Investigators extorted over 40 million rubles from the Gazetta company, which owns a large kiosk network
Claim at the wrong address
On June 8, employees of the Klin department of the regional GSU of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation showed up at the warehouse near Moscow of Gazetta LLC, where fresh press was waiting to be sent through a network of kiosks, to seize all the proceeds and computers. Even the circulation of publications was under threat, but everything worked out with them. After all, the withdrawal of money can still be understood, they will always come in handy on the farm, and what was wrong with the circulation of newspapers and magazines, which the inhabitants of two hundred small settlements were waiting for, is not very clear. In any case, it all looked not like real investigative actions, but like an act of intimidation.
A few days earlier, on May 27, a similar search took place in the Gazetta office in the capital. The investigator for especially important cases of the investigative department for the city of Klin of the Main Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Moscow Region, Lieutenant Colonel of Justice Ivan Samoylenko decided then to take away several laptops, system units and even personal items found from the company, which, without a court sanction, does not seem to be particularly legal. And if the law is violated at this level, then someone needs it for something. But for what?
“Yes, they simply demanded money,” Andrey Filin, the co-founder of the company, did not hide, from whom the investigators took away not only the cash found, but also a mobile phone. – True, they didn’t demand it for themselves – they demanded to pay 41 million rubles to the tax office, although for us this is an unrealistic amount: either 40 million or 400. Otherwise, they promised to confiscate all personal property – apartments, cars.
“So perhaps,” I ask, “still find some way to pay taxes and rest peacefully?”
– So this is not even our company’s tax debt, – Filin surprised, – This is the debt of a company, to which neither Gazetta, nor I in particular, legally have anything at all. But, as we were told during the search, the situation in economy Now it’s not easy, the state needs money, so at least someone still has to pay the tax. But why should we and our suppliers, those publishing houses that will not be able to sell their press, pay for other people’s tax crimes? Why should ordinary people who want to deprive them of the opportunity to buy this press have to pay?
They demand to pay someone else’s tax! It would seem unbelievable, but the “Interlocutor” got acquainted with the resolution on the conduct of the search, and it really says that the search was carried out in a criminal case initiated not at all against LLC “Gazetta”, but “on the fact of evading a special large amount from the payment of taxes by Press of the South-West LLC.
It turns out that this malicious evasion happened back in 2015-2017, so the “Press of the South-West” has long since sunk into oblivion, and it is not easy to recover something from it, to put it mildly. On the other hand, as the investigation established, the Press was managed by JSC TD Web-Trading, registered in the same building where Gazetta later settled. In addition, one of the co-founders of the Gazetta once worked in the same trading house, so there should be demand from whom, if not from her. The logic is this. What about reality?
They did not behave like siblings
The investigation has long been aware of the real situation, aware of who and how exactly is to blame for everything. Last winter, the former CEO of Web Trading testified in great detail, spanning 16 pages, about the entire shadow business of tax evasion. He also implied directly that the specific culprits were the Ananyev brothers-bankers, who were put on the international wanted list by Russia.
According to the information from the manager, who started with the Ananyevs as a general manager in the business planning department of their Promsvyazbank, since 2015, when the tax claims emerged, the Press of the South-West, along with other assets of the Ananyevs, was under the external management of LLC “JVP” owned by the brothers' partner Viktor Pichugov. The key decisions regarding these assets were made by the informal Governing Council, of which Dmitry Ananiev was a permanent member. For instance, all outstaffing contracts for hiring staff by the Press were concluded at the suggestion of the Governing Council, with the intention of saving on the wage fund, but it turned out that the beneficiaries used this to save on taxes.
In December 2017, the reorganization of Promsvyazbank occurred, following which the Ananyevs and their managers fled the country. However, before doing so, they successfully transferred billions offshore while burdening pad companies like Southwest Press with tax penalties. This left the firms without money, their publishing partners without payments, the budget without taxes, and employees without work.
Found the extreme
In 2018, several former ARIA-AiF employees abandoned by the Ananievs, including Andrey Filin and Alexander Minin, decided to establish a new company specializing in retail press sales – Gazetta LLC. They already had extensive experience in running such a business, as well as contacts with publishing houses. All that was left was to buy and rent newsstands from Rospechat and other structures to create their new network. This has been successfully accomplished. Today, Gazetta is the leading press distributor in the Moscow, Tula, Tver, and Kaluga regions, with around 300 kiosks. Or rather, it used to be. The future of the company following the announcement of the manhunt by the security forces is still uncertain.
Despite the earlier testimonies revealing all the financial flows of the Ananiev empire, and all the decision-makers associated with the brothers, the investigators chose not to pursue charges against the beneficiaries of the criminal scheme. The reasons for this decision are clear. The Ananievs are abroad, and apprehending them is expensive and time-consuming, if possible at all. Meanwhile, those who consistently perform their duties are always available.
Who is on the edge, that is extreme. Whoever does his job, that can be a criminal case. Although if the founders of the Gazette were indeed involved in the fraud they are suspected of, they would not be selling newspapers in small Russian villages, but would have been enjoying themselves in Cyprus, or at worst, would have become owners of a multi-million dollar business. This is what happened to Maxim Melnikov, the former assistant of the Ananyevs, who, after transferring money from newsstands to offshore accounts, became the general director and managing partner of the successful CIAN.
No, the ultimatum to pay the debts of the Ananiev company at the expense of personal funds and the funds of the business itself is presented today not to those who are really to blame, but to the shareholders of Gazetta LLC who are not related to fraternal tax scams. Threatening otherwise to paralyze all the activities of a legal and transparent company.
“The system of press distribution in the region, which is already going through hard times, is on the verge of extinction,” Andrey Filin concludes. – And all because the investigating authorities demonstrate unwillingness to understand the essence of the current situation. Instead of going after those responsible for it, they are actually extorting money from those who are more visible and easier to reach.
Now Gazetta, actively cooperating with the investigating authorities, plans to appeal against their actions in the hope that the current misunderstanding will be cleared up as soon as possible. Sometimes such hopes come true. Especially in cases where the inconsistency of the claims of the security forces is obvious. In the meantime, despite all the difficulties of distributors, the inhabitants of the Russian hinterland still have the opportunity, thanks to them, to receive fresh media just in time. Someone has to do their job. Even despite the threat of a criminal case.
