Anatoly Petov MIA biography. American journalists found assets worth $38 million from organized crime fighter

Ilya Shumanov, Lily Dobrovolskaya

Anatoly Petukhov, the former deputy head of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, has invested more than $38 million in real estate in the US state of Florida since 2010. We studied the career path of General Petukhov from deputy head of the powerful GUBOP to a modest realtor in Miami.

The collapse of GUBOP

Petukhov's last position in the Ministry of Internal Affairs was First Deputy Head of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GUBOP). This unit was engaged in the fight not only against the mafia, but also against economic crimes, and also performed the functions of the internal security service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It had a bad reputation in the 1990s. With the help of RUBOPs (regional departments for combating organized crime), some businessmen knocked out debts from others. Such "services" cost about half the amount of the debt. From time to time, the GUBOP actually took one of the sides in the memorable "disputes of business entities" - the forceful redistribution of property.

Vladimir Rushailo left the Moscow RUBOP. He headed the department from 1992 to 1996, then was deputy minister and, from 1999 to 2001, minister of the interior. In all these posts, his assistant was Alexander Orlov, who was called the "right hand" of the minister. The department was so corrupt that after the resignation of Rushailo and the flight of Orlov from Russia, mass dismissals of the generals of the Ministry of Internal Affairs followed in the GUBOP. Petukhov was also fired.

Business and property in Russia

After GUBOP, Petukhov went to work at the All-Russian Research Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and went into business. In 2002, he became a shareholder of OAO United Trading House Yasenevo (formed by merging existing department stores Yasenevo, Dobryninsky, Molodezhny and Belgrade). Colliers International estimates the market value of department stores at $140-160 million. According to the list of affiliated persons of Trade House Yasenevo, until 2014 its main shareholders were individuals - Pavel Gornostaev, Leonid Gaukhman, Sergey Kiselev and Anatoly Petukhov - and the Damatria company Management Limited, registered in Cyprus. The beneficiaries of the Cypriot company were a member of the Executive Committee of the Russian Basketball Federation, Leonid Evropeitsev, and the already mentioned Sergey Kiselev (Kiselev himself played professional basketball in the past). According to the company's financial statements, from 2010 to 2014 Trade House Yasenevo earned about 200 million rubles a year. At the same time, the company paid dividends only once, in 2012 - in the amount of 1.07 million rubles. This is the only official source of income for General Petukhov in Russia after his dismissal that we were able to find.

General Petukhov owns a private house in a cottage settlement in Kurkino, next door to Viktor Kozlov, the former prefect of the North-West Administrative District of Moscow. It was Kozlov who, in 2007, allocated 3,688 sq. m of land in a specially protected area. In 2009, the Tushinsky court declared the allocation of land illegal, but neither Petukhov's house nor other buildings on this site have disappeared. Petukhov said in court that he had no idea that his site was in a nature protection zone: “When they registered the land, they told me:“ If you want, sign it, but if you want, don’t, ”Kommersant newspaper quotes Petukhov. “I am ashamed of my colleagues, because I myself have worked in the authorities for more than 30 years, fighting corruption.” According to Blackwood experts, the house is 660 sq.m. with a plot of 50 acres and its own forest can cost about $ 1.8-2 million.

Petukhov also owns an apartment in a house on Tikhvinskaya Street (the house of the Presidential Administration), where at one time President Dmitry Medvedev was his neighbor. Petukhov himself once spoke about this at a court session.

House number 4 on Tikhvinskaya street

It is this address that Petukhov indicates in the founding documents of the Czech company Fimilat, whose management, in addition to himself, includes the wife and son of Leonid Gauhman, the former business partner of the general in the trade house Yasenevo. Through Fimilat, the partners jointly owned a three-star hotel in the center of the spa town of Karlovy Vary, Hotel Kosmos. In September this year, the company sold Hotel Kosmos for €2.6 million.

Facade of the Kosmos hotel in Karlovy Vary (photo from hotel website)

We found that Petukhov's signature specimens in the Czech Public Registry of Business Companies are identical to the signature from the Florida Registry of Companies.

Signature of Anatoly Viktorovich Petukhov on the founding documents of FIMILAT LLC, which owned the Czech hotel Kosmos

Business and real estate in Miami

Since 2010, the general has settled in Miami, an American city with a large Russian diaspora. In the same year, he purchased property in one of the most beautiful and expensive luxury condominiums in Miami Dade's Continuum North Tower area for $3.04 million.

Continuum North Tower buildings (photo from Zilbert website)

The Russian general not only invested in luxury real estate on the Atlantic coast, but also went into business. In 2011, Petukhov bought office space at 11098 Biscayne Blvd through Asko Inc, a commercial structure he controls with his wife, Yulia Petukhova. The deal amounted to $3.2 million.

This address is the office of Petukhov's small development company Asko Inc. This is a private investment and development company that specializes in the lease of office space and shopping centers and the management of commercial real estate. Through various commercial structures controlled by Petukhov, Asko Inc owns three office premises, a shopping center in Hallandale Beach and seven office premises at once on the first floor of the Imperial Towers North building (, , , , , , ) with a total value of $ 13.6 million.

Imperial Towers North building at 1008 S. Ocean

Wells Fargo Shopping Center at 6201-6241 N Federal Highway

To purchase one of the office space in Hallandale Beach, Petukhov's company secured a $2.1 million loan from Stonegate Bank. Although the loan was issued for a period of 10 years, Petukhov paid off in just two years.

Under anti-money laundering legislation, financial institutions are required to additionally verify customers who serve or have served in high government positions that involve public trust. When asked by the Miami Herald if Stonegate Bank was aware that Petukhov had previously held a high position in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a spokeswoman said that the bank "cannot comment on private clients due to the law on maintaining the confidentiality of client information."

Petukhov's largest deal in Miami can be called the acquisition of two mansions on Hibiscus Island at once, bought with a difference of only four days. According to the register of real estate owners in Miami Dade County, Anatoly Petukhov became the owner of a mansion with a total area of ​​975 sq. m with six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a living room and a swimming pool at 280 S Hibiscus Drive in May 2015. The deal amounted to $7.9 million.

Hibiscus Island Mansion at 280 S Hibiscus Drive

Local real estate publication The Real Deal that the new owner leased the mansion for $40,000 per month through the Monolith Real Estate agency, which is owned by Irina Poliski. According to Zillow, the mansion is currently up for sale for $8.5 million.

One of Petukhov's mansions on Hibiscus Island (photo from the website Zillow )

The second mansion with a total area of ​​1463 sq. m cost Russian general$7.05 million. The new owner built a large two-story house with floor-to-ceiling windows, a large courtyard and pool, spa, tropical landscapes and a dock for small yachts, The Real Deal. Petukhov hopes to get $17 million for it. “If the house cannot be sold at a suitable price, then most likely the owner himself will live there with his family,” realtor Julian Johnston, who oversees the deal, quotes the publication. Petukhov's mansion is the third most expensive on the island.

When the Miami Herald journalists tried to contact Petukhov, he declined to comment and did not respond to numerous phone calls and emails. His assistant in Miami said that in all the time she met her boss in person only a few times. Robert Worman, a real estate lawyer who worked with Petukhov's real estate development company, told reporters that he only dealt with his representative, Irina Poliski, and never met Petukhov himself. The large and close-knit Russian community in Miami admits that they have never heard of Petukhov. "This man is a ghost," says a source with extensive connections among local immigrants from Russia and the CIS countries.

It should be said that the seizure of documents is an extremely unusual situation in American legal proceedings. "There must be something between both sides that led Judge John Thornton to believe that trouble was around the corner if the tapes were made public," prosecutor Stuart Grossman told the Miami Herald.

The statement of claim of the shareholders of TD "Yasenevo" in the Miami Dade civil court sheds light on the question of the origin of the retired general's remedy. In 2013, Yasenevo United Trading House OJSC filed a civil lawsuit in the Miami federal court against Anatoly Petukhov. The plaintiff's representatives demanded damages in the amount of $50.50 million and confiscation of his property in Florida. In addition to Petukhov, the list of defendants in the lawsuit also includes Irina Poliski, General Yuliya's wife, and Asko Inc. The Miami court closed access to almost all original documents in the case, including the original statement of claim. From the few documents that remain in the public domain, it is possible to compile general idea about the subject of the dispute. So, according to the plaintiff, in the period from 2005 to 2012, Petukhov illegally withdrew more than $16.8 million from the Yasenevo trading house, which were later laundered in the United States and used to purchase real estate in South Florida. Petukhov's partners also accused the general of physically threatening Pavel Gornostaev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of OAO United Trading House Yasenevo, so that he would not try to initiate a criminal case against Petukhov in Russia. Unexpectedly, in 2014, the parties came to an amicable agreement: the claims were withdrawn, and the Yasenevo trading house renounced claims to Petukhov's property in Miami. At the request of the parties, the judge removed court documents from public access in order to "prevent damage to the reputation of the parties."

Six months later, the shareholders of Trade House Yasenevo sold their shares to the structures of the PIK group of companies of Sergey Gordeev. Before the sale, Petukhov transferred his shares of the trading house (25%) to the offshore Niselo Holdings Limited, through which the deal was concluded.

In an American court, Gornostaev tried to prove that Petukhov illegally withdrew $16 million from Yasenevo, but the total value of Petukhov's assets in South Florida alone is twice that amount.

Conclusion

The materials of the Petukhov case contain information that indicates that the ex-general not only illegally obtained the status of a US resident with his family, but could also commit crimes in Russia. At the same time, we were unable to establish the source of the origin of about $40 million that Petukhov invested in foreign real estate.

The information available in the court materials on the possible money laundering of more than $16 million by Petukhov, the illegal acquisition of the status of US residents (L-1 visas) by him and his family members indicates the possible commission of crimes by the ex-general. At the same time, General Petukhov's total investment in foreign real estate is about $40 million. We have not been able to establish any explainable source of these funds. The testimony of Petukhov's partner in an American court speaks of $16 million illegally withdrawn by the ex-general, while Petukhov's total foreign investment is at least two and a half times more. These circumstances, together with the materials of the court session in Florida, indicate signs of illegal acts by Anatoly Petukhov.

In order to conduct additional verification of these facts and taking into account the cross-border scheme for withdrawing funds, we have prepared appeals to Russian law enforcement and supervisory authorities: the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation and Rosfinmonitoring. At the same time, we will send official appeals to the US Financial Crime Enforcement Administration (FinCEN) and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

At the end of October, Kommersant, citing the American media, reported that American journalists attributed assets worth $38 million to Major General Anatoly Petukhov. At the same time, in their opinion, the origin of the funds for which they were acquired is in doubt, although no evidence of this It was.

As Anatoly Petukhov himself, with whom Gazeta.ru managed to contact, stated, there have never been any claims to his assets from the inspection authorities of the countries where he works, which, in his opinion, speaks of the transparency of income, and his entire business " completely transparent"

“I retired more than 15 years ago, since then I started doing business with friends,” says the former first deputy head of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GUBOP) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. —

It's no secret that old connections help in business, including former colleagues abroad, but in fact "fellow soldiers" with whom bandits used to be caught. But all of them have long retired and are also engaged in other issues.

According to him, connections were established while working at the GUBOP: many criminals went abroad and moved from country to country to hide, so it was necessary to build official and personal relationships with colleagues from other states. “For each high-profile criminal case, if there was information about the connections of criminals with international criminal groups, we traveled to another country, exchanged information and planned joint operations,” he says. Petukhov also notes that in "the countries of the former socialist camp, as a rule, many heads of foreign units for combating organized crime were graduates of the Academy of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs." With them, he and his colleagues studied together in Moscow, made friends and spent personal time after study.

“Over 15 years out of service, my friends and other shareholders have been able to gradually build certain assets in Russia and abroad. Everything is transparent, no one hides anything,” says Petukhov.

In his opinion, reports about his assets may be related to his current activities in protecting the rights of investors in corporate conflicts. “In particular, he recently helped to return to more than a hundred shareholders the shares that scammers who are now hiding in offshores tried to steal from them,” he says.

In 2013, Petukhov was the defendant in a civil lawsuit from Yasenovo United Trading House, whose former chairman Pavel Gornostaev, with whom they had been family friends for many years, went hunting and fishing together, and also traveled abroad and did business together, accused major general in extortion and threats, Kommersant wrote. Other shareholders later told the court that they were not aware of the lawsuit and did not know about the extortion. The case ended with an amicable agreement with the classification of part of the documents.

The biography of General Anatoly Nikolaevich Pepelyaev still attracts the attention of researchers and enthusiasts studying national history. One of the numerous but vivid episodes in the string of nightmare that any civil war always brings with it is the famous Yakut campaign of General Pepelyaev. The rebellion showed the courage and tragedy of the people of the former Great Russian Empire, becoming a formidable reminder to posterity of what the collapse and split of society lead to for the sake of various political forces, ready to prove their right to power even with weapons in their hands.

Youth and formation of the Russian officer Pepelyaev

The personality and biography of General Pepelyaev, unfortunately, are little known to a wide range of people. He was undeservedly forgotten and tried not to be mentioned in Soviet times. But history also exists in order not only to remember, but also to learn lessons.

Born into the family of a Russian officer, the boy knew from childhood that he would devote his life to serving the Fatherland. He was born in Tomsk on July 15, 1891. The family was large: two sisters and five brothers. Father, Lieutenant General Nikolai Pepelyaev, sent his son to study. Teachers found Anatoly kind, quick-tempered, proud, stubborn, but truthful. There were cases of insolence towards teachers. But from everything it was clear that the boy liked the Kadets. However, all the sons, except for the eldest, received an excellent military education.

The year 1908 came and Anatoly entered Pavlovsk military school in St. Petersburg. He was completely absorbed in studies: tactics, military history, foreign languages, chemistry, military topography - this is not the whole list of disciplines studied. At the school, he became more serious about learning, but discipline was still lame.

The future general managed to receive 16 penalties in two years. Judging by the description that the teachers left, it turns out that the cadet Pepelyaev very easily fell under the influence of comrades who were notorious. At the same time, the young man dealt well with small arms and was physically developed and strong, and his nature required vigorous activity.

Even having flaws in discipline, he managed to graduate from college with the rank of second lieutenant. That is, he was a graduate of the 1st category. And for this necessary condition was to score at least 8 points out of 10 possible in military disciplines, and in the knowledge of combat service to get at least 10 points. Training at the school took 2 years and the young lieutenant Anatoly Nikolaevich Pepelyaev returned to his native Tomsk in triumph in 1910.

The beginning of a military career

He was sent to serve in the machine gun team. This company-level unit in the tsarist army consisted of 99 people, there was a commander, 3 chief officers. And one of them was older, and two younger. It was one of these junior chief officers that Lieutenant Anatoly Nikolaevich Pepelyaev began his career.

Such a unit was armed with 9 machine guns and fully or partially belonged to companies or battalions. Therefore, great importance was given to the issues of interaction. Two years after the start of service in the 42nd Siberian rifle regiment Lieutenant Pepelyaev was married to Nina Ivanovna Gavronskaya. But happiness was interrupted by the impending First World War.

Shortly before the start of this monstrous tragedy, Pepelyaev received a promotion to the rank of lieutenant and a new position - the head of the regiment's intelligence team. Three weeks after the declaration of war, his regiment was sent to the North-Western Front.

Pepeliaev in the First World War

Scouts under the command of Lieutenant Pepelyaev proved themselves already in the first months of their arrival at the front. Several successful raids were carried out in the area of ​​​​the town of Graevo, the town of Markrabovo. For this he was awarded 4, 3 and 2 degrees, 3 degrees. The scouts were lucky, and they were proud of their commander. But 1915 was rich in events that tested the strength, power and fortitude of the Russian tsarist army. We are talking about the six-day battle of Prasnysh.

On July 30, 1915, the German troops advanced, having almost twofold superiority in the sector of the front, which was defended by the Siberians. The 11th Siberian Rifle Division, in which Lieutenant Pepelyaev served, consisted of 14,500 bayonets. By evening, no more than 5,000 combat-ready fighters remained.

The fighters, showing miracles of courage, felt the force of the main blow of the Germans, but did not flinch and remained faithful to the oath and military duty to the end. They had to retreat, but the plan of the fascist command was thwarted: they failed to encircle the Russian group in Poland.

Fate kept the future Major General Pepelyaev from a bayonet and a bullet, but did not save him from a fragment. After the operation, he was eager to fight. Pepelyaev categorically rejected all persuasions about evacuation. He felt how his soldiers and comrades needed him. And to leave everyone because of a “light”, in his opinion, injury is not possible for the honor of a Russian officer.

The hardships and deprivations of the First World War. The beginning of the collapse of the army

Not having time to properly move away from the wound, the lieutenant again rushes into battle, and the command promotes him in the rank to staff captain. He continues to command his Siberian scouts and show miracles of heroism.

On September 18, 1915, a dangerous situation arose in the battle near the village of Borovaya. Pepelyaev's detachment guarded the right flank and conducted reconnaissance of the combat sector of the 11th Siberian rifle division. The Germans, having a fourfold superiority, almost came close to the positions of our troops, and if they had captured them, they would have created extremely unpleasant conditions for the defense of an entire division. There was no time to think. The captain personally led the counterattack of his scouts, and the Siberians did not blunder. They not only threw back the intruding enemy back, but also returned their positions. In this battle, more than a hundred Germans were destroyed, they themselves lost two soldiers.

You can continue to list no less glorious episodes in the biography of General Pepelyaev, but alarming trends have already been outlined in Russian army. People began to slowly but surely get tired of the military confusion and the senselessness of what was happening. Only the Pepelyaev reconnaissance detachment did not have time for sadness and general despondency. The sequence of events in that terrible meat grinder was too bright. But the command appreciated the rich combat experience of the brave officer, and sent him to a front-line school.

The losses of the Russian army were colossal. Society increasingly asked questions about the advisability of continuing such a war. To this we can add the agitation that the Bolsheviks successfully launched at the fronts. All these and many other reasons caused confusion and vacillation, giving rise to the question in the soul of a simple Russian soldier: “What should I die for?”

Brest-Litovsk peace - a slap in the face for a Russian soldier

According to the memoirs of Major General Pepelyaev, he met the revolution at the front. Many factors influenced the collapse of the army and the loss of its combat capability. Along with this, everything old was destroyed, something new appeared - incomprehensible. For example, the election of commanders, democratization in the armed forces. How this affected the power of the army is not worth explaining. In the military environment, not without reason, the mediocre Nicholas II and his government were considered guilty of what was happening, so many met the February Revolution and the tsar's abdication from the throne absolutely calmly.

Russian patriots still hoped for victory, but every day this hope was fading away. October Revolution and the signed separate Brest-Litovsk peace - the ground was leaving from under their feet. Everything that the Russian patriots believed in was crumbling before our eyes. Pepelyaev could not change the situation, but he was also not going to put up with it. He needed time to think carefully about everything. And he went to his native Tomsk.

The fight against the Bolsheviks as a remedy for depression

Returning from the war, Pepelyaev did not forgive the Bolsheviks for their treacherous stab in the back. He, like many whites, dreamed of revenge. Anatoly Nikolaevich Pepelyaev, a general of the White Army, considered himself, judging by his recollections, a "populist". Those contradictions that arose in the society of the former Russian Empire could not be resolved peacefully.

A bloody fratricidal war loomed ahead, eclipsing even the First World War in its cruelty and stupidity. The Western states condemned the separate peace and were gladly ready to support the recalcitrant white movement for the sake of fat profits.

May 31, 1918 hometown was cleared of the Bolsheviks. Now Pepelyaev and his associates could get out of the underground and form their own corps to repel the "red plague", which this group did. The Central Siberian Corps was formed, and the results were not long in coming. The liberation of Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Verkhneudinsk came in turn. The military career continued its dizzying rise. He is promoted to the rank of Major General.

Anatoly Pepelyaev, general of the "white" movement, received his rank at the age of 27. But with all the talents and phenomenal luck, he had some peculiarities in behavior that alarmed the experienced military. On principle he refused to wear shoulder straps, believing that power should pass to the peasantry and the countryside. He not only despised the old regime, but also fiercely hated it, ready even with weapons in his hands to prevent its return.

His views and some actions testify, rather, to the exaltation and immaturity of the personality. He was proud of the fact that he never gave the order to be shot. But this did not mean that terror was not gaining momentum on both sides. Being in his illusory world, he refused to understand that a civil war is a quality new level confrontation. Young General A.N. Pepelyaev firmly believed in his ideals, and this would later play a cruel joke on him and on those who went with him on the famous Yakut campaign. As a soldier, he was never able to accept and come to terms with the barbaric inhuman cruelty that war brings.

Capture of Perm

General Pepelyaev and his troops arrived in the Urals. They rushed to Perm, but ahead of them was opposed by the 3rd Army of the Red Army. It cannot be said that the “red” situation was stable. There were problems with the supply and morale of the fighters. In addition, a significant number of people who sympathized with the "white" movement served in the ranks of the Bolsheviks. Another significant factor influencing the course of the overall battle was that the planning of operations was spontaneous, and the level of training of officers left much to be desired.

The "White" General Pepelyaev and his troops favorably differed from their opponents: they were better prepared and had excellent combat experience. In addition, they had agents at the headquarters of the 3rd Army. General Pepelyaev recognized the primacy of Kolchak and acted in obedience to his orders.

The assault on the city began on December 24, 1918 in 30-degree frost. The resistance of the "Reds" was suppressed during the day. The remaining Red Army soldiers in a hurry crossed the Kama River. The film recounts the events of those troubled years. It describes Civil War, the capture of Perm and General Pepelyaev. The film in film distribution is known under the name "Contribution".

Unsuccessful trip to Vyatka

Perm was taken, but it was necessary to continue the offensive, and General Pepelyaev continued his march to the west. The frosts intensified, and the advance stalled. The offensive continued only in March. He stubbornly advanced towards Vyatka.

All the other commanders of the "white" movement were much less lucky: their offensive attempts were repulsed by the Red Army, and even a situation developed that threatened the entire Kolchak group. Their retreat was not organized and more like a flight.

The army of Anatoly Nikolaevich Pepelyaev covered the retreat of Kapel and Voitsekhovsky. Despite heroic efforts, the end was inevitable. His army was completely destroyed, and the general himself fell ill with typhus. But fate wanted him to survive. It was already a different person: he was disappointed in the "white" movement, and with the "red" he was clearly not on the way, so he decided to emigrate.

Harbin. Life in exile

Former General Anatoly Pepelyaev courageously met all the hardships and hardships in a foreign land. He mastered the profession of a carpenter, a fisherman. Survived by other odd jobs. It was necessary to learn to live without war and become a breadwinner. And he did it. He was an active person and therefore soon founded artels of loaders and carpenters.

But the past did not want to let him go. The unsubdued from Kolchak's defeated army constantly turned to him for help. Everyone dreamed of returning to native Russia. General Anatoly Pepelyaev himself dreamed about this, otherwise, how to explain that he allowed himself to be persuaded again into an obvious adventure.

There was a trip to Yakutia to support the rebels. How to explain such a decision is an excellent topic for numerous disputes and disputes. And funding for this obviously crazy idea was found. The businessmen quickly realized that it would be possible to organize a clearly uncontrolled fur trade there and, having compared all the risks, reluctantly allocated funds. General A.N. Pepelyaev was ready to support 750 people. With 2 machine guns and about 10,000 light machine guns, the detachment was ready to move into the inhospitable wastelands of Yakutia.

Yakut campaign of General Pepelyaev

In early September 1922, soldiers of the Siberian Volunteer Squad landed in Okhotsk and Ayan. The Tungus warmly welcomed them, considering them their deliverers, and handed over about 300 deer - the main draft force in those places. Despite this, it became obvious to the SDD participants that the campaign was poorly prepared, however, they soon received reinforcements with people and provisions.

By the beginning of 1923, the Red Army had successfully smashed all movements, and therefore the fateful decision was made to advance to Yakutsk. Winter road of General A.N. Pepelyaeva became a serious test for the soldiers of the Russian people. But even worse were fighting in those conditions.

The meeting with the Red Army detachment of I. Strod interfered with the plans of the Siberian Volunteer Squad. General Pepelyaev suddenly decided to break this division of the Red Army at all costs. But his wards were doomed. They fought back to Ayan, where they surrendered.

Court. Life in prison

Pepelyaev and Strod were noble people, without meanness in their souls. Strode defended him in every possible way in court. The testimony indicated that his recent opponent, General Pepelyaev, did not use atrocities and executions. The former "white" general stopped them and Strode considers him a humane person. But the court was relentless.

General Anatoly Nikolaevich Pepelyaev was sent to serve his sentence in the Yaroslavl political isolator. Years in solitary confinement, and then he was graciously allowed to write letters to his wife. On July 6, 1936, Pepelyaev was released. But it wasn't for long. The terrible year of 1937 was approaching, and already in August he was again returned to prison. In Novosibirsk, in January 1938, the death sentence was read to him. This is the answer to the question of how General Pepelyaev died.

However, he repeated the fate of millions in Russia. Historians and researchers will return more than once to the tragic fate of this great Russian officer. He knew the ups and downs, but continued to love Russia and tried to help her by virtue of his strength and understanding. General Pepelyaev is a fragment of the past and a symbol of a real Russian officer.

Reading some excerpts from his diary, you are involuntarily horrified by the suicidal longing that settled in his soul during the famous Yakut campaign. And one can only be amazed at how he found the strength in himself to continue the struggle with people and with himself.

By all indications, he was in the deepest depression. Pepelyaev tossed between the desire to shoot himself or run wherever his eyes looked. What is it? The onset of a serious illness as a result of living in stress for the past few years? Or the realization came that the Russia he knew had changed completely and irrevocably, and Pepelyaev could not save her. It remains only to guess. But surrender without a fight to the Red Army leaves a disgusting sense of shame and confirms the rule: war is not a place for romantics. This is a work that incinerates the soul, cruel and bloody, where there is no place for sentimentality and chivalrous bowing.

Former First Deputy Head of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GUBOP) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, Major General Anatoly Petukhov, who now lives in the United States, was at the center of a real estate scandal.

According to a joint investigation by Transparency International and the Miami Herald, the retired Florida crime fighter owns assets worth $38 million.
The retired general has invested this amount in American real estate since 2010.
We studied the career path of General Petukhov from deputy head of the powerful GUBOP to a modest realtor in Miami.
General Petukhov was dismissed from the Ministry of Internal Affairs after the resignation of the Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Rushailo in 2001 and his flight from Russia. right hand» Alexandra Orlova. In the 1990s, the Organized Crime Unit gained a bad reputation. With the help of RUBOPs, some businessmen knocked out debts from others. From time to time, the GUBOP actually took one of the sides in "disputes between economic entities" - the forceful redistribution of property, according to the Transparency investigation.
GUBOP was so corrupt that these events were followed by mass dismissals of the generals of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
After his dismissal from the internal affairs bodies, Petukhov went to work at the All-Russian Research Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and went into business. The only official source of income for General Petukhov in Russia, according to Transparency, is OAO United Trading House Yasenevo, formed by merging existing department stores Yasenevo, Dobryninsky, Molodezhny and Belgrade. In 2002, Petukhov became one of its main shareholders. The market value of the OJSC assets was estimated by Colliers International at that time at $140–160 million.
According to the company's financial statements, from 2010 to 2014 Trade House Yasenevo earned about 200 million rubles a year. At the same time, the company paid dividends only once, in 2012 - and only in the amount of 1.07 million rubles.
In 2010, according to the study, General Petukhov moved to Miami, where he purchased real estate in one of the most beautiful and expensive luxury condominiums Continuum North Tower worth $3.04 million. office space worth $3.2 million.


Continuum North Tower
The development company Asko Inc, founded by the former deputy head of the GUBOP, specialized in renting office space and shopping centers, as well as managing commercial real estate. Through a number of commercial structures controlled by Petukhov, Asko Inc owns three office premises, a shopping center in Hallandale Beach and 7 office premises on the first floor of the Imperial Towers North building with a total value of $13.6 million.
It is known that in order to purchase one of these premises, Petukhov's company received a loan from Stonegate Bank in the amount of $2.1 million for a period of 10 years, but it was repaid by a retired general in just 2 years.
Petukhov's largest deal in Miami, the researchers called the purchase with a difference of only 4 days of 2 mansions on Hibiscus Island. The cost of one house was $7.9 million, the other $7.05.


One of Petukhov's mansions on Hibiscus Island
The authors of the study found out the origin of funds for the purchase of real estate from General Petukhov. In the civil court of the Miami Dade district, a lawsuit filed in 2013 by the shareholders of TH Yasenevo was discovered, which answers this question. In the statement of claim, the plaintiff's representatives demanded that the retired general pay damages in the amount of $50.50 million and confiscate his property in Florida. In addition to Petukhov himself, a certain Irina Poliski, the wife of General Yuliya, and Asko Inc. appear among the defendants in the lawsuit.
The plaintiff states that between 2005 and 2012, Petukhov illegally withdrew more than $16.8 million from Yasenevo Trade House, which was later “laundered” in the United States and used to purchase real estate in Florida. Petukhov's partners also accused him of physical threats to Pavel Gornostaev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of OAO United Trading House Yasenevo, demanding that he not try to initiate a criminal case in Russia.
However, despite such a heat of passions, in 2014 the parties suddenly concluded a settlement. Representatives of OAO Trade House Yasenevo withdrew their claims. At the request of the parties, court documents were removed from public access in order to "prevent damage to the reputation of the parties."
Six months later, the shareholders of Trade House Yasenevo sold their shares to the structures of the PIK group of companies of Sergey Gordeev. Before the sale, Petukhov transferred his shares of the trading house (25%) to the offshore Niselo Holdings Limited, through which the deal was concluded.


Also in the Transparency investigation there is evidence that the ex-general illegally received the status of a US resident along with his family, and could also be involved in crimes in Russia. However, the sources of origin of the order of $40 million that Petukhov invested in Florida real estate could not be established by Transparency.
Based on the facts presented in the investigation, the Organization prepared appeals to the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation and Rosfinmonitoring. Official appeals will also be sent to the US Financial Crime Enforcement Administration (FinCEN) and the FBI.

Retired Russian Major General Anatoly Petukhov bought real estate in Miami for $38 million. The American media write that the sources of income former first deputy head of the GUBOP of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, “a fighter against corruption and the Russian mafia”, may be of a dubious nature.

Petukhov bought an apartment in the tower of the Continuum condominium in South Beach for $3 million. This place is known as the center of the glamorous nightlife of Miami Beach, a place of leisure for both American and Russian celebrities. The former general also purchased 3 office buildings in Miami-Dade and Broward counties for $13.6 million, a shopping center in Fort Lauderdale for $4.5 million, the first floor of shops and windows in the Hallandale Beach condo for $1.5 million, and etc. And according to The Real Deal, Petukhov laid out $15 million for two houses on Hibiscus Island.

Fortunately for former general, buying real estate in Miami until recently was quite simple - there would be money. The realtors asked few questions, and behind the real buyers were dummy offshore companies. Luxury housing in Miami - "the capital of sex and cocaine" was much cheaper than in London or Manhattan. Russians—businessmen, retired politicians, and intelligence officials—have especially taken a liking to Fisher Island and Sunny Isles Beach (the latter is called "Little Moscow"). Moved here and not shot in the "dashing 90s" "criminal element".

And now the FBI has opened an office in Miami to specifically investigate the activities of the "Eurasian mafia." " Italian goat Nostra has ceased to be enemy number one for us, this place has been taken by Eurasian organized crime, ”FBI special agent Rick Brodsky told the Miami Herald newspaper.

Quite predictably, the retired 59-year-old major general, his lawyer and realtors refused to enter into a dialogue with journalists on the topic “where did the firewood come from”, i.e. sources of income.

As Louise Shelley, a professor at George Mason University, notes, the “elitist” organized crime unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (where Petukhov worked as first deputy chief) was “the most criminalized structure in the police” - so much so that it was reorganized and eventually disbanded after the scandal with participation of its leadership. The Americans refer to publications in the Russian media: Novaya Gazeta and MK about how the commander of the unit, Lieutenant General Alexander Orlov, used his post to extort huge sums from oligarchs and bandits in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Orlov fled the country in 2001 and has since been seen in Turkey, Israel, Thailand and Florida. As Louise Shelley writes, an organized crime unit at all levels extorted money from entrepreneurs and gangsters, promising not to bring charges. Junior officers were required to send part of their illegal income up the ranks. And people like Petukhov were sitting at the top of the pyramid of universal extortion.

In 2013, a civil lawsuit was filed against Petukhov in the Miami District Court on behalf of the shareholders of Yasenovo United Trading House. From the document it followed that during 1999-2013. Petukhov extorted money from the head of the company, Pavel Gornostaev, now also a resident of Florida. The total damage claimed in the lawsuit was about $60 million. Defendants in the lawsuit also included Petukhov's wife, Yulia, his Miami-based property management firm, his business partner, Hallandale Beach, and another Florida-based company.

A few months later, the parties reached an agreement, and the judge unexpectedly classified the materials of the case, which only raised questions: what state secrets could the trial of extortion and the construction of a corruption scheme in Russia contain in an American court? However, the Miami Herald found 45 pages of case documents left open to the public.

According to these papers, during the indicated period, representatives of Gornostaev's company monthly handed over bags of cash to Petukhov in the amount of $ 2.5 million. In return, Petukhov guaranteed a "roof" from everyone who was dissatisfied with the expanding activities of Yasenovo United Trading House.

The “roof” could not be abandoned: the general threatened Gornostaev that he would “create problems for those who refuse to protect him, harm their families, using criminals under his control.”

Gornostaev's complaint states that by 2002 Petukhov had already demanded a 25 percent stake in his, Gornostaev's, business. It was decided to satisfy the requests, and in 2005 Petukhov was appointed deputy CEO firms. Based on court documents, the general received about $ 16.8 million for providing “protection”. He then began to demand a controlling stake in order to emigrate to the United States on a business visa and open a partner company in Miami. Gornostaev refused. But the general found the money, moved to the USA and from there did not stop threatening the company.

Petukhov's lawyers deny the involvement of their client in the described circumstances, calling the accusations "impudent and scandalous." The defense provided a written explanation from the shareholder of Yasenovo United Trading House Sergey Kiselev. Kiselev testifies that he never witnessed the events described above, did not see the transfer of money, and learned about the extortion from Gornostaev.

6 months after the settlement of the dispute, Yasenovo United Trading House sold its department stores in Moscow, which are worth about $160 million. Before the sale, Petukhov was determined to be the owner of 25% of the property being sold. A Cypriot offshore company controlled by Petukhov showed a profit of $3.6 million from the sale of Yasenovo stores. Where the rest of the money went and how much Petukhov eventually received remained a mystery. Neither he nor his lawyers comment on this matter. It turns out that the American Themis has no claims against the fighter against Russian organized crime.

Both the official and the deputy

Last year, the FBI conducted a semi-annual check, during which the Americans found out the identity of the true owners of luxury real estate in Manhattan (cost from $3 million) and Miami (from $1 million). The event was held as part of the fight against organized crime and money laundering. Starting to identify the names of the true owners, the Ministry of Finance made the property rights insurance companies involved in all stages of transactions its main tool. The authorities placed the collected names in closed databases law enforcement. They are really kept secret. But the appearance of more and more revealing materials in the local media may indirectly indicate that a significant catch was collected. As in the case of Petukhov, we are talking about employees of law enforcement agencies and members of the United Russia party - i.e. not about the “fifth column” eating the cookies of the State Department, but about “ true patriots» Russia.

Recently, as a result of an investigation, the Center for Transparency International - Russia, together with journalist Lily Dobrovolskaya, found several "strange" apartments in Miami in the Trump Palace condominium, registered in the name of Igor Zorin and purchased with the help of former officer FSB, and now the head of the board of directors of the security company "Alfa-Anticriminal" Svyatoslav Mangushev. The total value of the property is $9 million. Investigators are interested in both personalities.

Igor Zorin. A person with the same name heads the Russian Broadcasting and Alert Networks, a state-owned enterprise that owns all radio outlets in Russia. As a director of a Russian state-owned enterprise, he cannot own and manage commercial companies, including foreign ones. Before becoming the director of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise RSVO, Zorin was the deputy head federal agency communications, served as director of the Main Center for Special Communications - the courier service for secret dispatches and alerts. Is this the same person as Zorin, the owner of commercial companies that own apartments in elite apartments in Miami? Transparency International - Russia sent a corresponding request to the prosecutor's office.

Svyatoslav Mangushev is the founder of the unique motorcycle club SPETSZNAZ, which united American and Russian bikers, and he also heads the board of directors of the Alfa-Anticriminal group of enterprises in Russia. Gleb Gavrish, spokesman for Transparency International-Russia, notes that this group of security enterprises employs former employees of the FSB and other law enforcement agencies, in particular the counter-terrorism unit.

How are these two names related? When Zorin worked at the Main Center for Special Communications, the Federal State Unitary Enterprise transferred many contracts for security orders to private security companies from the Alfa Anticriminal group. The investigators managed to find a letter of thanks addressed to Mangushev, signed by Zorin. After Zorin moved to the Russian Broadcasting and Notification Networks, there were also large contracts that he transferred to Mangushev's enterprise. After moving to the United States, Mangushev went into business and began to acquire real estate, three apartments were transferred to firms that are managed by a man named Igor Zorin. Just a coincidence of names? The Prosecutor General's Office, thanks to Transparency International, is aware. The fact that the property belongs to the Trump Palace condominium gives a special piquancy to the story.

The Miami Herald also wrote about former State Duma deputy Alexei Knyshov, who bought himself a house in Miami for $7 million and demanded $360,000 from the developer in court due to the “low quality” of an apartment in “Little Moscow,” Sunny Isles Beach. In the lawsuit, he calls his life in an American apartment a "nightmare".

In Russia, interest in Knyshov arose 5 years ago, when opposition deputies (then deputies!) Dmitry Gudkov and Ilya Ponomarev accused him that, despite the status of a parliamentarian, he continues to do business and manage his assets. They also stated that they found United Russia housing in the United States worth over a million dollars and a number of other assets. Knyshov denied the accusations, but voluntarily withdrew his parliamentary powers, after which the law enforcement authorities refused to initiate a criminal case against the politician.

For the future

After five years since the beginning of this story, Gudkov and Ponomarev are no longer State Duma deputies (the latter is generally forced to hide abroad).

Patriotism is growing everywhere, and critics of the regime are being unanimously stigmatized.

But in the US, the story of the "patriots" will reach a fundamentally new level. In accordance with the Act of Countering Aggression by the Governments of Iran passed by Congress and signed by President Trump, Russian Federation and North Korea" within 180 days, which means no later than February 2, 2018, the financial intelligence of the US Department of Justice must submit a report on the foreign assets of "influential political figures, oligarchs and heads of state companies of the Russian Federation, close to the Kremlin regime." Presumably, these names and assets have long been known to the Americans, but we will be able to learn a lot of new things. The disclosure of influential names will entail the inevitable legal procedures associated with organized crime and money laundering. But here in the USA. And without the notorious "roof".

Washington