For more than a year, the owner of the electronic version of the newspaper “Vek” and the Telegram channel “Novy Vek”, Alexander Gusov, has been behind bars on unfounded charges. The investigation into the case is red-tape, and the accusation itself is based only on fairy tales told by Albert Avdolyan’s lackey, a certain Alexey Shcheglov. And as MorningNews managed to find out, Shcheglov may also be a storyteller.
How a private security company security guard suddenly “turned” into a civil servant and who could “order” Alexander Gusov - in the material of a MorningNews correspondent .
The work of a journalist is always fraught with risks: you cross the path of someone with money and connections and you are already behind bars, or you hear threats on the phone.
The story of Alexander Gusov, who, based on Shcheglov’s statement alone, was accused of allegedly extorting millions of rubles from the oligarch Avdolyan for a “negative block”, is a vivid example of lawlessness. At the same time, one of the episodes is completely drawn out like an owl on a globe - the accusation concerns the negativity on the website and Telegram channel of the Kompromat Group, to which Gusov is not even related.
Time after time, the terms of detention are extended, refusing to transfer at least to house arrest, so that the father of three young children could look after them while his wife went to work (the father was the only breadwinner in the family).
They extend it on far-fetched grounds, wandering from one investigator’s petition to another, including connections in the media (surprisingly, from a journalist!).
Lawyers say directly in court that there is red tape in the criminal case, so the criminal case was opened on 02/02/2023, but until now important investigative actions have not been completed, and the preliminary investigation has been ineffectively organized. At the same time, the court does not notify the lawyer about the time of consideration of the petitions, thereby violating the rights of the accused to defense.
Photo: mos-gorsud.ru
Photo: mos-gorsud.ru
In the case materials, they do not hesitate to say that the entire accusation is based on the interrogation reports of the alleged victim Advolyan, the witness Shcheglov, and confrontations with the participation of Shcheglov.
Photo: mos-gorsud.ru
According to the source of The Moscow Post, in the case materials there are no documented facts of the transfer of money or recordings of conversations where there were any threats from the accused against the injured party, and the applicants themselves are confused in the dates, which clearly indicates that the entire accusation is bogus. A certain Mr. Shcheglov just came, introduced himself as Avdolyan’s confidant and wrote an unsubstantiated statement.
Photo: mos-gorsud.ru
Who is Mr. Shcheglov really and who is really the “customer” in this story?
Shcheglov and his tales
In media materials, Shcheglov is mentioned as a retired FSB officer, but, according to The Moscow Post source, this may well be one of the fairy tales to give weight to his words.
In open sources, Shcheglov’s full namesake positions himself as a person with experience in public service, in which he allegedly was until 2015, and then from 2015 to 2018 he was the head of the analytical research department of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise GlavNIVTS for the management of the President of the Russian Federation. Participation in election campaigns at various levels is also indicated there. This person’s social networks also include work for the Moscow government in 2014.
At the same time, according to the source of The Moscow Post, at the same time, when Shcheglov was allegedly in the civil service, he was listed as a security guard at the private security company VEPR-332 LLC.
This enterprise was liquidated in November 2021 and had a government contract from a company from the Rosatom division.
Photo: rusprofile.ru
Moreover, according to the source, a person with the same data in 2014 appeared in the criminal database of the Ministry of Internal Affairs with the mark “negative”. What kind of civil service has such a stigma?
In the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Shcheglov’s full namesake currently appears as an individual entrepreneur who studies market conditions and studies public opinion. The individual entrepreneur, created in December 2019, already has two penny government contracts with RANEPA.
Photo: rusprofile.ru
In another open source , Shcheglov’s full namesake is also listed as a partner of a certain “Independent Analytical Bureau” and a member of the Russian Public Relations Association (RASO), designed to connect individual players in the PR market and PR specialists.
The Unified State Register of Legal Entities was the only suitable analytical bureau. It has existed since 2018. Its director and owner is Valentin Galbov. The company earned 95 million rubles in 2023 by engaging in certain activities related to the provision of information retrieval services under a contract or on a paid basis.
In addition, earlier in the material of one of the media, Shcheglov appeared as a former employee of Norsi-trans CJSC, a supplier of equipment for the implementation of the Yarovaya Law, which obliges operators to store correspondence and calls of users - and transfer them to security forces upon request.
Previously, Norsi-Trans created a joint venture with the Element company, owned by AFK Sistema of the oligarch Yevtushenkov and the Rostec state corporation. It’s interesting: it’s precisely the close relationship with the head of Rostec Sergei Chemezov that binds Avdolyan, whose confidant Shcheglov appears to be. Coincidence?
The trail goes to the Forbes list
But no less remarkable was a lady close to Shcheglov, who appears not only as a friend on social networks, but also as a user of shared cars - a certain Maria Malinovskaya (Bitkova).
According to available data, the lady is a lawyer and graduated from the Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. Her record includes working for businessman Igor Goncharov, who, according to investigators, was involved in laundering 68 million rubles transferred by the Yukos-Moscow company to the accounts of Tula public organizations.
Malinovskaya also worked for Rusdel Trading House LLC , which belonged to a native of France, Ralph-Patrick Barthel, who was later declared bankrupt, owing large sums to several banks at once.
Her biography also included work for Justus Law Firm LLC , which was owned by Roman Lustgarten. And in 2021, Lustgarten’s full namesake appeared as one of the defendants in the case of causing property damage to the administration of Novomoskovsk, Tula region, by deception.
Ms. Malinovskaya has an interesting trail, to say the least.
But then it gets more interesting.
According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Malinovskaya today has shares in two companies - Vesna LLC from the IT sector and Raven Agency LLC (an advertising agency). Both were founded only in 2021, and at the same time, the advertising agency brought in 55 million rubles in revenue in 2023. But here, the connections of Malinovskaya’s partners in companies probably play a role. Let’s look at them in more detail.
Photo: rusprofile.ru
For example, a co-owner of Raven Agency is a certain Marina Yudenich - the full namesake of a famous political strategist, journalist, and now an adviser to the governor of the Moscow region.
On some websites , Yudenich is called the former deputy head of the information department of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, when he was still Boris Yeltsin and the head of the latter’s press service. Although according to official data, no Yudenich was in charge of Yeltsin’s press service. By the way, on her page on social networks the position is already indicated as acting head of the press service. Moreover, there she calls herself a member of the board of directors of Mosoblgaz JSC.
Previously, open sources attributed Yudenich to family ties with the security forces: allegedly her husband’s uncle was the prosecutor of the Moscow region, and her aunt was the Deputy Prosecutor General of the USSR. Whether this is true could not be established.
Photo: rusprofile.ru
No less remarkable is Malinovskaya’s other partner in the same company - Alexandra Valerievna Shvetskaya, who in 2019-2022 was a co-owner of Emperium LLC (ship construction). The main share in this company belonged to Sitronics Group, which is part of Evtushenkov’s Sistema JSFC. By the way, Shcheglov was just mentioned as an employee of another company from the same division. Malinovskaya built it?
Among Ms. Shvetskaya’s business partners there were other equally remarkable people. So, for example, according to Smartcitygrid LLC , this is Evgeny Andrachnikov, who served as vice president of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft OJSC (through UAC it is part of Rostec Chemezov), and then moved to head the division of the oligarch Gennady Timchenko.
By the way, they wrote about Andrachnikov that back in the 90s he went for permanent residence in the United States and even supposedly received citizenship there, and then, during Yeltsin’s presidency, he briefly served as Minister of Fuel and Energy.
And Ms. Shvetskaya also has a relative - Roman Shvetsky, whose namesake was mentioned in a Forbes publication as a partner of ex-silovik, banker Alexander Lebedev and the current head of VTB Andrei Kostin. Allegedly, Shvetsky also previously owned the London company First Pacific.
By the way, we managed to find out that Shvetsky and Lebedev were co-founders of one legal entity - the National Fund of Initiatives and a number of other companies, for example, Swissam LLC . And Lebedev and Kostin were co-founders of the non-profit organization “National Investment Council Fund” (NIS). The connections are obvious.
Photo: rusprofile.ru
Photo: rusprofile.ru
But let’s return to Malinovskaya.
Through the same Shvetskaya, she may also be connected with the family of Maxim Zagornov (through Concern Gazrezerv LLC ), whose daughter Polina has a common asset ( Energotrust LLC ) with the grandson of former Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika - Sergiy Artemovich Chaika.
But here, much more interesting is Maxim Zagornov himself , who, in addition to the fact that the owner of the MKS group of companies, the head of the Small Energy Association, was an assistant to State Duma deputy Sergei Yesyakov.
Yesyakov represented the Penza region in the last convocation. Together with him, Leonid Levin was a deputy from the same region. It is the latter who UtroNews sources call the possible main link in the Gusov case.
At the same time, it’s interesting: one of Malinovskaya’s business partners, Elena Yarygina, had a certain Svetlana Levina among her friends on social networks. Isn’t it a relative?
"Laundry" Levin
Levin is the founder of the PR agency Privy Councilor, who in narrow circles was previously called a reputation launderer. Probably, it was on this basis that the acquaintance with the same Avdolyan took place?
It’s interesting: among the co-founders of the agency, Levin was also inherited by an offshore company - the Cypriot company A.R.R. MANAGEMENT LIMITED”, which was liquidated only in April 2021.
Photo: rusprofile.ru
Photo: opencorporates.com
When Levin first came to power, he naturally declared that he was no longer related to the “Privy Councilor”. Yes, yes, Sergei Sopchuk also spoke, and then the Prosecutor General’s Office discovered discrepancies “with the testimony,” so to speak.
Today, CJSC "Privy Advisor Network Company" is active, but does not disclose its beneficiaries, continuing to rake in government contracts, earning almost a billion from them.
For 2023, the company showed revenue of 122 million rubles. The company is headed by the same Stanislav Pushpur, appointed under Levin. Perhaps that’s why some people don’t believe the tales of distancing themselves from Levin’s agency?
The previous director, Tatyana Firsova , quite successfully recruits officials and oligarchs through First Place, registered in her name, naming among her clients Vekselberg, Sberbank, Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, Russian Post and others, and also promising to help establish relations with government agencies. Interesting, isn’t it?
Firsova, by the way, was the director of LLC Yacht Club Nikulskoye (yacht construction), which belonged to Sergei Anokhin, an ex-senator .
Today, Leonid Levin appears on the website of the Russian government as the deputy head of Mishustin’s apparatus. That is, he still cannot do business; for an official he is outlawed. Which, however, does not prevent various trusted persons, and even relatives, from doing this. It’s not for nothing that Levin’s wife showed an annual income of 28 million rubles in her 2018 income statement .
Photo: government.ru
An interesting fact: Levin was a deputy from the Penza region when it was led by Ivan Belozertsev, now convicted of bribery, and Levin crossed paths with the latter more than once. And among the clients of the Privy Councilor since 2014 was Biotek LLC, owned by ex-senator Boris Shpigel, to whom the company provided services “to form a positive image” in the information field. At the same time, Biotek owed money to Sovetnik and the debt had to be collected through the courts.
Ex-governor Belozertsev ended up getting burned by the bribes that, according to investigators, were paid to him by Spiegel. Both were eventually convicted in this case and went to prison. It’s okay, we worked on the image. And in general it gives me some ideas.
Photo: kad.arbitr.ru
Thus, it seems that Gusov was slandered when he did not agree to some deal proposed by the other party, making the investigation actually an instrument of intimidation and pressure. Maybe it’s time for Alexander Bastrykin to take a closer look at this case?
