Journalists of the Russian publication "Projekt" publicized the money laundering schemes of Chechnya's head Ramzan Kadyrov, who steals budget funds and passes them through controlled companies.
Points of attention
- Journalists of the Russian edition publicized the schemes of money laundering by the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, through the companies "Benofon" and "Orbita".
- With the help of controlled companies, Kadyrov withdraws stolen Chechen money and received tributes from the budget.
- The information that the Benofon company received half of Chechnya's budget is shocking and confirms the enormous scale of corruption.
- Young men from the Shalin district received interest-free loans from the company and withdrew money through various mechanisms.
- Members of the Kadyrov clan are given government contracts, who then distribute the money among themselves through interest-free loans and other mechanisms.
Journalists, in their own investigations, draw attention to the companies "Benofon" and "Orbita,” whose revenue is 40 billion rubles and 41 billion rubles, respectively.
These companies also have 150 billion rubles worth of assets at their disposal.
Some companies, such as "Izumrud," also appear on the list.
Investigators claim that Kadyrov uses these companies to launder money stolen from Chechnya's budget or received as tribute from local business people.
These companies have one nominal owner, almost no employees and contractors.
According to the publication's journalists, 64.8 billion rubles were transferred to the Benofen company's accounts during 2023; a third of these funds were transferred from the Chechnya budget.
The 1.49 billion rubles came from Grozny City Hall, indicating that the funds are intended to repair city schools. "Benofon" received 16% of the city's budget. The city's mayor is the nephew of Chechen leader Khas-Magomed Kadyrov.
16.3 billion rubles were transferred by companies controlled by the Kadyrov clan, which receive state contracts. These firms are created through the Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation, which is the mother of the head of Chechnya heads. For example, his company "MegaStroyInvest" became the owner of state contracts worth 24 billion rubles. She transferred 3.2 billion rubles to "Benofon".
The remaining funds came from private companies or were deposited in cash.
As the journalists note, in general, during 2023, the company received funds equal to half of Chechnya's budget.
How Kadyrov withdraws stolen Chechen money from the budget
At the same time, 58.9 billion rubles were withdrawn from the company's accounts through interest-free loans allocated to young men from the Shalin district.
In particular, 30-year-old taxi driver Muslim Muradov received 4.6 billion rubles from "Benofon," and two other companies gave him the same amount.
In total, he borrowed 14 billion rubles, of which Muradov transferred 11 billion rubles into cash at a VTB State Bank branch.
For another 8.4 billion, Muradov bought about a ton of precious metal ingots from the same bank.
The taxi driver transferred the remaining 3 billion rubles to other people as an interest-free loan.
In total, 48 billion rubles from "Benofon" were distributed among 15 Chechens
4.6 billion was received by the head of the housing and communal services department of the Veden district, Duk-Vaha Movsurov.
Another 2.2 billion was given to 28-year-old Ayub Berdukaev from Serzhen-Yurt, who was involved in a criminal case involving the theft of 13,000 rubles five years ago.
In addition, the Kadyrov family has "business" outside Chechnya.
Thus, Serhii Kropachev has shares in the Starbucks coffee shops and McDonald's fast food restaurants chain, which left the Russian Federation.
At the same time, Pavel Krotov registered with Moscow businesses of Kadirov residents who had previously been.
