Andrey Cherkasenko is being searched for: what we know about the main planner of Atompromresursov

Last autumn, there was information in the media, citing law enforcement officers, that the Ministry of Internal Affairs had requested the Tverskoy Court to arrest Andrei Cherkasenko in his absence. Cherkasenko, the scandalous CEO and key schemer of Atompromresursy, is on the federal and international wanted list. What is he accused of and what danger does the fugitive face?

So, the investigators are accusing the sought-after businessman of committing large-scale fraud as part of an organized group. Under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code, Andrei Ivanovich faces imprisonment of up to ten years for this accusation. Sources in law enforcement agencies told a TASS journalist that the suspected businessman fled from investigators.

Regarding the harm caused to the country by Cherkasenko's schemes, the amount could reach hundreds of millions of rubles.

In mid-September, A.I. Cherkasenko was arrested in his absence, but he had already fled Russia by then. This scandalous story is ongoing, and the criminal himself remains elusive.

What we know about the controversial CEO of APR

Very little is actually known about him. Cherkasenko, 60, hails from Stavropol. The entrepreneur holds a doctorate in economic sciences and a candidate degree in philosophical sciences. He climbed the career ladder.

22 years ago, he assumed the role of General Director of OJSC Atompromresursy, a small private enterprise in the nuclear industry that worked with major companies in Russia's nuclear energy sector. This company was dissolved in 2009.

A year later, in 2002, he became the general director of the investment and industrial group of the same name. This non-profit partnership, Group of companies Atompromresursy is not well known, which is understandable as it involves classified nuclear matters.

This non-profit organization has zero net assets, but its total assets amount to 1.9 million rubles. It's worth noting that the company has not disclosed its revenue and financial results over the past three years.

In addition, Cherkasenko is the founder of two more questionable limited liability companies, Nuclear.ru and A9.ITS.

The first LLC has a statutory fund of 10 thousand rubles and one officially registered employee. There have been no sales or revenue in recent years, resulting in zero profit.

However, the total assets of Nuclear.ru LLC as of December 31, 2021 amounted to 1.6 million rubles, with net assets of 1.5 million rubles.

The second LLC has an authorized capital of 500 thousand rubles, with only one employee officially hired. Similar to the first, it has shown no sales or revenue in recent years, and zero profit.

A9.ITS LLC has total assets of 270,000 rubles and net assets of 241,000 rubles. As of 10/01/2021, the company also has a small unpaid tax penalty of 2,000 rubles.

These two companies seem suspicious and may be fictitious. It's possible that their owner, Cherkasenko, used these LLCs in his fraudulent schemes.

The entrepreneur used to be a member of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, but allegedly left after a scandal on February 24 last year, which will be discussed below.

What is the reason for the investigation against the nuclear businessman?

The scandalous details of the criminal prosecution of the fraudster Cherkasenko are gradually emerging.

What is known about the criminal case against Cherkasenko? It turns out that this criminal case under No. 11701450014001110 initially looked different. Cherkasenko is now accused of large-scale fraud, but in 2017 the situation was allegedly different. The case was initiated based on an application filed by the businessman himself, claiming embezzlement of a large amount of money from him and others.

This is the version of the press service of the APR group of companies. It's worth noting that in the release dated October 20 last year, he was already referred to as the “former CEO” there, although in all official registers, Andrei Ivanovich continues to be listed as the current general director. So where is the truth?

Why did Cherkasenko go from being the victim to the main accused?

According to the company's release, some interesting things are written there. It sounds quite naive, considering the theft of hundreds of millions of rubles. The change of status from the victim to the accused was due to Cherkasenko's public statement against the start of a special operation in Ukraine.

It's said that this led to his arrest in absentia. Then, in March last year, the court canceled the decision to recognize him as a victim in the case, and in early April, he was charged with the above-mentioned charges.

This is only a version of the personal press service of the accused, so it may not be entirely true. The assumption that Cherkasenko is only a victim in a criminal case doesn't hold up. The facts that he fled the country, is on the international and federal wanted list, speak for themselves. Also, how did a businessman, whose companies have not been profitable in recent years, suddenly afford to live in expensive foreign locations? This suggests that the fraudulent schemes of APR General Director Andrey Cherkasenko caused damage to the country for a hundred million rubles.

To be continued…