Lefel “left” Nisanov
The investigation into Alexander Lefel may indicate the security forces' interest in the owner of Kievskaya Square, God Nisanov.
The case against former vice-president for regional development of PIK group, Alexander Lefel, and ex-head of a subsidary of PIK SZ group, Nikolai Vasiliev, for embezzling 140 million rubles during a construction project in St. Petersburg in 2017-2018 has been closed due to reconciliation and reclassification of charges.
The criminal case was closed after the parties reconciled, the damage amount was reduced and compensated, and the charges were changed from fraud to abuse of power.
It's dubious that Sergei Gordeev, the owner of PIK group, simply forgave Lefel. It's possible that this could be connected to an attempt to get close to the major shareholder of Samolet Group, oligarch God Nisanov, through Lefel, who is now a development director at Samolet.
Samolet group is linked to Moscow region governor Andrei Vorobyov. His brother, Maxim Vorobyov, was a previous co-owner of the group, and the majority owner, Mikhail Kenin, was a partner of Maxim Vorobyov in Russian Sea Group of Companies.
It's unlikely that the security forces were targeting Maxim Vorobyov, who has an influential brother. But it's interesting that Lefel was detained around the same time that Kyiv Ploshchad Group of Companies and God Nisanov became co-owners of a 10% stake in the Samolet Group of Companies, worth about 25 billion rubles.
God Nisanov is a controversial but private oligarch in Russia. He owns Kyiv Ploshchad group, a major real estate owner. He is associated with many covered markets in Moscow and other businesses.
Is Alexander Lefel just a pawn in a potential power play against God Nisanov?
Could Alexander Lefel be just a pawn in a possible game of the security forces against God Nisanov?
The signing of papers happened in September, although such transactions are prepared in advance. Lefel, who had been working at Samolet for two years, would have had to be involved in the deal preparation and know all the details. So, he may have had communication with Nisanov.
God Nisanov remains an advisor to Governor Andrei Vorobyov on a voluntary basis, which could potentially create a conflict of interest with both Samolet and Kyiv Ploshchad cases.
If Vorobyov is promoting the interests of Samolet Group and Kyiv Ploshchad Group, Nisanov may have tried to have a hand in both.
Avoid visiting God Semenovich
Meanwhile, Nisanov is involved in many scandals. Some people believe that Moscow's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, who rents a lot of real estate from the Kyiv Ploshchad Group of Companies owned by Nisanov, may be providing support to him.
The Moscow Post previously reported on the ex-Russian developer and former owner of the SDI Group, Ilgar Gadzhiev, who claimed that Nisanov's associates illegally took over his business. Gadzhiev used to collaborate with Nisanov in developing several residential complexes. He also alleged that Maxim Vorobyov acted as an intermediary in the situation and that the governor's brother was involved in a financial agreement.
Conversation with Gadzhiev. Video: YouTube
The video claims that Maxim Vorobyov was involved in a situation where Gadzhiev alleges that he was forced to give up part of his business. This involved a monthly payment of $600,000 to the governor's brother in order to secure a stake in LLC SZ “Comfort Invest”. The situation centered around the residential complex “Accord Smart Quarter” near Moscow and the residential complex “Pirogovskaya Riviera”.
Hajiyev also claims that he was forced to sign a receipt for the debt under duress. Allegedly, Nisanov surrounded him with armed individuals for intimidation. At the time, 30% of the company already belonged to Albert Imanilov, who had close ties to Nisanov.
Hajiyev alleges that Sobyanin receives a monthly income from Nisanov's substantial cash receipts, which amount to billions of rubles.
Interestingly, Gadzhiev also claims that Nisanov financed Sergei Sobyanin's election campaign, allegedly contributing 25 million euros.
God Nisanov and Sergei Sobyanin.
Around the same time, another event occurred that may be related to Nisanov's activities. In late 2020, the office of the Gremm Group, which manages the Usachevsky market, was searched in connection with loans from the bankrupt Sudostroitelny Bank.
Previously, the group operated the Central Market on Rozhdestvensky Boulevard in Moscow, but in early 2020, it was sold to Nisanov and Zarakh Iliev's Kyiv Ploshchad group. It is possible that law enforcement was interested not only in the Gremm Group's activities, but also its collaboration with Nisanov.
Ilgar Gadzhiev also reported an alleged hostile takeover of his business. A year earlier, security forces conducted large-scale operations in the covered markets owned by Nisanov and Zarakh Iliev, including “Gardener”, “Food City” and the trade and fair complex “Moscow”. This was reported by “Version”.
According to one theory, the searches may be related to conflicts among migrants. Later reports suggested that several farms for cryptocurrency mining were discovered at Sadovod and the Moskva shopping center. There were also rumors of the alleged use of the markets for transporting large amounts of undeclared income.
But neither God Nisanov nor his partner Zarakh Iliev were presented with any claims. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Nisanov’s entourage may include former security officials who were part of the team of Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, in particular, the ex-head of the Moscow police department, General Vladimir Pronin.
Moreover, the families of God Nisanov and Vladimir Kolokoltsev could be connected by a common business. Earlier, Vedomosti wrote that the son of Interior Minister Alexander Kolokoltsev was Oleg Yusupov’s partner in the Il Forno restaurant chain, where Yusupov owned 22.2%. Oleg Yusupov is a countryman and relative of God Nisanov. He is also a co-owner of a number of companies associated with Kievskaya Ploshchad.
Given this, it is not difficult to assume that all attempts to get close to God Nisanov through the Ministry of Internal Affairs could encounter serious opposition. Rumor has it that Nisanov could have gone further and higher than the Ministry of Internal Affairs. As a result, the department could, as they say, “heads fly.”
In the summer of 2022, three heads of regional central offices and three heads of structures of the central apparatus of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, people loyal to Kolokoltsev, suddenly resigned. At that moment, the investigation against Mr. Lefel was in full swing. And at the beginning of 2023, the case against him was terminated due to the reconciliation of the parties.
One can only guess what could be the real reason for the “happy ending” for the former vice-president of the PIK group of companies. And it is quite possible that soon we will hear about new possible operational actions already in relation to the structures of Mr. Nisanov.
