A blogger and fitness trainer Valeria Chekalina and her spouse Artem are charged with evading taxes totaling 311 million rubles. They have over 15 million followers on social media, and their total earnings exceed 3 billion rubles. Investigators believe that they divided their income among different companies and individuals and are planning to address this with their associates.
The criminal case against the Chekalins for evading and complicity in tax evasion, committed on an especially large scale, was initiated on February 20, 2023. On March 7, law enforcement officers arrived at the bloggers' townhouse near Moscow to conduct a search, press charges and obtain a written promise not to leave.
Law enforcement officers are confident that Ms. Chekalina illicitly divided the business and evaded paying taxes totaling more than 311 million rubles.
She also holds a 75% stake in LLC “Bee Fit” (online retail). The LLC's revenue is impressive – it grew by 107% in 2021, amounting to 2.9 billion rubles, with a net profit of 274.9 million rubles. In 2021, the company paid over 506 million rubles in taxes and only has 129 rubles in debt.
Valeria Chekalina is also the sole owner LLC “LEA” (apparel production) established in 2021. Revenue is not disclosed, and there is no information on tax arrears.
Artem Chekalin since 2019, he has also been registered as an individual entrepreneur with the same type of activity as his wife. There are no tax arrears. He also heads Bee Fit LLC and, along with Roman Vishnyak who owns 70%, founded LTD “Letik make-up” (wholesale trade in perfumery and cosmetics). The company was established in 2020, with revenue in 2021 amounting to 113.8 million rubles and a net profit of 59.7 million rubles.
The shares of Vishnyak and Chekalin in the company are distributed in similar proportions “Ecoflow”also registered in 2020. It sells cosmetics in special stores, with no revenue in 2021 and a loss of 2.6 million rubles. Tax debt – 1 thousand rubles.
Artem and Arkady Chekalin are listed as founders LLC “Leani”Registered in 2021, the primary business is trading via mail or the Internet. Revenue is not disclosed, and there are no tax debts. Arkady Chekalin, an individual entrepreneur involved in advertising, is also registered and has no tax debts.
Roman Vishnyak has been working as an individual entrepreneur since 2013, focusing on databases and information resources. In 2019, he teamed up with Ekaterina Spasskaya to establish LLC “Cheysi” for selling goods via mail or online. The revenue for 2022 is 239 thousand rubles, with a net profit of 9 thousand rubles. They have paid 35.6 thousand rubles in taxes.
It's worth noting that bloggers and associated individuals and companies, as per public records, not only have no tax debts, but have also not faced any court cases initiated by the tax authorities. While the Federal Tax Service typically imposes additional taxes and seeks to collect them through the courts, a criminal case was immediately launched against the Chekalins for some reason.
According to reports, investigators have taken an interest in a house under construction owned by the spouses, evaluating the property at 1800 sq.m. and worth at least a billion rubles.
The Chekalins were seen overseeing the construction of their mansion in a 2021 Lamborghini Urus (valued at approximately 28 million rubles) and a 2021 Mercedes-Benz G-Class Amg G 63 (valued at approximately 25 million rubles). These cars are registered under Artem Chekalin, who apparently enjoys fast and risky driving: according to our information, these two cars have accumulated over 400 fines totaling 500 thousand rubles,
Following the charges, the Chekalina bloggers are contemplating settling all tax claims.
Meanwhile, according to a source in the Main Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, it is possible that a number of similar criminal cases will be initiated in the near future, as the department is currently examining other bloggers who may be using similar tax minimization schemes. However, it is quite evident that those under investigation would prefer to voluntarily offset the arrears rather than bringing the case to court.
On Instagram (the social network belonging to Meta, which is considered extremist and banned in the Russian Federation), Valery and Artem Chekalin have 10.4 million and 4 million users, respectively. The Lerchek Telegram channel has over 691,000 subscribers. The main content of the blog consists of vibrant family life photos and shoots. According to Medialogy, Valeria Chekalina’s blog ranked 4th in the list of popular Instagram bloggers in January 2023. Since November 2021, she has been hosting the “Oh, Mommy” segment on the Muz-TV channel “Every Morning”. The Chekalins have three children, and their relatives also maintain popular social media accounts.
Started blogging in 2011, later worked as a commercial director in the bankrupt company of her husband Artem Chekalin OOO “Valar plus”engaged in retail trade. In 2016, she launched a cosmetics line Letique Cosmetics, since 2017, has been organizing fitness marathons called “Ideal Body”, the cost of a monthly course is 3 thousand rubles. At the same time, each buyer of the package became a participant in the Wheel of Fortune lottery with prizes in the form of apartments, cars, and expensive phones. However, in general, the winners received only the brand’s cosmetics. letiquethe creator of which is the blogger herself.
