As found out The Moscow Post the main builder of Kazan, Ravil Ziganshin, could possibly be related to a whole web of one-day firms with offshore pads to evade taxes and withdraw budget funds?
In Kazan, the management of the AZL company was suspected of tax evasion in 2016-2019. Damage is estimated at 56 million rubles.
As the newspaper wrote “Real Time”back in 2020, searches were carried out at the local tax office, just related to the activities, including AZL.
This whole story can lead to the main builder of Tatarstan and a former deputy of the State Council Ravil Ziganshin. Details – in the material The Moscow Post.
“Offshore gambit” with the tax
Let’s get back to the searches at the tax office. According to the investigation, at that time, the head of the legal department of Dorstroykomplektatsiya, Leninza Sirazetdinova, by prior agreement with unidentified persons in January 2020, indicated that in order to reduce tax arrears during an on-site inspection of the Interdistrict Inspectorate of the Federal Tax Service No. 4 in AZL, as well as in order to stop this check, “it is necessary to transfer a bribe in the amount of at least 2.25 million rubles to officials of the Federal Tax Service through it.
The case also includes the name of the commercial director and co-owner of LLC Trading House Kapitel Marcel Ayupov. Sirazetdinova calls him the person on whose instructions she acted.
Ayupov, as the general director, was previously registered with Merkomstroy LLC. Then it became owned by Geyser LLC, which was liquidated in 2021. The company was registered as two offshore companies – “PROEKTIVE MUV LP” and “RUDIVAS LIMITED”. “TD” Kapitel “, by the way, was a supplier in 3 government contracts in the amount of 1.6 million rubles. Could the money be withdrawn offshore?
Company ownership scheme. Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
A whole “cloud” of now liquidated organizations is tied to these offshore companies. What is it – if not “pods” for withdrawing funds?
“Pods” Ziganshin?
According to information “Real time”“RUDIVAS LIMITED” was the ultimate beneficiary of Myasopt LLC, which received 48 million rubles on government contracts for the supply of meat.
“RUDIVAS LIMITED” was also on the list of founders of the company “Tatdorstroy” – writes “BUSINESS Online”. In the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, these data are not currently available. But there is information that the well-known entrepreneur Ravil Ziganshin is the beneficiary of Tatdorstroy through Vatan LLC.
Ownership scheme. Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
And “Tatdorstroy” is in the process of bankruptcy. With a small “suitcase” of government contracts from the structures of the government of Tatarstan.
Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
The names of Alexander Nikitin and Anatoly Uvakin often appear among the founders of companies that are registered in the above-mentioned offshore companies. In 2014, the Yaroslavl court called one of the companies of Uvakin and Nikitin as created to participate in a tax evasion scheme – reported “Real Time”.
It turns out that the case of Sirazetdinova, Ayupov and AZL may be related to Mr. Ziganshin…
Remark: Since 2009, Marat Safiullin has been the head of the Tatarstan Federal Tax Service. And although it is not customary to speak badly about him in the region, in fact, tax crimes in the department itself can be many times greater than officially reported.
Recently, a bill was submitted to the government of Tatarstan, according to which the Federal Tax Service can independently seize the property of entrepreneurs after a tax audit, without waiting for a court decision. Fortunately, so far the idea, which can carry large corruption risks due to possible pressure on entrepreneurs, has been abandoned. But it all looked as if the officials of the Federal Tax Service were trying to find another way to earn money.
Worked out scheme
Let’s look at history from the other side.
The AZL firm is owned by Ainur Lutfullin. Recently, interesting rearrangements have taken place in it: since last month, 20% of the company now also belongs to a certain Delta LLC. The ultimate beneficiaries of this firm are hidden in a huge mass of liquidated organizations tied to each other. The ultimate beneficiaries of all this cluster of companies are a huge number of different individuals.
A little light on who might be interested is shed by Ziganshin Ruslan Anasovich, whose name appears on the list of founders of the KEK company. She is the founder of Nikolskoye Industrial Park Management Company LLC, which is also managed by Daler Zairov, the founder and head of the Spectrum company, which manages Delta. Perhaps this is just the namesake of Ravil Ziganshin, but the methods of doing business are too similar …
The structure of business ownership and Ruslan Ziganshin’s connection with Delta. Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
Lutfullin himself at one time was the founder of the now defunct Kapitalresurs LLC. By the way, he is also a recipient of government contracts. And all of them – up to those that were concluded in 2015, are in the execution stage.
However, the company is no longer active. Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
Since 2017, the company has been registered as an offshore company “BUSINESS PARADISE LTD”. Earlier, Bobir LLC was also among the founders – a network of liquidated enterprises was registered on it and its heads as the head.
For each founder or head of Kapitalresurs, a mass of liquidated firms with signs of one-day businesses is registered. Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
Oleg Makarov, who is listed as the head of Bobir, is registered with the Solagran company. It has an offshore company “SOLAGRAN LIMITED”. A Russian-Australian biotechnology company, which is part of the Solagran Ltd holding, is registered on the offshore of the same name.
Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
As for “BUSINESS PARADISE LTD”, the situation is identical. Offshore appears as a founder in 80 firms, 79 of which are no longer working.
Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
Minnikhanov’s “purse” is no longer the same?
If the assumption that the figure of Ziganshin looms behind this whole story is true, it turns out that we most likely have a gigantic system for avoiding tax payments and withdrawing money on government contracts.
Just in January, the security forces came to Ziganshin – the main builder of Tatarstan fell under a criminal case related to non-payment of taxes during the construction of the stadium for the 2018 World Cup – reported “Kommersant”. Previously, he had already been involved in a similar case related to “illegal savings.” But he was released on bail. In total, the state could lose about 4 billion rubles from his actions.
“PSO Kazan” of Mr. Ziganshin earned 158.5 billion rubles on government contracts.
At the same time, according to Rusprofile, there has been almost no profit in the company since 2016. In 2021, its performance fell by another 320 thousand rubles. Where does the capital flowing into the company’s accounts go? Whether in numerous “pods” and offshores?
“Kazan” is ordered by the “Directorate of the Vostochny Cosmodrome” – that very scandalous object of “Roskosmos” that cannot be completed in any way. Is it because the funds allocated for it ended up in the pockets of the main builder of Tatarstan?
At least both contracts are now under execution. The deadline is 2023. Wait and see. Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
How The Moscow Post He repeatedly said in his investigations that Ziganshin could have been “advised” to Vostochny by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin. They can be connected through Mars Gazizullin, who worked both in the PSO “Kazan” and in the state “Mosinzhproekt”.
Since October 2018, Ziganshin’s company has been the general contractor for the construction of the second stage of the Vostochny cosmodrome, only later the court ordered the company to suspend work due to violations. Then even the contract was broken, but in fact, in the end, a new one was signed. Despite the fact that PSO “Kazan” regularly delayed the deadlines, and there were complaints about the quality of work.
And in 2019, the company’s offices were searched, specifically in the case of embezzlement during the construction of the Vostochny cosmodrome. The amount of theft was estimated at 250 million rubles – wrote about this RBC.
At Vostochny, they stole to the point that even the water intake facilities were “hooked”, for which Roman Bobkov, the director of the space center, was taken into custody in 2020! We have detailed this history.
But not a single spaceport. We have already mentioned how much taxes Ziganshin could steal during the construction of the stadium for the 2018 World Cup. Apparently, stadiums are the favorite theme of the builder. In 2020, the participants in the construction of the Samara Arena, among which was Ziganshin’s Tatdorstroy, “lost” 2.5 billion. This was reported “Real Time”.
The giant educational center “Innopolis” near Kazan, which is presented almost as a step into the future, recently filed lawsuits against Ziganshin companies for poor-quality roads – wrote “Real Time”.
In total, it turns out that Mr. Ziganshin can earn on tax “tricks” through a whole network of one-day firms, including offshore “gaskets”. Moreover, the tax authorities can be “lured” to them. Plus, it seems that it performs government contracts poorly, saving on materials.
Behind Ravil Ziganshin’s eyes they call Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov a “purse”. You can trace some connections with Marat Khusnullin, about which he wrote in detail The Moscow Post.
But the untouchables sooner or later become vulnerable. Isn’t this what is happening now with Ravil Ziganshin, whose “empire”, it seems, has begun to be “taken apart brick by brick”?
