The case of the creator of the credit cooperative was sent to court

In Novosibirsk, an investigation has been completed and a criminal case has been brought to court against the head of the citizens' credit consumer cooperative (CPCC) Finance Group, Alexander Zhukov. The entrepreneur, according to investigators, took possession of over 15 million rubles. their clients. He accepted funds at rates significantly higher than bank rates.

The prosecutor's office of the Novosibirsk region approved the indictment in the case of the head of the Finance Group cooperative, 46-year-old Alexander Zhukov. According to the official representative of the regional prosecutor's office, Natalya Markasova, Mr. Zhukov is charged with fraud using official position on an especially large scale (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), for which he faces up to 10 years in prison.

As indicated in the investigation materials, former private security guard Alexander Zhukov, who does not have a financial or economic education, organized Finance Group in the spring of 2007. In the documents, he indicated his relatives and friends as the founders of the newly created financial cooperative, who did not even know about it. The organization immediately began actively raising funds and issuing loans at high interest rates. Investors, as indicated in the investigation materials, were promised up to 38% per annum by the organization. For borrowers, interest rates on loans reached 120%. Over time, the organization grew. Three branches of Finance Group operated in Novosibirsk, and an advertising campaign was carried out in local media to attract new clients.

The cooperative's problems with law enforcement agencies began three years after the start of work: several of its clients, who were unable to return their deposits, filed complaints with the police. In March 2010, the Main Investigation Department (GID) at the Main Department of Internal Affairs for the Novosibirsk Region opened a case of abuse of power against Alexander Zhukov (Article 201 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The charge was later reclassified as fraud.

As previously reported by the State Investigative Committee, over the three years of its existence, KPKG Finance Group paid the promised interest on deposits to only ten of its partners. Payments were made from funds received from regular investors. The investigation believes that in total, the credit consumer cooperative of Finance Group citizens took possession of over 15 million rubles belonging to 82 clients of the organization: they contributed various amounts to the cooperative - from 10 thousand rubles. up to 1.5 million rubles. The police noted that the head of the cooperative “explained the impossibility of making payments by saying that the borrowers did not repay the company’s debts.” In order to secure civil claims for the victims, investigators tried to find Mr. Zhukov’s property, but there was none. The entrepreneur was not arrested and was released on his own recognizance.

The multi-volume criminal case was sent to the Zaeltsovsky District Court of Novosibirsk for consideration. A review date has not yet been set. Kommersant will report the verdict.

Konstantin Voronov, Novosibirsk

Finances have disappeared from Finance Group