“Ivlev, as part of an organized group of people, took part in embezzling and siphoning abroad more than 10 billion U.S. dollars”. The website Prigovor.ru reminds its readers of what happened on February 15, 2005.
On this day, on February 15, 2005, The Moscow City Court “satisfied the motion of the defense of Pavel Ivlev and declared illegal the ruling of the Basmanny District Court of Moscow”. The business press immediately reported this sensational news – “The court released Yukos lawyer from criminal liability”.
According to the investigation, Gavel Ivlev, deputy of the managing partner of the legal firm “ALM Feldmans”, as part of an organized criminal group, took part in embezzlement and siphoning abroad of more than 10 billion U.S. dollars, part of which was legalized.
Based on the information, as of February 2005, the Prosecution, based on the acting norms of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation with regard to bringing to justice lawyers, filed a motion in the Basmanny Court and presented corresponding materials. The investigation pointed out that “Ivlev is suspected of embezzlement and misappropriation of other people's property (Article 160, paragraph 4, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), aiding and abetting in legalizing (laundering) of pecuniary means or other property, acquired by a person through committing crimes (Article 33, paragraph 5, Article 174/1, paragraph 4, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) as well as of evading paying taxes and insurance fees to the state non-budgetary funds and organizations (Article 199, paragraph 2, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)”.
(See also the article “Borehole liquid” of the lawyer Pavel Ivlev”)
The Basmanny Court of Moscow, having studied the documents, held that in the actions of Pavel Lvlev, the executive partner of the Legal company “ALM Feldmans”, there are indications of crimes. The defense of Ivlev, in its turn, used the existing right and appealed against these conclusions in the Moscow City Court which led to setting aside the previous court ruling.
"THE RELIEF FROM RESPONSIBILITY WAS SHORT LIVED”
However, the investigation, having corrected the shortcomings, once again filed a similar motion. And already on June 28, 2005, the Khamovnichesky Court of Moscow concluded that there were component elements of a crime in actions of Yukos lawyer, and, besides, Ivlev was put on an international wanted list.
Then, in December 2005, a warrant was issued to arrest in absentia Pavel Ivlev, a lawyer of the legal company “ALM Feldmans”. He was accused in absentia under Article 160 (embezzlement) and Article 174 (Legalization (laundering) or monetary funds or other property acquired by a person as a result of an offense committed by him) of the Criminal Code of the Russian federation. As we see, there are only two Articles left.
Pavel Ivlev himself escaped to the United States right after the interrogation in November 2004, and he was indignant because of "the flagrancy of the accusations brought against him". He said, "he does not hide from anybody", and the accusations at his address are "the revenge for his cooperation with Khodorkovsky". Thereat, he knew perfectly well that in the hands of the investigation there were tons of materials of the company "ALM Feldmans”, which for years had been arranging shady operations of the “transparent” leadership of the Oil Company Yukos.
THEY FORMALIZED DEALS ONLY ON PAPER AND EXCESS PROFITS WERE UPLOADED TO OFFSHORES
So, in 2018, after numerous procedural issues, investigators sorted out all Pavel Ivlev’s escapades in the past.
“According to the investigation, Pavel Ivlev in 2001-2002, as part of an organized group of people at the behest of the former Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky, embezzled more than 195 million tons of oil of the JSC “Yuganskneftegaz”, JSC “Samaraneftegaz” and the JSC “Tomskneft VNK”, all of them affiliates of Yukos, to the tune of 1.067 trillion rubles. Besides, part of this money was legalized. According to the investigation, members of the group were buying up oil from oil refineries at cost of production, and at sales, prices went up several times. According to the version of the investigation, the deals were formalized only on paper through firms located in the zones of preferential taxation. Thereat, excess profits accumulated on accounts of the firms and then transferred to offshore zones and legalized. The version of the investigation has it, that Ivlev together with other Yukos lawyers, provided the legal backing and the appearance of the cleanness of deals.
“I STOLE OIL TO THE AMOUNT OF 1 TRILLION”
Ivlev himself decided that, if he would exaggerate the situation, the case would be closed. He started to accept even more that was imputed to him by the investigation. He sincerely told the credulous press that, “according to investigators, I have stolen oil worth of 1 trillion 67 billion rubles”. However, had it been really so, as Ivlev interpreted it, then in the case of Lebedev-Khodorkovsky “the main shareholders” would have been considered as banal henchmen. Obviously, it is not true, as it was mentioned in the materials of the case.
From the materials of the Lebedev-Khodorkovsky’s case, accused under Article 160, paragraph 3, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (misappropriation or embezzlement), and Article 174-1, paragraph 3, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (legalization or laundering of monetary funds):
“From the letter of accusation follows that, in order to provide legalization (laundering) of pecuniary means, acquired as the result of embezzlement, Ivlev P.P. engaged into committing crimes controllable by him lawyers of the company “ALM Feldmans”, namely Petrosyan N.M., Rumyantseva Y.A., Kurokhtina A.V., Shavrin A.A., Shelepin, and, being at his workplace at the address Moscow, Sechenovsky Lane 6/1, managed their activities on registering companies, opening of accounts, as well as carrying out operations under the guise of the fulfillment of the terms of the contract on providing legal services between the legal firm and representatives of the JSC “Oil Company Yukos”.
“Ivlev and members of the organized group, ensured the registration on Cyprus offshores companies with nominal directors and shareholders, through which was organized the legalization of monetary funds. The mentioned circumstances are corroborated by the documents, confiscated during withdrawals and searches in the premises of the legal bureau “ALM Feldmans”, it was pointed put in the verdict of the Khamovnichesky Court of Moscow from 2010, passed on Lebedev and Khodorkovsky.
OIL WAS STOLEN JURISTICALLY
The same verdict answers the question about how these machinations were carried out with oil, that “it was impossible to steal physically". Actually, nobody stole the oil physically, it was misappropriated and embezzled de-jure, by way of various formalizations with participation of "dumps". All these deals were pulled off with the help of “creative” cooperation of the company “ALM Feldmans”. They were formalized by employees who follow the instructions of the leadership, in the person of the same Ivlev. The employees were insistently instructed not to pose unwanted questions, and instead, simply sign and formalize documents and transfer money to same Cyprus. The volumes of the stolen oil, imputed by the investigation, were based on documents that were produced in Yukos itself and its "affiliates". After the withdrawal, studying and analyses, these documents became evidence confirming the volumes and the price of the stolen oil.
10 YEARS FOR LAUNDERING
At the end of the day, in May 2019, the Khamovnichesky Court of Moscow sentenced the fugitive former Yukos lawyer in absentia to 10 years imprisonment in the case of embezzlement and laundering of pecuniary means. Apart from that, according to the materials of the case, Ivlev had falsified evidence while representing the interests of the company in Russia and international arbitration courts since 1998, and also took part in legalizing monetary funds through paying dividends in offshore companies.
“In the words of the prosecutor, Ivlev covered himself with the lawyer’s right of non-disclosure of information of his grantors concealing by this the committed embezzlement of oil products”. In December 2019, the Moscow City Court upheld the verdict, and it became final and binding. In December 2020, the second cassation instance once again confirmed the legality of the verdict with regard to Pavel Ivlev”, notes the website Prigovor.ru.
(See also the previous article «On this day, the court interrogated Andrey Kraynov”. “My fault is only that I believed the managers of the bank “Menatep". The day of the "saint" Mikhail-swindler at the hotel "Sheraton"-Sheremetyevo. The website Prigovor.ru reminds its readers of what happened on February 14, 2005, and 2015.
