The murky company “Element” under the roof of “Menatep”. The mutual settlement scheme of “Menetep-Yukos” and the leadership of the Chelyabinsk region to the amount of 339 billion. The website Prigovor.ru reminds its readers of what happened on October 2, 1998.
In October 1998, based on Article 159, paragraph 3, subparagraph "b” of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (swindling committed by a person through his official position, as well as on a large scale), the criminal case No 40229 was launched. In its base, the circumstances were laid connected with the “promissory notes carousel” which had pulled off the bank “Menatep”, company Yukos and regional administrations in many cities of the country.
Regional leaders, who at that time were driven into a corner by underfunding of all and everything, were sinking in the swamp of mutual non-payments, tax arrears, and bad economic situation, in general, and they got themselves into various "cunning schemes" which were proposed to them by capitol’s "benefactors". The main operation instrument of these dubious schemes were money surrogates of all kinds, like "promissory notes" which, as often as not, were not covered at all. And, literally, all used this situation – scam artists, bandits from business, impostors, as well as seemingly solid companies like “Menatep" and Yukos. However, the solidity of the latter, as later was shown by numerous criminal cases and court proceedings, turned out to be the same myth, as the notorious “transparency” – e.g. mass tax machinations, networks of offshores, and even murders in the interests of Yukos.
“A fictitious package of documents” was drawn up”
The pattern of the promissory notes scheme was, practically, standardized, except for some details. The Chelyabinsk region was no exception. So in the fall of 1997, the representatives of the oil empire Dubov V.M. and Sarin L.O. left Moscow for Chelyabinsk for talks with leaders of the region. Together with them was the first deputy finance minister of the Russian Federation Smirnov A.B. These persons met with the head of the region's government Vladimir Utkin, head of the Finance department of the region Alfred Galimov and Vice-governor Igor Serbinov. After that, in November – December 1997, leaders of the region drew up a fictitious package of documents on buying, stocking of oil products, and following commission between the Administration of the region and the Limited partnership “Emitent” to the tune of 326.7 billion rubles”.
Thus, a loan debt was formed of the Chelyabinsk region to the structures of Yukos that had not existed before.
Dubious “Emitent” under the roof of “Menatep”
By the way, in all materials of the investigation, the Limited partnership “Emitent”, connected with “Menatep”, was mentioned as “dubious structure”, and, in fact, was such. As debtors to the Limited partnership “Emitent” – it had no assets, only 3 employees, its registered capital was 38 million of pre-revaluation rubles – were itemized numerous regional administrations “owing” tens and sometimes hundreds of billions of “old” rubles. The Administration if the Chelyabinsk region, according to the withdrawn documents, owed more than others – 339 billion 900 million rubles, and that, among others, was, sort of, record-holder. Those data were mentioned in the verdict of the Moscow Meschansky Court of May 16, 2005, of the first case of Khodorkovsky, Lebedev, Kraynov (see p. 606).
But this fraud, due to circumstances, was derailed. In the Volgograd region on analogous motive, there was not only a scandal but also a criminal case No 509466 that provoked an investigation also in Chelyabinsk. "The conspirators" had, if only formally, to close their mutual liabilities in order to demonstrate their active execution of obligations. After that, by 2000, “the Chelyabinsk episode” was canceled. Otherwise, it would have been necessary for Yukos to stand trial for this scam, as its representatives stood, although in absentia, with regards to the scheme in Volgograd for which the escaped to Israel Vladimir Dubov, "a shareholder of Group Menatep Limited”, was sentenced in absentia to 8 years imprisonment”, notes the website Prigovor.ru.
(See also the previous article “On this day, the bank “Menatep” launched a shady deal with promissory notes”. “Falsification permits a regional administration to receive money from the federal budget and… give it to Yukos”. The website Prigovor.ru reminds its readers of what happened on October 1, 1997.
