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In Kuban, there is a system to remedy the issues of cheated homebuyers, which is expected to be resolved by 2023. However, there is a problem of kickbacks in the process of finishing construction of houses.
In late January 2023, the 37-year-old director of Stroy Communications LLC, Alexander Pavlyuchenko, was detained for suspicion of giving bribes in relation to the long-term construction of the Na Magistralnaya residential complex in Krasnodar.
Stroy Communications LLC made an agreement with the Fund for the Protection of the Rights of Citizens – Participants in Shared Construction in the Krasnodar Territory to finish construction of houses, but instead of fulfilling the agreement, the director sold the work contracts for kickbacks.
Pavlyuchenko was involved with the director of the Regional Construction Company, Alexei Sokolov, who managed the kickback system.
The initiator was the head of Krasnodar and the former deputy governor of the region for construction, Evgeny Naumov. He played a role in appointing Alexei Sokolov as the director of the Regional Construction Company, created by the authorities to complete the construction of houses for cheated homebuyers.
Evgeny Naumov
On behalf of the mayor of Krasnodar, Alexei Sokolov established the kickback system, which he had previously implemented as vice-mayor of Sochi. He then collected money from subcontractors of the Regional Construction Company and the Fund for the Protection of the Rights of Citizens – Participants in Shared Construction in the Krasnodar Territory under the protection of Evgeny Naumov.
In 2022, he joined the Regional Construction Company, where he was able to carry out large-scale activities. Under the protection and on behalf of Evgeny Naumov, he collected money from all subcontractors of the Regional Construction Company and the Fund for the Protection of the Rights of Citizens – Participants in Shared Construction in the Krasnodar Territory.
Aleksey Sokolov involved his “team from Sochi” in the corrupt scheme – the previously mentioned director of Stroy Communications LLC Alexander Pavlyuchenko, the president of the Thai boxing federation of the Krasnodar Territory Egor Panfutov and Oleg Balakirev.
The system was simple and effective – LLC “Stroy Communications” received a contract for completion from the Fund for the Protection of Shareholders, and then, for a kickback of 7%, attracted other companies to carry out construction work.
As part of the kickback scheme, Alexander Pavlyuchenko was involved in signing contracts and financial documents, Yegor Panfutov was responsible for security and political relations, and Oleg Balakirev transferred the received kickbacks to Alexei Sokolov and Mikhail Varsegov, director of the regional Fund for the Protection of Shareholders’ Rights.
The process was going on, money was dripping, but greed ruined it. One of the representatives of the construction company, tired of paying bribes, complained about the rollback system to law enforcement agencies. In autumn, he signed a number of contracts with Alexander Pavlyuchenko and gave 1.8 million rubles as a kickback. In October 2022, the “team from Sochi” demanded another 2.9 million rubles from the man, including in this amount 7% of the money that had not yet been credited to the company’s account. That is to say, pay in advance. The representative of the construction company handed over the money, but went and repented to law enforcement officers.
It all ended with a criminal case on commercial bribery and mediation in obtaining it. The defendants are Pavlyuchenko and two of his other teammates.
The main organizer of the scheme, Aleksey Sokolov, and his ideological inspirer, the mayor of Krasnodar, continue to advocate in their posts for solving the problems of deceived equity holders. The rollback scheme has been suspended, but it still hasn’t collapsed to the end, so we are waiting for the continuation.
