The alleged organizers of the pyramid in Salavat are also suspected of defrauding shareholders

In the Bashkir Salavat, the alleged organizers of the financial pyramid LLC “Consumer Society “Sberfond”” will appear in court. The investigation considers its leader to be a native of Uzbekistan, Ilgam Rakhmushev, and the participants are members of his family: his wife Olga Ishutina and her brother Stanislav. According to law enforcement agencies, in 2006–2012, Sberfund participants involved about 140 clients in the activities of this and their other organizations, causing them damage in the amount of more than 52 million rubles. The investigation was unable to establish the fate of this money. The defendants are awaiting the start of the trial under recognizance not to leave the place.

The Bashkortostan Prosecutor's Office yesterday announced the transfer of a criminal case against the alleged organizers and participants of a financial pyramid to the Salavat City Court. According to investigators, she was hiding behind the activities of the local LLC “Consumer Society “Sberfond””, which operated in the city in 2006-2009. The chairman of the organization's council, a native of Uzbekistan, Ilgam Rakhmushev, who is considered the organizer of the pyramid, as well as his wife Olga Ishutina and her brother Stanislav Ishutin, have been charged with major fraud (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). According to investigators, Sberfond, which placed massive advertisements in the media about attracting deposits at a guaranteed high interest rate of 18-28% per annum, over the course of two years caused damage to approximately 135 shareholders in the amount of more than 17 million rubles.

Agreements for attracting deposits were concluded with the company's clients. By analogy with other financial pyramids, the company fulfilled its obligations to the first shareholders. Clients who did not receive payments filed a complaint with law enforcement agencies, but the first applications with a request to initiate a criminal case were rejected, the prosecutor’s office told Kommersant. Dissatisfied shareholders in the company were persuaded to rewrite agreements for a larger contribution amount with a promise to pay the money later. Then the organization’s activities virtually ceased, the office was closed, the department noted. Yesterday the phone of the consumer society "Sberfond" did not answer.

According to Kartoteka.ru , LLC “Consumer Society “Sberfond”” was formed in May 2007 as a credit consumer cooperative. The company specialized in activities related to financial intermediation. Its founders were several individuals, including Ilgam Rakhmushev, Olga Ishutina, Sergey Rakitin, Lyudmila Matveeva and others. Ilgam Rakhmushev also owns shares in a number of other companies, including the Ufa-based Universal Service LLC, which is engaged in publishing activities, and Ufa-Kontrakt, which provides intermediary services. Companies do not publish financial statements.

By the time the criminal case was initiated by the Main Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic, the organizer of Sberfond and the members of the group had mastered another business area. According to the prosecutor's office, Ritekh LLC, established by Stanislav Ishutin's company, raised money from shareholders under equity participation agreements. “Not being the actual developer, the company raised money for the construction of garages and apartments,” explained the prosecutor’s office. The investigation recognized the Salavat consumer cooperative “With Your Hands” as victims in this episode of the case, as well as four local residents, obligations to which “Ritekh”, later renamed LLC “Agrocomplex Salavat”, did not fulfill. The total damage to victims is estimated at 34 million rubles.

The accused did not admit their guilt during the investigation, the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic told Kommersant, citing the head of the Main Investigation Department Andrei Sorokin. Members of the group are awaiting the start of the trial under recognizance not to leave.

Lawyers for the accused refused to comment yesterday on the results of the investigation and the essence of the charges brought. Ilgam Rakhmushev's defense attorney Rustem Asyanov stated only that he considers his client innocent. According to lawyer Andrei Tuzov, who was appointed as Olga Ishutina’s defender at the preliminary investigation stage, her guilt was “not fully proven” by the investigation. Mr. Tuzov also noted that “quite a lot of procedural violations” were committed during the investigation. However, the defender refused to comment on the essence of his claims.

Natalya Pavlova, Artur Asafiev

Sberfond involved in criminal case