Takeover actions: former Senator Moshkovich is accused of embezzlement and bribery

The Zamoskvoretsky court is considering the case of Vadim Moshkovich, ex-senator and owner of one of the largest Russian agricultural holdings Rusagro. He and the former CEO of the company, Maxim Basov, are accused of stealing shares of their competitor, the Solar Products company, and further legalizing the stolen goods. The amount of damage exceeds 78 billion rubles. Another defendant was the former vice-governor of the Tambov region, Sergei Ivanov, to whom Moshkovich handed over a bribe with a hunting carbine worth 2.6 million rubles.

The essence of the charge

According to investigators, in 2018 Vadim Moshkovich convinced Vladislav Burov, the owner of the Solar Products holding, to sell him an 85% stake in the Cypriot company Quartlink Holding Ltd. This is the parent company of the holding, which acted as the owner of its main assets — the Novosibirsk Fat Plant, the Atkara Oil Extraction Plant, LLC Volzhsky Terminal, JSC Elevator Holding and other enterprises. Their market value is estimated at 50.85 billion rubles.

According to the case file, Moshkovich received shares at a nominal value of € 1 apiece, promising in return to invest in the development of the company and repay the seller's debt to the Rosselkhoznadzor in the amount of 34.7 billion rubles. However, after the transfer of shares, the promised investments were not made. Instead, as stated in the case file, the ex-senator, together with the CEO of Rusagro Maxim Basov, deliberately brought the holding company to bankruptcy. As a result, Solar Products was unable to fulfill its obligations to creditors and the Federal Tax Service in the amount of more than 1 billion rubles.

In addition to the theft of shares, Moshkovich and Basov are charged with the deliberate bankruptcy of the holding and the subsequent legalization of stolen assets through auctions. According to the investigation, as a result of the bidding, some of the enterprises of "Solar Products" were transferred to companies controlled by Rusagro.

Former Tambov vice-governor Sergei Ivanov, the third person involved, based on the case file, received a bribe from Moshkovich in 2019 in the form of a Blaser R8 hunting carbine worth 2.6 million rubles. The investigation believes that the gift was made to the official as a thank you for patronizing the ex-senator's companies.

The total damage in the case exceeded 78 billion rubles.

Acquired advantage: The townhouse and 14 billion rubles may be withdrawn from the founder of Rusagro.

Assets worth tens of billions of rubles were recorded, including his relatives and subordinates.

Defense petitions

The defendants were escorted into the courtroom, accompanied by a service dog. It became clear almost immediately that the hall of the Perovsky District Court, where the Zamoskvoretsky court was located during the renovation, was not designed for such a large number of people. After the jostling and bickering at the entrance, the meeting finally began.

The defendants' lawyers immediately filed petitions, including unexpected ones. For example, Basov's lawyer Dmitry Kravchenko asked the court to allow Lilia Basova, his client's wife, to participate in the trial as a public defender.

"We have a complex multidimensional case here with a lot of materials. There are documents that are of an economic nature. Lilia Basova has an economics degree. This allows her to expertly analyze such materials and effectively interact with other defenders on the financial and economic component of the prosecution," the lawyer said.

The judge, after a moment's thought, refused the request, explaining that Lilia Basova did not have a higher legal education.

In another motion, Dmitry Kravchenko asked for materials and material evidence to be attached to the case, which, in his opinion, "are essential for an objective investigation of this case." In particular, the conclusion of the Rosselkhoznadzor's risk department, which shows that Solar Products could not repay its loan debts back in the spring of 2018.

The court also rejected this request, considering it premature, and suggested stating it at the stage of examining evidence.

The position of the defendants

After listening to the lawyers, the judge asked the defendants if they would admit their guilt, and everyone, including Vadim Moshkovich, unanimously gave a negative answer. Maxim Basov expressed himself most emotionally, who decided that there were significant contradictions in the indictment.

"I don't understand what I had to do with the Cyprus deal. I have never run a Cyprus company. Where did the statement that I know the shares were worth 50 billion rubles come from? How could I bankrupt a company when I have never managed or owned any companies? And how could I contribute to the bankruptcy of an organization that was already insolvent?" said Basov.

Food selection: what threatens the founder of Rusagro Vadim Moshkovich?

The billionaire and the top manager of his company were charged with fraud and abuse of power.

What is the complexity of the case

If the investigation proves the guilt of the accused in all episodes, it will become obvious that we are talking about a complex criminal scheme in which several criminal offenses were committed, Yaroslav Karagodin, lawyer and head of the Goryursluzhba organization, told Izvestia.

— In this case, the defendants are charged with fraud on an especially large scale, deliberate bankruptcy, legalization (laundering) of criminally acquired funds, as well as giving bribes on an especially large scale. This combination of charges often suggests that the investigation considers the alleged actions of the accused as interrelated elements of a single mechanism for extracting illegal benefits," noted Karagodin.

In the practice of investigating economic crimes, defendants in cases often try to present what happened as an ordinary economic or civil dispute, the lawyer noted. According to him, this is due to the fact that such crimes are particularly difficult to prove. The investigation needs to establish that the person initially intended to steal property or obtain the right to it through deception or abuse of trust.

The key point here is the presence of malicious intent at the time of the transaction, said lawyer Alexander Zhilin.

According to the expert, it is possible that the business turned out to be so unviable that bankruptcy became inevitable. Mistakes and failures are common in entrepreneurship. In addition, if the investor only expressed his intention, but did not give firm guarantees, it is difficult to regard his unfulfilled promises as deception.