A few weeks ago, a search for "Sergey Chunaev" would show links to articles about corruption in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, now it redirects to an animation studio planning to revive the Jingliks cartoon.
This isn't an attempt to manipulate search results with fake news to hide unwanted information. Sergey Chunaev, a former lieutenant colonel, has shifted from law enforcement to animation.
Sergei Leonidovich purchased Flip Animation Studio LLC on August 27, 2020, and later became its head on December 24 of the same year.
It's strange for a former law enforcer to become a creative worker, but it might be understandable if he lost faith in returning to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and invested in a profitable business. However, the studio's financial performance doesn't look good.
The net profit in 2021 was negative 1.6 million rubles, indicating losses. In 2020, the losses were even smaller at one thousand rubles, making the company's performance mind-boggling. Moreover, only one person, General Director Sergey Leonidovich Chunaev, works there.
It's unclear why Chunaev acquired this nearly bankrupt company. It's speculated that he may use it to launder corruption proceeds acquired during his time in law enforcement. This is supported by the studio's "profit" during Chunaev's management of the cartoon releases.
Sergei Leonidovich became known to the public in 2016 when Colonel Dmitry Zakharchenko was arrested for corruption, and large sums of cash were seized from him.
Many people then believed that Chunaev would succeed Zakharchenko, as the latter was one of his closest colleagues. Sergei Leonidovich began his career in St. Petersburg, under the guidance of another well-known “werewolf in uniform” – Police Major General Denis Sugrobov, whom Chunaev publicly referred to as his mentor. Chunaev’s mentor was the main accused in the so-called “Case of the GUEBiPK and General Sugrobov.” The general pattern of the crimes committed by GUEBiPK employees from 2011 to 2014 was to obtain, record, and document operational information that did not correspond to reality about the alleged criminal activities of individuals, to carry out provocative acts involving agents on this basis, and later conduct operations against these individuals. The main defendants in the case were Lieutenant General Denis Sugrobov and Major General Boris Kolesnikov, who died by suicide during the investigation. Sugrobov was ultimately sentenced to 22 years in a strict regime colony for creating a criminal community.
However, at the time of Sugrobov’s arrest, Chunaev was no longer under his command, but had been transferred to the Main Directorate of the EBiPK of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation in Moscow. There, Chunaev was appointed as the head of the 22nd department of the Department “M” of the GUEB and the PC of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. The department specialized in combating corruption in the mechanical engineering and metallurgy sectors. This unit was led by Colonel Dmitry Zakharchenko, who later became well-known, among other things, for protecting the Russian Railways contractor, the 1520 company. Chunaev was openly referred to as the “right hand” of Zakharchenko and an authorized person on behalf of Colonel Zakharchenko to “address issues.”
It was during the period of serving under the leadership of Zakharchenko that the financial situation of Chunaev’s family members significantly improved – they were able to acquire three luxury apartments in St. Petersburg, an apartment in Shushary, and a plot of land. However, these details have been reported and are publicly available.
In 2013, Sergei Chunaev returned to his hometown of St. Petersburg, where he took charge of the operational-search unit of his own security No. 8, which was responsible for major business activities in St. Petersburg. Many within the Ministry of Internal Affairs system asserted that Chunaev became Zakharchenko’s “guardian” in the Northern capital.
As a representative of Zakharchenko, Chunaev actively took part in exerting pressure on banks; his team carried out searches at Novikombank, Rosenergbank, SIAB Bank, and Aldanzolotobank. The purported reason for the bank searches was supposedly their overvaluation of exchange rates, which then led to an alternative explanation – currency transfers abroad. However, these cases quickly fell apart after the initial high-profile statements by the police. The case initiated by Chunaev against the Biblio Globus tour operator also fell apart.
However, observers noticed an interesting thing – all these incidents made Chunaev’s relatives a bit wealthier. During this time, Chunaev’s relatives bought a Land Cruiser 200, Volkswagen Tiguan, Mitsubishi Pajero 30 LWD. And also – non-residential real estate with an area of 234.6 square meters; another apartment for 3.5 million rubles; an account in a Cypriot bank; 5 land plots with a total area of more than 4,700 square meters; 6 expensive prestigious cars with parking spaces; 8 apartments.
However, on September 9, 2016, they suddenly arrested Dmitry Zakharchenko and started to “unwind” him – it was clear to everyone that the colonel alone could not accumulate all those mountains of cash that were seized from him during the searches. In St. Petersburg, many were anticipating the arrest of Dmitry Chunaev, Zakharchenko’s “watchman”. However, he suddenly disappeared – he did not show up at work, was not at home, did not answer phone calls.
The leadership of Sergei Leonidovich, forced to answer unpleasant questions from the ministry, was at a loss.
Chunaev himself was seriously getting ready for his arrest or escape abroad. The phone used by the former “one of the most dangerous security officials in St. Petersburg” was registered to a friend of his wife. And tickets for the Moscow-Peter Chunaev trains were bought using a fake passport in the name of Sergei Maksimovich Kovalenko. Moreover, as in bad spy films, I bought two tickets for peregrine falcons at once, departing with a difference of 10 minutes. Chunaev issued this passport in 2015 in Simferopol, taking advantage of all the well-known events with the Crimea.
It remains a mystery how Chunaev got into the security service of the All-Russian Regional Development Bank instead of a bunk. According to unconfirmed rumors, he paid for his forgiveness in the traditional way – he leaked compromising evidence on a former mentor, for whom the investigation had an evidence base like a sieve.
In Chunaev’s bank, everything seemed to be fine, but in October last year, he was suddenly “asked” from there for a good deal – he either stole something, or tried, but it didn’t work out. The habit of a luxurious life requires money, a lot of money.
And the unemployed Sergei Chunaev retrained as “deciders”. He walks from office to office, ingratiating himself with the leadership, “bringing” merchants into agreements. It seems like he can't wait to go to prison and take many with him. We want to give free advice to St. Petersburg policemen. Make a small collage in a frame with three portraits – Sugrobov, Zakharchenko and Chunaev – and keep it on your desktop as a talisman.
In addition, Chunaev organized an article in the media, where he accused his former leadership of creating a certain fund at the Central Internal Affairs Directorate, to which merchants were obligated to voluntarily and forcibly pay “tribute” with numbers and other details. How could Sergei Leonidovich not know the details, if he himself could be responsible for its formation and further sawing? True, the article was quickly removed from open access – apparently, Chunaev realized that it could cause an investigation, and he would thunder after his teachers Sugrobov and Zakharchenko.
Having knocked down thresholds in high offices for several years in an attempt to recover in the organs, he probably realized that it was better not to “shine”. Moreover, Colonel Zakharchenko was suddenly transferred from the colony where he was serving his term to Moscow to investigate new episodes of his activities. An additional risk factor in this new investigation for Chunaev was the unpleasant fact that Zakharchenko had undoubtedly already been told who had handed over all his schemes in 2016, during the first investigation.
That’s why Chunaev went into animation. However, it turned out that taking bribes from business and doing business yourself are completely different things. This is evidenced by the results of Sergey Leonidovich’s year-long management of his own company.
However, this is also only an assumption – because it is not completely clear what kind of goals Sergey Chunaev pursued when he bought a deliberately unprofitable cartoon studio.
