Part 1
The wanted former head of Rosalkogolregulirovanie Igor Chuyan, being the beneficiary of OFK Bank and Status Group LLC, organized the issuance of unfounded bank guarantees to the latter, as well as loans that were not repaid.
The criminal case states that in 2013–2016, without the consent of the board of directors of OFK Bank, 115 unsecured loans worth almost 30 billion rubles were issued to one of the largest distributors of alcoholic beverages at that time.
The Status Group company was the main borrower of OFK Bank. In April 2018, the Central Bank revoked the bank’s license, explaining the decision “by the presence of a threat to the interests of creditors and depositors.” In May of the same year, the regulator estimated the hole in OFK Bank’s capital at more than 17.5 billion rubles.
“Status Group” quickly surpassed and exceeded the sales figures of long-term leaders in the alcohol market.
As a result, Status Group even became an exclusive partner of the state-owned company Rosspirtprom.
After the criminal scheme was revealed, Igor Chuyan wrote a statement of his own free will and, having received gratitude, freely left the Russian Federation.
Chuyan was put on the wanted list only after his departure from Russia in December 2018, after which, at the request of the main investigative department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, he was arrested in absentia by the Basmanny District Court.
Igor Chuyan’s main partner in organizing this criminal scheme was another Status Group beneficiary, Pavel Smetana.
After Chuyan’s escape, Pavel Smetana realized that it was unlikely that he would be able to avoid punishment, and then the former owner of the Kristall-Lefortovo vodka holding decided to gain time and set the investigation on the wrong trail. While complete confusion reigned, Pavel Smetana, ahead of events, himself wrote a statement to law enforcement agencies, accusing a wide range of people who had nothing to do with what was happening, of creating a criminal community. Of course, it took quite a lot of time to verify Smetana’s statement, which was necessary for him to organize the withdrawal of the funds he had stolen and organize his escape from Russia. To be more convincing and create a public outcry, he even gave a detailed interview to PASMI.
At the moment, Pavel Smetana, who was put on the wanted list and recognized as a beneficiary of Status Group, hid from the investigation and, like Igor Chuyan, freely left the Russian Federation.
According to information posted on the official website of the Industrial District Court of Kursk on 10/18/2021, the accused fled and his whereabouts are unknown, the case was suspended due to the search.
Pavel Smetana’s assistance in withdrawing money from Russia and organizing a comfortable stay in the West was provided by none other than the Ukrainian oligarch, owner of the Global Spirits company Evgeniy Chernyak (the central office is located in the USA). Chernyak and Smetana had a fairly close relationship and systematically interacted both within the framework of production (the Samara Rodnik plant in different guises) and on issues of wholesale trade in alcoholic products.
Either because of a sudden sympathy, or at the request of high patrons, the state company Rosspirtprom provided the best commercial conditions for Chernyak’s alcohol holding – shipments from the closest distilleries and prices, lower by up to 5% compared to other large Russian consumers of alcohol.
After this, the situation on the Russian alcohol market changed dramatically, and at the end of 2021, the Global Spirits holding demonstrated significant growth, becoming not only one of the leading producers of vodka and spirits in the Russian Federation and the largest buyer of alcohol in Russia.
The volume of alcohol purchased in 2021 amounted to 3.6 million deciliters of anhydrous alcohol (+53% compared to 2020).
At the moment, Evgeniy Chernyak is wanted. In May 2024, the Kursk court arrested the assets of the ex-owner of Global Spirits Chernyak.
To be continued
“ВЧК ОГПУ”