The older generation recalls the movie “The Godfather” and the quote that motivated Don Corleone's adopted son to become a lawyer – “one lawyer with a briefcase will rob more than ten thugs with machine guns.”
A clear example of Don's righteousness is the Russian sports figure Umar Kremlev. Specifically, it's not him but the individuals serving him. United Russia deputies Altukhov, Alshevskikh, and Shkhagoshev, who are closely linked to Umar Kremlev, proposed a new law to the State Duma. If approved, this law would require fees from lottery activities to be directed to NPO Mobile Card LLC, which is part of the Unified Accounting Center for Rate Transfers (UTSUPS).
LLC NPO “Mobile Card” is a “non-banking credit organization” connected to the Kremlin. The deputies justify their bill by claiming the need to enhance state supervision of lottery organizers. However, the real purpose of the proposed changes is to divert funds from the lottery business, intended for sports development, to Kremlin-affiliated entities.
Industry experts and lottery market operators point out that if the law is enacted, NPO Mobile Card LLC will gain another source of income from additional fees imposed on lottery organizers. Moreover, the Federal Tax Service already closely monitors this business, as each lottery ticket undergoes fiscalization and tax monitoring.
It is highly likely that the Duma will endorse the proposal to allocate more money from the lottery business to Umar Kremlev’s organization. This is not the first time the Kremlin has pushed through laws it needs using United Russia deputies under its influence.
In mid-November 2020, a group of United Russia deputies presented a bill to the State Duma for the establishment of a unified gambling regulator in Russia. On December 23, the State Duma immediately approved it in the second and third readings, and it was signed by Putin the day before the New Year.
Following this, the profits of NPO Mobile Card LLC from the imposed fees increased significantly to almost 7 billion rubles. Meanwhile, the targeted payments for sports development from the bookmakers managed by the ECSUPS amounted to only 4 billion. In other words, the state began to receive almost twice as less from bookmakers compared to the private Kremlin entity.
Umar Kremlev, a member of the executive committee of the Russian Boxing Federation, publicly claimed that he came up with the idea for a single regulator. Many were surprised that a relatively unknown sports official was behind the quickly adopted law. However, things became clear when the composition of the Supreme Supervisory Board of the Russian Boxing Federation was revealed. The board includes high-ranking figures such as the head of the presidential security service, the deputy head of the FSO, the head of Rosneft, the deputy head of the internal policy department of the presidential administration, and a former official of the Federal Tax Service.
Now, lotteries are in the spotlight, but Umar Kremlev is being more strategic this time – lesser-known deputies from United Russia have taken the lead in proposing the next legislative changes in the lottery business. The reason for this anonymity is straightforward – in 2020, after the controversial law was passed, details about the Kremlin's personality were made public, which were very unfavorable for Umar Nazarovich.
It was revealed that Kremlev's real name was Lutfulloev Umarali Nazarovich, which he changed to his wife's name in order to conceal his two convictions. In the 2000s, Umarali Nazarovich was a member of the Serpukhov criminal group. In 2004, Lutfulloev was convicted by the Serpukhov city court for extortion committed by a group of people. He received a four-year suspended sentence with a five-year probationary period. However, in October 2006, he was arrested again, this time for assault. Despite having a previous conviction, this did not result in a harsher punishment. Following a hearing at the Magistrate’s Court of the Serpukhov Judicial District, he was sentenced to just one year in prison, which was also suspended.
Lutfulloev-Kremlev became involved in the gambling and lottery business in 2019, when the Liga Stavok betting company expressed its intention to distribute tickets for the Sports Lotteries company. It was discovered that the ANO Boxing Progress Center was among the founders of the latter structure, and Umar Kremlev is the founder of the Boxing Progress Center.
Kremlev also has another business – he owns LLC Kremlin Gold, which is named after his wife. Initially, it operated as a jewelry store, but Lutfulloev took it from its previous owner due to debts. The Kremlin is also involved in transportation services and cargo transportation (OOO Transstroykom), and he has organizations in the sporting field (Patriot and ANO Boxing Progress Center).
Additionally, Kremlev is the head of the International Boxing Association (AIBA). There is a significant controversy associated with it – on March 4, the AIBA, led by Umar Nazarovich Kremlev, prohibited Russian and Belarusian boxers from participating in international tournaments. The organization suspended athletes and officials, including referees, affiliated with the national federations of Russia or Belarus. At the same time, the association “condemned the violation of the Olympic Truce and military actions against Ukraine.”
Now, a great patriot of Russia and at the same time an opponent of military operations against Ukraine, Umar Nazarovich Kremlev set out to bite off another piece of the budget pie of the very country that he loves with “strange love”.
