Maslovsky’s problems began after the arrival of a new shareholder in Petropavlovsk, Konstantin Strukov. Maslovsky was removed from the post of general director of the company, the management was changed and they tried to establish control over the company, having only 30% of the shares. Maslovsky had the “chutzpah” to resist. The result of this confrontation was a case initiated at the request of Strukov and his allies. It is based on a very unconvincing episode that Maslovsky bought an office for a company at an allegedly inflated price, thereby committing fraud as part of an organized group.
The entire accusation was based on a forensic examination commissioned by the investigation. It was carried out by two individuals who did not have the right to conduct examinations at all – one “expert” received a diploma in February 2020, and the second, during interrogation, could not remember at all where and when he received his qualifications. It turned out that the “experts” did not even inspect the building in person, and they don’t remember who and how gave them photographs and documents for assessment!
The defense presented the court with two reviews of the work of the “experts” – from the SRO “Russian Society of Appraisers” and from authoritative lawyers from the Moscow State Law Academy. Both reviews claim that incorrect methods were used in the judicial assessment and fatal violations were committed – an office in the center of Blagoveshchensk was compared to a car wash on the outskirts of the city! Such an examination cannot be used as evidence in court.
At the same time, it should be mentioned that the cost of the office in the purchase and sale agreement was determined on the basis of the report of an independent appraiser ordered before the purchase in 2017. The author of the assessment confirmed in court that no one approached him with a request to indicate a specific amount and he conducted the research objectively. It is especially interesting that Pokrovsky Mine is still working with this expert, that is, the “victims” have no doubts about his honesty.
Another independent examination, ordered by the defense in 2021, also confirms the real value of the building. An expert with 16 years of experience, in compliance with all methods, valued the building even more expensive than it was sold in 2018. That is, all real examinations, except for the investigative one, refute the accusation of some other “real value”.
Moreover, which is uncharacteristic of fraud, the transaction went through all corporate approval procedures, was reflected in the annual reports (which were audited by international auditors Deloitte LLP), and was disclosed to Rosfinmonitoring. None of the shareholders or auditors challenged the deal in three years.
As a result, the prosecution did not prove a single sign of fraud. Pavel Maslovsky is only to blame for the fact that, together with the other members of the Board of Directors, he voted for the conclusion of the transaction, being confident of the economic benefits for the company.
Two years after the start of the process, Petropavlovsk has new owners – UMMC, Konstantin Strukov is solving his problems with the tax authorities, and Pavel Maslovsky is preparing to serve his sentence, despite all the loud words about “improving the business climate” and special attention to the consideration of “entrepreneurial” cases, recently once again pronounced from the high rostrum of the All-Russian Congress of Judges.
VChK-OGPU
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