For 3 years “with a tail” appointed a court to the former first deputy chairman of the TFB Ramil Nasyrov and the former chairman of the board of “Timer Bank” Airat Kamalov. Compared to what the state prosecution requested for them – 9 and 8 years, respectively, the sentence can be called mild. In addition, the ex-bankers have little time left to sit: taking into account the recalculation of the terms, they may not even reach the colony where the court ordered them to serve their sentences. But it seems that they will not agree with such a punishment: Kamalov’s lawyer said that he would most likely appeal the verdict. At the same time, as the BUSINESS Online correspondent heard from the verdict, the former first deputy of Robert Musina Nasyrov made a deal with the investigation at the stage of the preliminary investigation, but for some reason refused to confess.
The fate of the bankers was decided in six months
It took the judge less than 15 minutes to announce the verdict in the Timer Bank case. Even before the start of the announcement, numerous relatives, friends and colleagues of the former First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Tatfondbank and former member of the Board of Directors of Timer Bank JSC Ramil Nasyrov, as well as the former Chairman of the Board of Timer Bank Airat Kamalov, gathered in the corridor near the courtroom. In total there were 10 people, including the spouses of the defendants. Nasyrov and Kamalov, when the guards led them to the hall, looked at their support group with smiles, the latter even dropped: “Hi everyone!”
It took Judge Rufina Gazizova six months, or 23 court sessions, to sort out the complex banking business. Unlikely faster than the same case of Robert Musin. True, the volumes of materials in the processes are different. During this time, they managed to interrogate the victim, who in the case was a representative of Timer Bank, as well as witnesses, including employees of the same bank. Then the judge spent another month in the deliberation room.
She announced the introductory part of the verdict to the defendants and listeners – this is how the law now allows. But only for economic crimes. Therefore, it is not yet possible to find out what specific conclusions the court came to and what it based on when sentencing – the defendants themselves will get acquainted with the full version of the verdict only in a few days. So far, they have heard only the terms.
Former bankers were accused under the article on embezzlement or embezzlement (part 4 of article 160 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), the maximum punishment for it is imprisonment for up to 10 years. The state prosecution requested that they be given practically the maximum sentence: Nasyrov – 9 years in prison, Kamalov – 9 years in prison. However, the court managed much more lenient terms.
Just a few months left
The judge, announcing the verdict, said that Nasyrov works as vice president for strategic development of the administrative and managerial apparatus of PJSC Moscow Credit Bank, he has no children. Kamalov has three minor children, and he works as a secretary of the supervisory board of the Russian Highways state company. Whether they were fired from these positions was not disclosed in court: at least their jobs were named in the present tense.
“Nasyrov was found guilty of committing a crime under Part 4 of Article 160 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – at that moment it became clear that there would be no acquittal, and the judge agreed with the qualification of the crime imputed by the investigation and supported by the prosecution. “Assign him a sentence of imprisonment for a period of 3 years and 3 months.”
The same wording followed in relation to Kamalov, but he was given a month less term – 3 years and 2 months in a colony. The court ruled that they would serve their sentence in a penal colony of general regime. The judge also ruled that the time that the bankers spent in the pre-trial detention center, from February 18, 2021, is taken into account. There was no miraculous release in the courtroom: taking into account the recalculation of the terms, Nasyrov and Kamalov still had to sit a little more. To be more precise: they have already served 3 years and almost 1.5 months. Thus, Nasyrov may be released in 1.5 months, Kamalov even less – in a couple of weeks. In this case, they may not even get to the colony – after all, if the verdict is appealed, they will remain in the pre-trial detention center.
At that moment, no emotions flashed on the faces of Nasyrov and Kamalov, and the support group also steadfastly held on.
The judge ruled to remove the arrest from the property of the defendants in the case. So, the arrest was canceled on the money that is stored in the accounts of Kamalov (pictured) – almost 1.7 million rubles, as well as on half of the house and half of the plot under it in the Soviet district of Kazan
The judge ruled to remove the arrest from the property of the defendants in the case. So, the arrest on the money that is stored in the accounts of Kamalov (pictured) was canceled – almost 1.7 million rubles, as well as on half the house and half the land under it in the Soviet district of Kazan
After that, the judge decided to remove the arrest from the property of the defendants in the case. So, the arrest was canceled on the money that is kept in the accounts of Kamalov – almost 1.7 million rubles, as well as on half of the house and half of the plot under it in the Soviet district of Kazan. Nasyrov was arrested from an apartment in a house on the street. Vishnevsky. The arrest on a “non-residential building” with an area of 19 thousand square meters was also canceled. m, which is located in the Kaliningrad region and belongs to JSC Baltic Building Company – the company is registered in the Yantarnaya gaming zone, in which Royal Time Group invested.
All material evidence obtained in the case, the judge decided to keep, as before, in the materials of the criminal case. Among them are documents confiscated from Timer Bank, Tatfondbank and even Ak Bars Bank, as well as Nasyrov’s petition for pre-trial cooperation with the investigation. That’s just, he refused it himself or he was not accepted by the investigation, the court does not disclose. Note that the pre-trial agreement implies: the defendant fully admits guilt and repents. Although Nasyrov’s position in court was completely opposite: he did not commit a crime.
Nasyrov’s lawyer Irina Knyazeva did not comment on the verdict. Kamalov’s lawyer Yuri Nekrasov, when asked by BUSINESS Online whether they expected such a verdict, said: “No. We expected an acquittal.” The lawyer also noted that they “most likely” will appeal the court’s decision. Kamalov’s relatives did not want to talk to journalists. The defendants themselves, when they were taken out of the hall, did not utter a word, having heard questions from the press.
It is still unknown whether the prosecutor’s office will appeal the verdict: as Ruslan Galiev, senior assistant to the Tatarstan prosecutor for media relations, told BUSINESS Online, the issue of appeal will be decided after studying the verdict.
How did the business of Timer Bank develop and what did it consist of?
Nasyrov and Kamalov were detained in February 2021 after large-scale searches that Moscow investigators, together with operatives from the UBEP of the republican Ministry of Internal Affairs, conducted in Tatarstan. The case was initiated and investigated in the investigative department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. Nasyrov and Kamalov were then detained, a court in Moscow sent them to a pre-trial detention center. They were there until the beginning of this year, until they were transferred to Kazan – the criminal case was considered at the place of the crime, in the Vakhitovsky court. The prosecution in the case was approved by the Prosecutor General’s Office, and in court it was supported by representatives of the Vakhitov Prosecutor’s Office of Kazan.
The bankers were accused of embezzlement of 935 million rubles. The story begins in 2013. According to the version announced at the start of the trial by the prosecution, in 2013–2015, Royal Time Group LLC received loans from the TSE totaling 935 million rubles. 24 land plots near Kazan were pledged as collateral for loans. Nasyrov, who knew about the large loan, allegedly had an idea to steal money from the bank. To do this, he created an organizing group, which included Kamalov and the founder of the Royal Time Group, Rashid Taymasov, the prosecution found out.
To do this, the accused first withdrew collateral for loans (the document was signed by Nasyrov, being the first deputy chairman of the TFB board). Then Kamalov (from Timer Bank) signed an assignment agreement with Nasyrov: according to it, Timer Bank bought these loans from the TFB. According to the prosecution, the defendants knew that loans that were not secured by collateral were obviously unrecoverable. Taimasov’s role here was allegedly simple – not to pay loans.
Neither Nasyrov nor Kamalov admitted their guilt. In court arguments, they explained in detail why they consider themselves innocent. Nasyrov said that the cession agreement, which formed the basis of the criminal case, not only did not harm Timer Bank, but in general literally saved the credit institution. The purchase of loans, according to him, was necessary in order to fulfill the orders of the Central Bank: to reduce dependence on the TSE (in which Timer Bank had an interbank loan) and to improve oneself (including increasing the portfolio of loans to legal entities). To do this, Timer Bank bought a bundle of loans from the TFB and not only Royal Time Group, but also other companies, for a total of 2.9 billion rubles. “The cession agreement was concluded not against the will of the owner, but on his initiative and to solve the tasks set for the banking group by the National Bank of the Republic of Tatarstan,” Nasyrov explained. — (The agreement) allowed Timer Bank JSC to retain its banking license, avoiding losses and capital loss of 2.9 billion rubles as a result of the bankruptcy of Tatfondbank PJSC.”
“Timer Bank” is not a pawnshop!”: why the former tops of Robert Musin ask to justify them
Kamalov, in his speech, stated that the debt of Taymasov’s company bought by the bank was of good quality, and he, as a leader, was convinced of this before the deal. Now, according to him, the debt has been bought from the bank and repaid, while Timer Bank itself did not file a civil lawsuit and stated that it had no claims against the defendants. Kamalov noted that the criminal case appeared in “the height of disputes between the Royal Time Group and Timer Bank, which was controlled by JSC RFC-Bank.” The latter allegedly wrote a statement to the authorities, which says that Taimasov’s company is evading debt repayment and even sold the casino in order to hide assets. “From a fraud on the part of the Royal Time Group, the case turned into embezzlement on the part of Kamalov!” – said the ex-banker.
We recall that both of them insisted on acquittal, but the court decided otherwise. And Taimasov was put on the wanted list in this criminal case and arrested in absentia.
