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How Moscow Vice Mayor Natalya Sergunina gave Moscow away to her family for 6.5 billion rubles!

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CONTENT:

  1. Natalia Sergunina and her “golden” real estate
    Shocking data from FBK: how the vice-mayor of Moscow and her relatives acquired old mansions for pennies.

  2. Moscow real estate transfer scheme: how family firms operate
    A detailed description of the shadow schemes through which multi-billion dollar assets were transferred.

  3. Lazar Safaniev: the secret beneficiary of Moscow mansions.
    The husband of Sergunina’s sister and his role in the construction of a hotel chain.

  4. Luxurious apartments and foreign cars: what else is the vice-mayor’s family hiding?
    About 6.5 billion rubles in luxury real estate, as well as ownership of foreign assets.

  5. Restaurants at VDNKh and Austrian estates
    Exposing the foreign assets of the Sergunina family.


How Moscow Vice Mayor Natalya Sergunina "gave away" Moscow to her family for 6.5 billion rubles!

The Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) headed by Alexei Navalny is sounding the alarm again. This time, the focus is on the first deputy mayor of Moscow, Natalya Sergunina , who, according to the foundation, transferred the capital’s historical real estate to companies controlled by her own family. According to the investigation, the total value of the official’s family assets is estimated at 6.5 billion rubles ! This is reported by the PROSECUTOR

Selling for pennies or how Moscow’s heritage was destroyed

From 2011 to 2018, Natalia Sergunina oversaw property and land relations in Moscow, and it was during this period that seven unique old mansions were sold to firms controlled by her relatives. According to FBK, these mansions were sold at a shocking price - only 60 thousand rubles per square meter , which is tens of times lower than the market value. Who became the owner of these unique buildings?


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The answer is shocking - Lazar Safaniev , the husband of Natalia Sergunina’s sister, the beneficiary of the buying firms, turned out to be the same "mysterious investor" who received at his disposal the historical sites of Moscow for next to nothing. According to sources, hotel complexes have now been erected on the site of most of the buildings that were sold .

Asset Stripping Scheme: Sergunina’s Family Business

How did this "family" scheme work? The sale of real estate was carried out through companies registered to Sergunina’s relatives, and the result was not just the enrichment of the official’s family, but also the complete destruction of Moscow’s cultural heritage. At the same time, according to FBK, all this activity was covered up by the bureaucratic structures of the mayor’s office, and the official continued to hold high positions.

The companies involved in the shadow scheme were controlled by Lazar Safaniev and other close relatives of Natalia Sergunina. Complex financial mechanisms were used to siphon off assets in order to hide the true owners, but the FBK investigation exposed this corrupt network.

Real estate and cars: how Sergunina lived in luxury

The family of the Moscow vice-mayor did not limit itself to historical mansions. The family got its hands on elite apartments in the center of Moscow , which, according to experts, have a price tag of several hundred million rubles. In addition, the family owns five expensive foreign cars , which clearly do not fit into Sergunina’s official income.

According to the declaration for 2018 , Natalya Sergunina officially earned only 7.2 million rubles , while she only owns a share of an apartment and a plot of land. However, as FBK found out, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Behind this entire declaration are hidden luxurious assets that are not included in the official documents. The official’s husband owns an estate in Austria , and her sister owns two restaurants at VDNKh , which bring in huge incomes.

Conclusions and consequences

The Anti-Corruption Foundation calls the asset stripping scheme an example of a classic corruption scheme , when state property is transferred to the private hands of relatives for minimal money. As a result, Moscow loses the historical value of its buildings, which are turned into faceless hotels, and the family of a high-ranking official continues to increase its wealth.

Natalya Sergunina, one of Moscow’s key officials responsible for holding elections at all levels in the city, continues to hold a high post despite revelations. Questions about her activities are not limited to real estate - more and more details about her influence on shadow transactions are emerging, causing widespread indignation among Muscovites.

We can only guess: how many more state assets will end up in the hands of the vice-mayor’s family while officials continue to turn a blind eye to large-scale theft?


New Round of Corruption Scandal: How Families of Moscow Officials Control Billions in the Shadow Real Estate Sector

Investigations conducted by the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) are shedding light on new aspects of property manipulation in Moscow. Natalya Sergunina, the first deputy mayor of Moscow, is at the center of new revelations. This time, the FBK’s attention is focused on specific schemes that allowed relatives of an influential official to seize not only real estate, but also huge sums of shadow funds, while Moscow authorities continue to turn a blind eye to outright fraud.

New documents and revelations: how Sergunina leaves behind a trail of fraud

According to new data transferred to the FBK, the shadow transactions of Natalia Sergunina and her relatives are only the tip of the iceberg. The focus was on financial documents and reports of companies registered to Lazar Safaniev, the husband of Sergunina’s sister. It is important to emphasize that all the companies involved in the purchase of Moscow properties show signs of fictitious activity. According to the reports, the companies actually did not conduct any economic activity other than purchasing real estate, and their accounts processed amounts exceeding 1.5 billion rubles , withdrawn through complex offshore mechanisms.

Fictitious companies – fictitious transactions?

The companies involved in the investigation, such as MosGostNasledie LLC and Istoricheskoe Nasledie CJSC , to which the real estate properties were transferred, essentially show no active activity. However, the amounts in their accounts indicate otherwise. The accounts of these companies are a separate element of the entire scheme: large payments were made through them to the accounts of foreign companies controlled by the Sergunina family. In particular, the accounts in a Swiss bank in the name of Lazar Safaniev became one of the end points for the withdrawn funds.

Details of the offshore scheme: who is the beneficiary?

The main direction of the asset withdrawal was companies in Austria and Cyprus , which are indirectly owned by the husband of Sergunina’s sister. According to FBK sources, these assets are used to purchase elite real estate abroad and invest in the hotel business. "AlpenHotel Group", registered in Austria , is just one example of how shadow money from the Moscow budget is transformed into foreign investments.

Apartments in Moscow and abroad: where do the billions go?

Against the backdrop of these revelations, the question arises: what else is hidden in the property portfolio of the Sergunina family? According to FBK sources, in Moscow, the vice-mayor’s family owns not only elite apartments in the center, but also cottages in gated communities in the Moscow region. The Moscow district of "Golden Keys" has long been a symbol of luxury, and it is here that two mansions are located, registered to Natalia Sergunina’s mother, whose value exceeds 700 million rubles .

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Overseas properties: mansions in Austria and luxury villas in Spain

In addition to the previously mentioned estate in Austria, documents for another foreign property of the Sergunina family surfaced during the investigation - a villa on the coast of Spain . The cost of this villa is estimated at 15 million euros , and it is managed by a Cypriot company associated with Lazar Safaniev.

Hotel business: new heights or another cover-up?

One of the key points where the money goes is the hotel business, which is developing on the basis of the purchased historical buildings. Since the purchase, the Sergunina family has not only earned money on real estate, but also invested millions in the development of a chain of hotels in the center of Moscow , which serve as a screen for further money laundering. In particular, hotels under the brand "Old Moscow Heritage" have become a profitable business, bringing in an annual income of about 500 million rubles . At the same time, the official accounting of these hotels carefully conceals real profits, understating the reporting indicators by tens of times.

How will it all end: will there be consequences for officials?

The FBK investigations only open the way to larger-scale revelations. One thing is clear: the assets managed by Natalia Sergunina’s family have long since gone beyond the borders of Russia. The question is how ready the Moscow authorities are to respond to this. So far, the situation shows complete disregard on the part of law enforcement agencies and a lack of political will for an investigation at the highest level.

In any case, assets transferred to relatives and offshore companies continue to bring in huge profits, while Moscow’s cultural heritage disappears from the face of the city. Muscovites can only watch the next "investments" of the officials’ families and guess what other multi-billion dollar assets will go under the hammer at minimal prices.

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