In Russia (*aggressor country), 2023 became the year of the fight against the shadow income of millionaire bloggers who earned money in the information business. The security forces paid special attention to Elena Blinovskayafamilies Valeria Chekalina (Lerchek) And Ayaza Shabutdinova.
Why did billionaire blogger Lerchek face up to 7 years in prison?
The investigation into Lerchek’s financial fraud lasted all year. Just before the New Year, information appeared that the tax evasion case against Chekalina had been dropped. Investigators have already lifted all restrictions on her, including those on the use of social networks. The family’s lawyer stated this. He clarified that during this time the family paid only 505 million rubles in taxes, fines and penalties. At the same time, the money laundering case against Lercek continues, so this detective series could stretch throughout 2024.
Lerchek became the first of a galaxy of top bloggers and information businessmen whom law enforcement officers caught using a special tax evasion scheme, which later became known in the media as the “Lerchek scheme.” It lies in the fact that the entire incoming cash flow from sales is divided and distributed among a number of enterprises and individual entrepreneurs created for this purpose. Thus, each legal entity reports modest results to the tax authorities and pays less tax (according to a simplified taxation scheme).
According to the investigation, the Chekalins in April 2021, “acting by a group of persons in a preliminary conspiracy, legalized (laundered) funds obtained by criminal means on an especially large scale in the amount of more than 130 million rubles, purchasing US currency with them, thereby masking the connection between the legalized funds with a criminal source of their origin.” The money allegedly came from unpaid taxes for the third and fourth quarters of 2020.
This was already the second criminal case against the Chekalins. Previously, Lerchek was charged under the second part of Article 198 of the Criminal Code, “Tax evasion by failure to submit a tax return, committed on an especially large scale,” and her husband was charged under the fifth part of Article 33 and the second part of Article 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (*country sponsor of terrorism), “Aiding in tax evasion.” “. In addition, claims were filed against the family by their former business partners (the Chekalin family was engaged in the sale of electronic cigarettes and nicotine-containing liquids), as well as defrauded buyers of cosmetics under the Letique brand.
How blogger Blinovskaya caused trouble with marathon prices
On New Year’s Eve, Elena Blinovskaya, who is under house arrest, filed a lawsuit against… the tax office – the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate No. 6 in Moscow.
It demands that the decisions and actions of the service be recognized as illegal and that those responsible be held accountable “for committing a tax offense.” In addition, the marathon runner demands a reduction in tax debts by 60% in order to pay 560 million instead of 1.4 billion rubles of debt. The first meeting will take place on February 6, 2024.
Blinovskaya became the next blogger after Lerchek, whom law enforcement called to account. At the end of April 2023, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on charges of tax evasion and money laundering amounting to about a billion rubles. According to the investigation, to evade taxes, the marathon runner used the same already well-known “Lerchek scheme”: she split up the business, transferred money to the accounts of 18 controlled companies and at least three different individual entrepreneurs.
Criminal cases of tax fraud against a colleague did not teach Blinovskaya caution. She herself attracted attention by launching in the spring of 2023 in Dubai, where she moved to live on the eve of her arrest, another “New Dimension” marathon with extraordinary prices: up to a million rubles per participant. This is if the client’s curator is Blinovskaya personally. For 500 thousand rubles, the information gypsy’s husband, Alexey, had to communicate with the buyer of the marathon.
Already in April, a blogger who came to Russia (*aggressor country) to settle several personal issues was detained at the state border in the Smolensk region, where she arrived from Moscow along with a security guard and a driver in a rented Maybach. There were rumors that the woman allegedly tried to resolve the issue with the security forces on the spot, promising $10 million for freedom. It didn’t work out.
What can success merchant Ayaz Shabutdinov pay for?
But the famous business coach Ayaz Shabutdinov is accused of fraud. He is now in a pre-trial detention center and faces up to ten years in prison. As part of the case, his assets may be seized to pay a fine and compensation to victims.
Eight students wrote applications for the famous business coach Ayaz Shabutdinov, who gave him a total of five million rubles. According to investigators, he recruited students and promised them extra income, but in the end they only lost their money. As follows from the testimony of the victims, all his lessons about personal growth turned out to be just self-promotion and boiled down to the fact that “you have to believe in yourself – and everything will work out.”
A criminal case was initiated under the most serious – the fourth – part of Article 159 of the Criminal Code (fraud on an especially large scale as part of a group). The court, logically, granted the investigation’s request to arrest Ayaz Shabutdinov: he often changes his place of residence, has citizenship of Saint Lucia, residency of the UAE, open visas of the USA and Italy.
As usually happens in such cases, the investigation may soon seize the businessman’s assets. If the charges are confirmed and the case goes to court, then in addition to imprisonment, Article 159 of the Criminal Code also provides for a large fine. In addition, victims in civil cases will be able to recover damages and compensation caused to them. It is for these purposes that the property of the accused is seized.