Translated material
Pyramid on the water
Investors were promised fabulous profits and life, like in the United Arab Emirates
The Nikulinsky District Court of Moscow began considering the case against the organizer of the largest financial pyramid in recent years, 41-year-old Konstantin Polyanichko. According to investigators, for three years he accepted money from citizens, promising to invest it in fictitious investment programs that were supposed to bring fabulous profits of up to 800% per annum. In Moscow alone, more than 700 people suffered from his actions, who lost about 100 million rubles. Meanwhile, applications from defrauded investors continue to arrive, and similar cases are being conducted in many other regions where Mr. Polyanichko’s company operated.The first criminal case against him, which has now been brought to court, was initiated on September 11 by the Investigative Department of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Western District (ZAO) of Moscow. It was based on statements that began to be received by the district OBEP from citizens that Konstantin Polyanichko was refusing to fulfill promises and return their money invested in his companies “KM-Service” and “Sotsium-Group”. The operatives managed to find Polyanichko only a month later. On October 16, he was detained at a rented apartment in Moscow. During the search, they found piles of advertising brochures, photographs of models of his investment projects and DVDs with recordings of seminars and client awards. During the investigation, the property of the accused was also seized - a house in the Moscow region and 14 cars registered to KM-Service.
The investigation established that in December 2005, Polyanichko registered KM-Service LLC, becoming its general director. After that, he came up with several investment programs - “Seminar”, “Science”, “Exchange Auctions”, Real Estate”, “Promissory Note”, “Consumer Goods”, “Aviation”, “Presidential”, “Automobile”, “Mutual” lending", "Kamchatskaya", "Recreation on the water" and "City on the water", with the help of which he later began to attract clients.
An advertisement appeared on the Internet for a certain holding company “Socium Group” - a non-existent structure, which allegedly included “KM-Service”, but on its behalf people began to be invited to seminars. Their organizers promised to teach poor people how to earn big money with little investment in various highly profitable sectors of the economy. At the same time, it was mentioned that with an investment of even 3 thousand rubles. profit will be from 100 to 800%.
As the investigation established, the first seminars took place in Moscow. Entrance was paid - 3,600 rubles, but there was no shortage of “students”. At first, Polyanichko spoke at seminars himself, but as his business grew, he had branches in many other regions of Russia and Ukraine, as well as a whole network of representatives. At seminars, he especially liked to talk about his three programs - “Recreation on the Water”, “City on the Water” and “Kamchatskaya”. The point of “Rest on the Water” was that Polyanichko promised to buy jet skis with the investors’ money. He explained that the cost of one such motorcycle is about 300 thousand rubles, and its ten-minute rental in the summer season will cost 1000 rubles, which means that by the end of the season the money invested will pay off and bring profit.
As part of the “City on Water” project, Polyanichko bought a holiday home on the bank of a river in the Krasnodar Territory, built a small island in the middle of the river and in a couple of years promised to build a whole complex of hotels on it, like in the United Arab Emirates. Investors were explained that in the future such complexes are planned to be built in Sochi, Anapa and even distant Brazil. According to investigators, it was under this program that people were most willing to invest money. The Kamchatskaya program was also popular. Polyanichko told clients that he bought hunting grounds for her in Kamchatka, where fishing and eco-tourism would be organized. In addition, he promised to purchase fishing ships and receive a quota for catching crabs and sturgeon.
Polyanichko and his assistants illustrated these projects with advertising brochures, models of future hotels, and also awarded money, cars and tour packages to the first most active investors. People invested from 3 thousand to 11 million rubles in projects, many took out loans, sold apartments and cars. After depositing money, depositors were given payment receipts, which, as investigators found, Polyanichko and his assistants typed on a computer.
“During the preliminary investigation, Polyanichko refused to testify, using Art. 51 of the Constitution and did not admit guilt,” said Alexey Trostyansky, deputy head of the 1st department of the investigative unit for the investigation of organized criminal activities of the investigative department at the Internal Affairs Directorate for ZAO. - Moreover, some of his assistants, whom Polyanichko treated in such a way that at first they also invested their money in various projects, became victims in our case. It is unknown how many more victims will be identified. Applications continue to arrive, although not to us, but to the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Central District of Moscow.”
Some of Polyanichko's regional representatives are now also under investigation. So, in August last year, the Main Investigation Department (GID) under the Main Internal Affairs Directorate of the Samara Region opened a criminal case into the activities of the Tolyatti company Socium Group, organized by three pensioners. The number of victims there is about 2.5 thousand people. The investigation established that in 2006, the accused attended Polyanichko’s seminar, which he conducted in Balakovo, Saratov region, and became his assistants. True, the pensioners have somewhat “improved” the scam scheme, making it “cumulative”. At the first stage, people were asked to invest 3.6 thousand rubles in the project, then another 10.8 thousand rubles, and after four months the organizers of the scam promised to pay 35 thousand rubles. dividends. In addition to investments, investors also had to bring friends and acquaintances with them according to the “matrix” scheme - each participant, making a small initial contribution, received a percentage of the deposits of other clients he referred.