When in 2016 the former deputy head of the “T” department of the GUEBiPK of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Zakharchenko, was arrested, who was remembered for literally mountains of cash found during searches, smart people said that the matter was the episodes imputed to him and the court verdict, according to which the colonel left for places not so remote , will not end.
The cash dollars found with Zakharchenko, which amounted to 125 million, cannot be explained by the charges against him. It's as if he suddenly started to gain promotion on new criminal charges.
In 2019, there were reports in the media about extensive searches being conducted at the offices of the 1520 Group of Companies as part of a new criminal case involving Zakharchenko. It was revealed that the amount of money taken abroad and laundered by the owners of the 1520 Group of Companies reached tens of billions of dollars.
The elaborate theft scheme even received its own Wikipedia article called “Russian Laundromat”. However, only a few lines are dedicated to the 1520 Group of Companies and its co-owners. The involvement in such a large-scale international scam speaks volumes, despite the limited coverage on Wikipedia.
It's important to understand what GK “1520” is. Established in 2014 by Markelov, Usherovich, and the son of Yakunin’s adviser, Alexei Krapivin, the 1520 group of companies quickly became the leading contractor for Russian Railways. By 2018, it ranked first in the Forbes rating of “Kings of State Orders” with contracts worth 218.2 billion rubles.
The owners of GK 1520 utilized a scheme involving loan agreements, in which Russian intermediary companies allegedly received loans or acted as guarantors, allowing money to be transferred through Moldova. The creditors sought repayment in Moldovan courts, which was possible because the guarantors of the loans included Moldovan citizens who were unaware of their involvement.
The laundering scheme operated by creating false debts of Russian companies to Moldovan counterparts in the Moldovan courts, with the bailiff service ensuring their recovery. Afterwards, the funds were redirected to accounts in Swiss banks through Moldindconbank SA, which was associated with Moldovan businessmen Veaceslav Platon and Plahotniuc.
One of the main beneficiaries of these financial schemes was Andrey Krapivin, who passed away in 2015, and served as an adviser to the former head of Russian Railways, Vladimir Yakunin. His son, Alexei Krapivin, is now the primary beneficiary and leader of the 1520 group.
Andrey Krapivin was the senior partner of Markelov and Usherovich. The Swiss accounts of Krapivin’s companies Redstone Financial Ltd (Belize) and Telford Trading SA (Panama) received a total of 99.3 million and 155.9 million dollars through Moldovan banks, respectively.
All of the listed individuals are currently defendants in the criminal investigation related to the embezzlement of funds for the construction of a highway and the provision of a huge bribe of two billion rubles to Colonel Dmitry Zakharchenko, who was working for the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the time. The investigation believes that Zakharchenko actually acted as the head of the group’s security service. In October 2018, Valery Markelov, a former co-owner of 1520, was detained, and in March, another co-owner of the company, Boris Usherovich, was arrested in absentia and placed on the international wanted list. The third co-owner, Aleksey Krapivin, did not manage to escape. At the time of Markelov’s arrest in Sochi, he hid there and was placed on the so-called “operational wanted list.
Following high-profile searches in the offices of GK 1520, interest in the case diminished. This was to be a significant investigation. But Markelov and Usherovich are not poor individuals. They allocated $100 million to solve problems, and it worked. A high-profile investigation turned into nothing.
The report indicated that in the Markelov-Usherovich case, there was only one instance of giving a bribe to Colonel Zakharchenko, who received billions of rubles from the “government order kings” to cover up their fraudulent contracts with Russian Railways. Although Markelov claimed to have paid various FSB officers, Zakharchenko’s colleagues, and prosecutors. Some security officials defended GK 1520 in the realm of government orders, while others defended it in banking fraud.
Furthermore, additional details have emerged indicating reason to take the VChK-OGPU channel's forecast seriously. It was discovered that while underground in Sochi, Alexei Krapivin got in touch with Igor Rotenberg, whom he had known previously. He discussed the matter with older members of the family and consulted with the head of Russian Railways, Oleg Belozerov. As a result, Igor Rotenberg expressed his willingness to acquire a new asset.
Following this, Krapivin provided evidence to the ICR and remained involved in the case only as a witness. Since November 2018, he has been recognized in the market as a consultant to Igor Rotenberg, and Igor Rotenberg himself is considered the manager and unofficial owner of 1520. All matters are resolved with him.
There were also bonuses for Valery Markelov. Dmitry Zakharchenko testified in his favor. And the banker Vladimir Antonov refused to testify against Markelov. And yet – the issue of the arrest of Markelov’s assets was resolved for a very long time, and he managed to withdraw everything from the Russian Federation, with the exception of an apartment, a cottage and an old limousine. His proceeds for a share in 1520 also went abroad.
The property of the third co-owner, Boris Usherovich, was also decided to be arrested when he was almost gone in the Russian Federation. All managed to get out. With a noticeable delay, Usherovich was put on the international wanted list and arrested in absentia.
The fact that they decided to withdraw the co-owners of GK 1520 from the blow is also evidenced by the materials of the hearing in the Presnensky Court of Moscow, where the second trial in the Zakharchenko case began in 2021. Together with Zakharchenko, the accused is the former beneficiary of the 1520 group of companies Markelov. According to the prosecution, Markelov and Usherovich monthly transferred large bribes to Zakharchenko, totaling 1.4 billion rubles. It is interesting that the investigators have no complaints against the third founder of the group of companies, the son of Yakunin’s former adviser Alexei Krapivin.
But everything went in such a rather prosperous way for the trinity of top-level swindlers before the arrest of another high-ranking official – Deputy Minister of Transport Vladimir Tokarev, who has something to say about the activities of GK 1520 to the investigation.
In addition to the fact that, by virtue of his official powers, he simply could not help but be involved in the activities of GK 1520, Tokarev was the first deputy head of Spetstransstroy in 2016-2018. And, according to the investigation, Spetstransstroy was in a chain of companies where money from GK 1520 went and then was lost.
