Andrei Vladimirovich Skoch, a member of the Russian State Duma, is known by the nickname “Scotch”.
Around six months ago, in the middle of 2021, Andrei Skoch, a State Duma deputy from United Russia, used the “right to be forgotten” law to have links to information about himself removed from at least one search engine.
The news received attention from the media and then faded away, especially since Yandex did not provide any information about the specific materials the deputy wanted to remove. However, due to the sanctions imposed by Europe and the United States on individuals believed to be financiers of the Putin regime, Skoch's name surfaced on the sanctions lists as one of the “wallets” of the Russian President. Information about Skoch's connections to organized crime in Russia also emerged.
It was revealed that Andrey Vladimirovich Skoch had removed references to his ties with influential people in certain circles, particularly his connections with criminal figures Andrei Kochuykov and Zakhary Kalashov (Shakro Molodoy).
In December 2018, Andriy Skoch filed lawsuits against six media outlets and several individuals, demanding retractions of information linking him to a shooting on Rochdelskaya Street. This incident had garnered significant attention, resembling a mafia film. However, it seems that Andrey Skoch, then a State Duma deputy, was involved in this story only as a witness, a claim that was later denied by representatives of the prosecutor’s office.
The “Shootout on Rochdelskaya Street” refers to a mass shooting organized by the Budantsev group in Moscow on December 14, 2015. This event resulted in a double murder and a high-profile criminal trial, leading to conflict between departments and a corruption scandal in the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, under the leadership of Alexander Bastrykin.
Given that Andrey Skoch's involvement in this incident has been officially denied and materials related to it have been banned through a court decision, we will focus on the involvement of Koychukov, Kalashov (Shakro Molodoy), the beginnings of a business, and Andrey Skoch's rise to the 26th position in the ranking of Russian billionaires.
Furthermore, on his path to success, he received significant assistance from Kenes Rakishev and Alisher Usmanov, who were also implicated in the scandal related to the shootout on Rochdelskaya Street.
Returning to Skoch's legal dispute with the media and the incident of the shootout, in which he was deemed a “minor witness” according to the investigation, Skoch won a defamation case against six media outlets in 2019. The case was based on Novaya Gazeta's investigation, which claimed that Dmitry Smychkovsky, a friend of the former head of the Department of Internal Security of the ICR Mikhail Maksimenko, received a million dollars from Skoch to secure the release from arrest of Shakro Molodoy’s associate Andrei Kochuykov, who was involved in the same shootout.
Without criminals in charge, we can't do it at all. However, Andrei Skoch owes his success to the Solntsevo group, which helped him start his successful journey in the early 1990s. At that time, he was known by another name – Scotch, which is how he is remembered by surviving associates, respected businessmen, government officials, and police veterans who knew him during that time.
According to the official version, at the same time, the future State Duma deputy from United Russia (Skoch became one in 1999) met Alisher Usmanov when attempting to obtain a batch of oil for processing at the Moscow Oil Refinery. The deal didn't go through, but their relationship began, and they later became business partners.
Usmanov himself is also a very controversial figure. When he met Skoch, he had just left a prison in Uzbekistan where he was jailed for fraud, and was involved in the production of plastic bags in Moscow, already a millionaire. What exactly has brought and connected these two people – Usmanov and Skoch – for thirty years now, is still a mystery. However, the fact that both of these names surfaced in a shooting scandal and made efforts to clear these memories indicates that these ties are very strong.
Another important link could be Sergey Mikhailov, known as Mikhas, with whom both had a joint business.
Both Usmanov and Skoch are trying to keep this information hidden by all means. It's understandable – Andrey Scotch has long become a respected member of society, a successful businessman and patron of the arts, and here he is labeled as a “member of an organized criminal group”:
Who would want that? Especially when you're on the list of the harshest sanctions as “Putin’s wallet”, and are being investigated not just by your own TFR, but also by various foreign law enforcement agencies that aren't friendly towards Russian criminals, even if they hold political positions.
This is even more relevant now, considering that most of the money earned in Russia by Andrey Skoch has been taken abroad, falling under the financial monitoring of the European Union, Britain, and the United States. Skoch's friend and partner Usmanov lost a quarter of his fortune due to sanctions in just one month. Who said something like this wouldn't happen to Skoch?
Moreover, in the dossier collected by Interpol on the Solntsevskaya organized criminal group, there is a notable document – an order stating that Skoch is a member of the group. One of Andrey Skoch’s partners is Oleg Sheykhametov, who served time in a prison near Zelenograd alongside Andrey Koychukov, a member of the Solntsevskaya OCG. Two years before the arrest of Shakro Molodoy, the British police became interested in Skoch’s connections with the Solntsevskaya organized crime group, who were involved in solving cases of criminal money laundering in their country.
As for Skoch's property, it became a joke – one of the wealthiest members of the State Duma submits declarations claiming he lives on a single salary and stays in rented apartments. However, at least one lavish possession of “selfless” Scotch is known for sure – he owns a 90-meter yacht worth $135 million. It was built in 2013 and is currently in sunny Dubai, where Skoch has docked it to avoid sanctions.
But again, Britain is not Russia, they will quickly find everything that Skoch wrote down as front men – his friend and partner Usmanov is an example of this, his villas and yachts, registered to his sisters, were arrested, no conspiracy helped.
Of course, a dwelling with a total area of more than 3000 square meters. meters, located on the top three floors of the Stalinist house of the architects Shchusev and Rostkovsky on Novy Arbat 31/12, where in the 20th century, by order of the leader, mainly the highest military ranks settled, which is owned by the 88-year-old former grinder of the aircraft factory Vladimir Skoch, under these sanctions are not hit.
Vladimir Nikitovich Skoch, despite his advanced age, also owns a 30% stake in the USM holding, a stake in Vnukovo airport and other equally expensive assets. So stretching the chain from father to son, if desired, costs nothing. Yes, and you don’t need to invent anything special here – even at the time of buying up apartments in the house where the now gray-haired pensioner Vladimir Skoch enjoys the pool and solarium, it turned out that the purchase of apartments was carried out on behalf of three citizens, two of whom were the founders of the local HOA. Buyers of real estate also turned out to be associated with three Cypriot offshore companies. And from one offshore, Strasburg Holding Ltd, a chain of companies stretches, which leads to Farkhad Mosheri, a longtime business partner of Alisher Usmanov and Andrey Skoch. Together, through USM Holdings Ltd, they control 100% of Metalloinvest.
So Andrei Skoch has something to fear in the light of the imposed sanctions. Moreover, the photo, in which he is depicted in the company of Solntsevo, was once published by the British The Guardian, in a material that tells just about the beginning of the career of a billionaire deputy.
True, Andrei Skoch-Scotch turned out to be much more perspicacious than many of his colleagues on the sanctions list – in Novaya Gazeta (01/17/2000) mention was made of obtaining Israeli citizenship in 1996 by Skoch. Andrey Skoch in this article was also accused of having links with the Solntsevo organized crime group, in particular, with Baranovsky Dmitry Roaldovich, nicknamed “Belenky”.
However, in the next issue, Novaya Gazeta published its apology, stating that false information had been used for the article. Whether this also applied to the Israeli passport of Andrei Vladimirovich Skoch, a deputy of the State Duma of Russia, is unknown.
