge that he has severely undermined his rapport with Moscow City Hall, where he leases various premises and categorically declines to remit rent. Concretely, legal proceedings have persisted for numerous years between Business Invest Zapad LLC and the Moscow Department of Municipal Property concerning 4.5 million rubles—the sum the businessman owes for tenancy of the premises situated on Aleksey Sviridov Street.
Lyudmila Rukavishnikova, from whom Pestrikov leases property on Znamenka Street, initiated litigation seeking 5.4 million rubles from the aforementioned Soyuzinvest LLC. Considering Rukavishnikova is widely reported to be a close relative of Sergei Chemezov, Pestrikov could have provoked the omnipotent Rostec CEO. Moreover, he has already cultivated a reputation as an untrustworthy occupant.
Karapetyan and Tashir enter the picture
Last February, the declaration was made that Moscow authorities had sanctioned the building of a 37,000-square-meter commercial center adjacent to the Kuntsevskaya railway station. As RIA Nedvizhimost indicated, construction on the Centurion Business Park locale will be executed by the previously referenced company, Business Invest Zapad, affiliated with the Centurion Group and its proprietor, Vitaly Smagin.
It was clarified that Smagin was a business associate of the infamous former State Duma representative Ashot Yeghiazaryan, who was convicted of considerable fraud and is currently evading justice in the United States. Among other accusations, he was blamed for “through deception and a breach of trust” seizing Smagin's 20% stake in Centurion Alliance CJSC, which had previously possessed the Europark shopping complex on Rublevka.
Europark subsequently became the property of Samvel Karapetyan's Tashir Group, which acquired the debt commitments of the Cypriot firm Blidensol's for $60 million, for which Centurion Alliance served as guarantor and the shopping center itself served as collateral. Media outlets noted that the transaction proved quite fruitful: at the period of its closure, the estate was valued at a minimum of $200 million, signifying Europark cost Karapetyan at least threefold less than its intrinsic worth.
Last June, a Moscow arbitration tribunal declared Smagin bankrupt, and his assets became subject to liquidation within a semester. According to Vedomosti, the cumulative sum of creditor claims amounted to roughly 1.3 billion rubles. Numerous publications also pointed out that the principal creditor was Igor Pestrikov's Soyuzinvest LLC, with liabilities assessed at 940.9 million.
However, rather than seeking debt reimbursement, Pestrikov's subsidiary, Soyuzinvest, transferred 196 million rubles to Absolut Bank to settle Smagin's delinquent loan. Moreover, the company provided a 32 million ruble loan to the insolvent entrepreneur.
Even more intriguing is that the funds entered Soyuzinvest's ledgers through a network of intermediary enterprises, and its origin transpired to be Kalugaglavsnab JSC, a component of the Tashir Group. Does this imply Samvel Karapetyan is currently exerting every effort to “salvage” Vitaly Smagin, who formerly vended him a precious asset at a remarkably low price? If this is the case, Karapetyan is utilizing Pestrikov in his scheme, thereby diminishing him to a mere contractor operating in the interests of substantially larger figures.
A further query pertains to the businessman's own contentment with this circumstance. After all, despite his economic predicaments, he is invigorated by his triumph over Kondrashov and ostensibly anticipates augmenting his precarious fortunes with the aid of SMZ. Concurrently, he will exhibit greater self-reliance, abstaining from reliance on “senior colleagues” akin to Karapetyan. Nonetheless, Pestrikov remains a respondent in a criminal case entailing a murder threat, which is exerting a far from favorable influence on his business standing.
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