The story is simple: Deputy Director of the Department of State Regulation of the Circulation of Precious Metals and Stones of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation Pshenichnikov wanted to snatch a free million rubles, which by today’s standards is a penny, and fell into the trap of soldiers of FSB General Ivan Tkachev (Directorate K). It would seem that everything is there: a position, access to government affairs, business trips abroad, good neighbors with a view of St. Nicholas Church in Zamoskvorechye, the Night Hockey League and other attributes of a good life. But the free ruble million awakened in the official the mentality of the kid from Vykhino.
This story begins with an order from the Kazan bank Ak Bars to the Moscow Mint (JSC Gosznak) for the delivery of a large batch of medals. For this you needed 17 kg of gold. Responsible for marketing and sales of MMD, Pavel Shin turned to his friend, Deputy Director of the Department of Affairs and Control of the Ministry of Finance Alexey Kulakov with a request to help find a supplier of precious metals. He, in turn, turned to his colleague, Alexander Pshenichnikov, sitting in the next office. The latter brought the interested parties together with businessman Vsevolod Bolshakov. Bolshakov is the beneficiary of the Baikal Resource company, the founder of the Shakhovskaya platform for trading precious metals, and in his security guards is the famous tax service general Vladimir Avdiysky. (Funny detail: Avdiysky was vice-rector at the State Financial Academy at the time Pshenichnikov graduated from it.)
Shin and Kulakov came to Bolshakov, requested the supply of 17 kg of gold and asked for a kickback – 1.5% of the order, but after it was completed. The businessman said that he would think about it and on the same day he went to write a statement to the FSB. “Baikal Resource” fulfilled the order. But Bolshakov’s strange behavior, his constant calls with the intention of handing over the previously requested 1 million rubles scared Shin and Kulakov away, they stopped picking up the phone. Then Bolshakov decided to enter through Pshenichnikov. Kulakov asked the latter to calm Bolshakov down and explained that his people would not take anything. Then the Ministry of Finance official Pshenichnikov decided to take the million himself.
At a meeting with Bolshakov, he was surprised “why such a sum, and not 1.7 million rubles,” and then experienced even more vivid emotions that the task force gives during an arrest.
Pshenichnikov did not deny it. A week before the birthday of the businessman’s security guard and the onset of 2021, the Tverskoy Court of Moscow, represented by the famous judge Krivoruchko, sentenced Pshenichnikova to 3 years of probation with a fine of 300 thousand rubles for attempted major fraud. It is interesting that in court he was defended by Shakro Molodoy’s lawyer, Tengiz Papaskua.
Half the term passed, Kulakov moved to Alexei Kudrin in the Accounts Chamber as director of the department, and Pshenichnikov tried to have his criminal record expunged early – the head of the department of execution of punishments of the Moscow Federal Penitentiary Service, Kristina Pogodina, went to court with such a demand. It didn’t work out: the court took into account everything that was good, but did not find exceptional data that would allow the criminal record to be expunged.
“ВЧК ОГПУ”