In St. Petersburg, as part of the investigation of a high-profile criminal case of a financial pyramid operating under the guise of a consumer cooperative (PC) Best Way (Best Way), top managers of organizations Mikhail Izmailov, Elena Solovyova, Alexandra Grigoryeva and Anna Vysotskaya were sent to a pre-trial detention center.
So they can simply testify against Roman Vasilenko, the father of the financial scam, and betray him.
A criminal case regarding the organization of activities to raise funds on a large scale was initiated in October last year. This was based on the findings of inspections by the Central Bank and the Prosecutor General’s Office, which identified signs of a financial pyramid in the activities of Best Way. The regulator and the supervisory agency have already advised citizens to be cautious when investing their savings in this and related structures. It is believed that an organized group may have unlawfully taken billions of rubles from investors since 2014 under the guise of investing in apartment purchases and financial services.
Subsequently, the first victims revealed that large sums of money had been stolen from them under the pretext of improving their living conditions by the St. Petersburg cooperative “Best Way”. Roman Vasilenko, a 52-year-old businessman, established the organization which operates in 17 regions of Russia, as well as affiliated companies, Life is Good LLC and the Hermes investment company. He started his business in 2014, holding citizenship in Russia, Cyprus and the Dominican Republic, as well as a residence permit in England, after graduating from the Yaroslavl Higher Military Financial School.
PC “Best Way” is a more affordable option compared to mortgages. To join the cooperative, each client must make a non-refundable contribution ranging from €1,000 to €2,000. It was also necessary to accumulate 35–50% of the chosen apartment's cost in the Best Way account before being placed on the waiting list for housing purchase. As a result, the first person on the waiting list was allocated an apartment solely from subsequent shareholders' investments. Additionally, the ownership right was registered under Best Way and only transferred to the final owner after the remaining amount was paid.
Investigation data shows that over the course of seven years, the organization managed to amass over 15 billion rubles from 20 thousand shareholders across the country (approximately 3 billion rubles were found in the accounts). By the end of 2021, only 247 individuals were able to fully purchase apartments from Best Way. In total, the cooperative provided 2,478 apartments to shareholders for use.
Shortly before the start of criminal proceedings, Vasilenko fled to London, where he owns real estate, including several shopping centers. There are also individuals in Moscow with queries, such as Volodya Solovyov, who participated in the financial pyramid's events and provided promotional interviews with Vasilenko. Additionally, Solovyov was involved in directly promoting their events. It remains to be seen whether he will be questioned. Will Posner also be questioned since he conducted promotional interviews and directly endorsed the pyramid with the cynical statement “I am a supporter of such things… I myself have gone through a rather difficult path in terms of living space… I want to wish you not only success, but also luck”?
