The Basmanny Court of Moscow arrested in absentia - a major Moscow businessman, the former owner of the famous Cherkizon (Cherkizovsky market). He was accused of organizing a double murder and arms trafficking. Ismailov's story is unique: once he was one of the most powerful people in the capital, but soon after the market closed in 2009, his star began to fade - and now he faces life imprisonment. I remembered how Ismailov's career developed, and tried to figure out where and when the businessman turned the wrong way.

Disgraced Cherkizon

The inhabitants of the east of the capital have always disliked the Cherkizovsky clothing market that arose in the early 1990s, comparing it with the famous Khitrovka. However, the market successfully existed until 2009, including due to its social function: low-income citizens could easily dress up there for modest money. In addition, the market has become a wholesale base for small businesses throughout European Russia from Murmansk to Derbent. Cherkizon was a unique phenomenon for its time - a kind of state with its own unwritten laws, around which a whole infrastructure has grown, designed to satisfy the various needs of visitors and workers. The authorities repeatedly tried to drive out the merchants or at least to ennoble the territory of the huge market, but they did not achieve success in this matter soon.

In 2009, a massive campaign against Cherkizon was launched in the media. The TV spots talked about abuses in the market, and the appearance of some dangerous goods was directly associated with the name of the main shareholder of the market - Telman Ismailov (a fortune of $ 0.6 billion according to data). Who exactly and why launched an attack on the capital's largest market is still unknown. However, it was Cherkizon who had in mind the then Prime Minister, calling for the fight against smuggling. “Smuggling is a separate issue, and the struggle seems to be underway, but there are few results. In one of the markets there are goods worth more than two billion dollars, so far they have not been destroyed and there are no owners (...) The result of the struggle should be imprisonment. Where are the landings?” Putin said at a meeting of the government presidium on June 1, 2009.

According to one version, Ismailov incurred the wrath of high-ranking officials by the fact that in the same 2009 he opened the seven-star Mardan Palace hotel in Antalya, Turkey, which became the most expensive in the Mediterranean: its cost was 1.4-1.6 billion dollars. Especially for the beach of this hotel, special sand was brought from Egypt, which does not burn your feet in the heat; gold leaf and natural crystal were used to decorate the interiors, and wines were offered to guests at a price of four thousand dollars per bottle. The presentation of the hotel was attended by world celebrities, the ceremony was led by an actress.

The Russian authorities could be outraged that all this luxury was created on the profits from smuggling and other crimes of Cherkizon (according to some reports, in 2009 he brought the owners one million dollars a day). But Ismailov's special cynicism was that the businessman invested one and a half billion dollars (45 billion rubles) in the Turkish coast, while the whole country was chipping in for the construction of facilities for the Sochi Olympics. By the way, their total cost, including donations from Russian businessmen, according to official figures, amounted to 214 billion rubles.

Following the media to attack the security forces on the market. June 7, 2009 (SKP) announced an investigation in connection with the discovery of goods dangerous for consumption at the Cherkizovsky market. It was noted that a group of unidentified persons brought and placed in the warehouses of Cherkizon more than six thousand containers with clothes, shoes and other goods without warehouse and shipping documents.

According to the UPC, in 58 containers they found children's clothes and shoes that did not meet sanitary and epidemiological standards - they were to be destroyed. The investigation opened a criminal case under Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Production, storage, transportation or sale of goods that do not meet safety requirements”). At the end of June 2009, Cherkizon was closed. High-ranking officials found unsanitary conditions, smuggling and brothels on the territory of the market, then control services came and the work of the market stopped forever.

On the Turkish coast

Shortly after Cherkizon was finished, on August 6, 2009, UPC investigators with operatives and special forces soldiers went to the famous Praga restaurant on the Arbat. Like Cherkizon, it belonged to the AST group of companies headed by President Telman Ismailov. The security forces, in the best traditions of the "mask show", effectively conducted a search in "Prague" with the seizure of documents.

Officially, the investigative actions took place as part of the investigation of a criminal case initiated against, the former rector of the Russian State University of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism (RGUFKSiT). He was accused of abuse of office: Matytsin allegedly leased a piece of university land with an area of ​​about 665,000 square meters to KBF AST. This site was used by Cherkizon for trade, but the land was in federal ownership, which means that the ex-rector had no right to lease it.

However, AST's lawyers then stated that the case of university lands was only a pretext for searches, and investigators seized documents related to Telman Ismailov's business. In particular, the lawyer said that investigators had already seized documents related to land lease during searches in Prague in 2007, which means that in 2009 they, apparently, were looking for something else. As a result, late in the evening of August 6, the investigators took away several dozen boxes of papers and computer system units from Prague.

Surrounded by Telman Ismailov, both the closure of Cherkizon and the searches in Prague were then associated with part of a large campaign against the entrepreneur.

“Telman Mardanovich still hopes that his troubles were organized by one of his competitors and in the end, even with some losses, the situation will be resolved. But for those who are closely familiar with what is happening around his business, it is already clear that the orders come from the very top, ”a close acquaintance of Ismailov told the media.

Already at that time, the owner of Cherkizon took steps to minimize the possible consequences of a campaign against him. Ismailov moved to Turkey and took up the registration of citizenship of this country.

The ex-owner of the Cherkizovsky market Telman Ismailov, suspected of contract killing, is hiding in Montenegro. This was reported to The CrimeRussia by a well-informed source. According to him, the fugitive tycoon concluded an agreement with the ruling circles of this state on non-extradition to the Russian government.

Telman Ismailov is a talented and very successful businessman

Telman Ismailov is a non-standard entrepreneur and a brilliant leader. For a long time, the name of this wealthy businessman was associated only with the work of the famous Cherkizovsky market in the capital. To date, the market is no longer there, but Telman's promotion is still ongoing. At the present time, the AST group of companies, owned by Ismailov, owns an effective business, containing many different sections. Cargo transportation, construction, book printing, restaurant business, and much more - all this is considered only a small fraction of the assets of the famous Azerbaijani businessman.

Telman's new multi-billion dollar business

It is significant that after the entrepreneur lost the Cherkizovsky market, he made an attempt to buy the most profitable similar institution in Ukraine - the 7 kilometer market near Odessa, where merchants deliberately come to buy not only from all over the state, but also from Moldova and Belarus . But at the same time, with Telman Ismailov, President Viktor Yanukovych had his eye on this market, for that period, and the enterprise was transferred into the hands of his agents.

Telman himself decided to sit out the crisis in Turkey. He opened the Mardan Palace Hotel in Antalya, named after the entrepreneur's father, who would have turned exactly 100 years old when the hotel opened. By the way, the German newspaper "Süddeutsche Zeitung" called "Mardan Palace" the most expensive hotel on the continent, since its construction took at least a billion dollars.

Telman Ismailov is hiding in Montenegro

Last year, the Ismailov family lived in a cottage on the land plot of the Mardan Palace hotel complex in Antalya. But, fearing extradition to the Russian government, they left Turkey, as the district law enforcement agencies had questions for Telman Ismailov. According to the explanations of Turkish investigators, he was involved in the process of the murder of thief in law Rovshan Lenkoransky (Dzhaniev). Then the magnate's family emigrated to France. However, even there Ismailov did not feel safe, as he was put on the international wanted list.

He currently lives in a rented villa in Montenegro. Right there, he recorded his recent video message, where he stated fears that his brother Rafik could be “liquidated” before the trial. Regarding him, the investigation was completed and soon the verdict in organizing the murder of 2 businessmen (part 2 of article 105 and article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) must be confirmed by the prosecutor's office, after which the materials will be submitted to the court.

For $ 2 billion, in Antalya, he opened the most luxurious hotel on the Mediterranean coast. How many stars, it's hard to say. The cost, according to the most conservative estimates, is $1.5 billion. From what kopecks does the owner of the market add up his fortune and who feeds from this table?

This is not the opening of the Beijing Olympics, not the Eurovision final, and not the Oscar or Grammy ceremony. It's tougher. This crazy money, taken out of Russia, is showered with golden rain on foreign shores.

Solemn presentation in the Turkish resort of Antalya. World stars, written out at the rate of five million dollars per evening, glorify the owner of the institution.

"Ladies and gentlemen! I ask you to applaud the organizer of this great holiday, Mr. Telman Mardanovich Ismailov!" - said actress Monica Bellucci at the opening of the superhotel.

Telman Ismailov is a co-owner of the largest flea market in Russia - the Cherkizovsky market, in common parlance - Cherkizon. He spent 1 billion 300 million dollars on the construction of a super hotel. The opening was timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of his late dad, who, as Sharon Stone explained, was very respected in his native Caucasian village and was called Mardan. Hence the name - Mardan Palace.

"This is the most magnificent hotel on the planet. It is made with such love and generosity! This is especially important now that the world is in the grip of an economic crisis," said actress Sharon Stone.

The crisis is only at hand. The more inaccessible to people are normal stores, the more turnover Cherkizon has. There is nothing more naive than asking local merchants for a certificate for a product.

"Certificate of quality? This is where a young man sells for fur coats. You can buy a certificate of quality from him - it costs 100 rubles," one of the saleswomen of the market smiles.

At least for Gucci felt boots, at least for Dior skullcaps - a complete set of "linden" - from hygiene certificates to customs invoices.

"All of us - and we will cast a seal, and we will make checks, and a waybill, an invoice," one of the sellers assures. "Any whim for your money."

The largest market in Eastern Europe - 70 hectares, dotted with shops, warehouses, rooming houses. Only one Tajik diaspora in Cherkizon - 17 thousand people! Most merchants do not leave the territory for years - firstly, there is a problem with documents, and secondly, with the language. They do not know Russian and do not want to learn.

The smells are Vietnamese, the decency in calculations is Arabic, the Chinese newspapers are yesterday's and, as the seller said, tomorrow's. There is also a consulate - Tajik - the only one in the world, open right at the flea market.

The security service of this market includes several thousand retired policemen, special services and military personnel. Last year, it took them about a minute to throw a film crew out the gate.

At the sight of a television camera, the former captains and majors, "lowered" in Cherkizon to the level of ordinary guards, are obliged to transmit a prearranged signal over the radio, meaning - no less - a combat alarm. Twenty seconds - quickly began to work.

"The Cherkizovsky market is a state within a state. To conduct an inspection there, you need to have considerable courage. For example, if we go to detain certain persons who, according to operational information, sell drugs there, we naturally enter the outlet. guards won't let us in. We introduce ourselves as employees of the Criminal Investigation Department, they immediately report a coded word on the radio, "said the former head of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Eastern Administrative District of Moscow Evgeny Kharlamov.

The villains alerted by the guards immediately rush in all directions. It is almost impossible to catch someone in Cherkizovsky nooks and crannies. The situation on the market can be described as a deliberately supported criminal lawlessness of the early 90s.

“The leadership of the district simply forbids employees to appear there. This is an oral order. But everyone knows: if he appears there, he will be fired,” said Mikhail Pashkin, chairman of the independent trade union of police officers in Moscow. leaders of the district, who was carrying a suitcase chained to his hand with handcuffs. What was this diplomat with? .. "

A gigantic consignment worth two billion dollars, which Vladimir Putin mentioned the other day, was found in the warehouses of Cherkizon. The same week - Kaliningrad customs, Omsk, Makhachkala - detained dozens of wagons with Turkish and Chinese counterfeit goods. All invoices are fake. The cargo went to the Cherkizovsky market.

In Balashikha near Moscow. She could not compete with gratuitous contraband products - she went bankrupt - after which she handed over her workshops to some entrepreneurs who promised to establish something sensible here.

Settled. Four hundred illegal immigrants, kept in terrible conditions, were sewing dresses from Gucci and blouses from Yves Saint Laurent around the clock. On the day of the workshop, up to two tons of illegal products were issued.

"During the raid, police officers identified four clandestine workshops for the production of clandestine products. It was produced by Vietnamese citizens and was intended for further sale on the territory of the Cherkizovsky market," said Artur Mishin, deputy head for combating offenses in the consumer market.

The unfortunate workers slept on three-story bunks, ate from a common boiler and used the same latrine for all. They weren't allowed to go outside, they were paid little even by Vietnamese standards - one hundred dollars a month.

So, the next underground production is closed, the owners are put on the wanted list, the goods are waiting for destruction, the workers - a special detention center and deportation - this was officially announced. Several days have passed. The same factory, the same workshop locked from the inside. We climb into the same window into which until recently the riot police so valiantly climbed - the same allegedly arrested Vietnamese behind the same typewriters, as it were confiscated, continue to sheathe the same Cherkizovsky market, which has long been signed for demolition. By the way, its owner, Mr. Ismailov, has already applied for Turkish citizenship, but this, apparently, does not change anything - his "Moscow business empire" continues to bring dividends. A million buyers pass through Cherkizon every day. This market generates a billion in net profit per year.

Text: News of the week

The name is now associated with some kind of bloodthirsty monster who created a powerful criminal empire, dividing it into brigades for various purposes. report various facts about the activities of the former oligarch, although previously they were silent about his affairs. A few years ago, the public saw this person only as a successful businessman, an oligarch, for whom almost all roads are open.

As one of the acquaintances of the Ismailov family said, they did not always even know which of the enterprises they owned, the business was so extensive. But this fact most likely refers to some small companies created within the business empire. The big business of the Ismailovs has always been well-known, because it was for the sake of it that the entire criminal empire was created - somewhere to protect against competitors and bandits, somewhere vice versa for raids and expanding spheres of influence. All this is worth a separate material.

The image of Telman Ismailov began to transform in the minds of people from a businessman into a gangster gradually. At the end of the 1910s, such a large-scale figure could not simply be taken and arrested, he had very powerful positions and influence almost everywhere. But already at that time there was some information about the crimes that are now shrouded in darkness.

In 2009, the Cherkizovsky market of the Ismailovs, which was called a state within a state, was closed. Here, different nationalities had their own cities, trading and working in Cherkizon. True, everyone lived modestly - some in the sewers, some in the basements. Those who were more fortunate could live in small buildings, right here in the market. Often, work in the market was slavery - many auxiliary workers did not receive wages at all, in return for which they had a roof over their heads, even a basement, but still ...

Cherkizon's goods were also an interesting mixture - along with legal products, contraband could be successfully sold on the same shelf. And not only household goods were sold at Cherkizon, here transactions were sometimes carried out that any big businessman could envy.

From the story of one of the leaders, he bought weapons through Cherkizon for the needs of the group. The volumes of transactions were quite tangible within the arms black market. It is not known who exactly was behind the gunsmiths, but judging by the story of another person who considers himself to be one of the hunting societies, private individuals had to actually stand in line to the seller who supplied them with weapons.

The editors of the site contacted one of the representatives of the ethnic group in order to somehow shed light on what was happening in the 2000s in Cherkizon. It was this brigade that at one time controlled the supply of contraband goods to the market. The authoritative brigadier David explained that the Cherkizovsky market indirectly extended its presence to the whole of Russia, since most of the goods were delivered here through almost all cities. Wherever the security forces detained wagons or trucks with smuggled goods, most of this mass went precisely to Cherkizon. In a roundabout way, goods were delivered to merchants, some of whom paid a certain percentage to David's brigade. Other sellers were already paying to other groups that had their territories here. It was impossible to meddle in someone else's business, as, for example, when dividing up Moscow businessmen, when the groups were at war with each other.

David admits that, of course, there were some skirmishes, but all of them were severely suppressed by the security service. When the conflict was quite serious, their own arbitrators came into play - people who were chosen as sort of looking after order in Cherkizon. They really could influence the situation, not allowing any enmity to result in mass fights or murders. The police were powerless here, everything was ruled by internal security units, where they also had their own posts.

In general, the Cherkizovsky market is a unique phenomenon. There are several other similar markets in Russia, it is worth remembering the showdown around the Novosibirsk Gusinobrodskaya flea market. But Gusinobrodka was much smaller than its Moscow counterpart, and not only in size, but also in the presence of criminals here. If the Novosibirsk market was almost completely controlled, then Cherkizon was also ruled, having a certain area, and in turn trying not to interfere in the internal affairs of the administration. The groups set up trade in illegal goods, smuggling, and, in turn, subjugated the merchants who were illegal immigrants. It was dangerous to engage in extortion from ordinary sellers here - Telman Ismailov did not like this, and immediately stopped such attempts. Still, the oligarch's security guards were akin to FSB officers, and they tried not to conflict with them.

Outside the law enforcement agencies

On the territory of the market, there was not only its own security service, the rules of which everyone obeyed, but even several illegal banks and cash-out offices. According to the media and various sources, more than $500 million went daily to China and other countries through these banks alone, from where consumer goods were illegally transported. This is money that relates specifically to gray trade. Speaking directly about the owner of the Cherkizovsky market, Ismailov earned an average of $1 million a day from his activities.

Cherkizon consisted of 14 markets, which employed more than one hundred thousand people. According to analysts, about 800 billion rubles annually passed through the entire market complex. Money was cashed out according to a very simple scheme - a person came to the cashier, gave a certain amount, after which he said in which city he wanted to use it. The cashier wrote down the person's data, and then said the address in the city where you can get your money. Everything was done without any documents, based on trust. And indeed, their money given in Cherkizon was subsequently received in almost any city in Russia.

Law enforcement officers did not enter the market, as there was a verbal order not to get involved in the affairs of the market. Meanwhile, when the Cherkizon market was closed for the night, residents of neighboring houses often heard shots and mass swearing in different languages ​​- at night, all the strife between employees, private security companies and the "roofs" of smugglers took place. All this took place without consequences on the part of the security forces, since, according to sources, Ismailov personally received the heads of special services in his mansion and promised that there would be order in the market. Therefore, no one intervened in the mess that was happening in Cherkizon.

As one of the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs told the site, back in 2006 there were signals about crimes committed in the market. The operatives knew about the same drugs that were sold on the market. However, to get there legally, the signatures of the authorities were required. And accordingly, none of the higher officers allowed such sanctions.

Only in 2009, the prosecutor's office admits that Telman Ismailov managed to buy a lot of people in the highest echelons of power. The chairman of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin himself, said that when you delve into the affairs of the Cherkizovsky market, very influential figures emerge, who provide patronage to the owner of Cherkizon.

Under the Cherkizovsky market there was a real underground city. It is worth remembering that the market was built on the site of the Izmailovsky stadium, and later acquired additional territory. The authorities, even before the Second World War, made two bunkers under the stadium, in which members of the government were supposed to be in the event of an emergency, as well as a parking lot for a tank division. In our time, these dungeons of Cherkizon have turned into a secret underground city where market employees lived (up to 60 people lived on 20 squares), and their weddings and anniversaries also took place. Here, in the Cherkizon dungeon, cheap brothels worked. According to some sources, children were born in the dungeon who, for a long time, did not even imagine that there was life somewhere above.

Cherkizon's dungeon was used not only for its employees, but also there were bunkhouses, a night in which cost only 100 rubles. True, there was no toilet or shower in the bunker, and indeed there was no water supply here. The need was relieved where necessary, so the dungeon had a terrible smell, to which even a permanent resident was difficult to get used to. They lived in conditions of complete unsanitary conditions.

In addition to living rooms with bunks, the bunker had workshops for the production of various goods, on which branded labels were hung. The workers in these shops have not seen the sun for years. Other premises served for the storage of contraband goods coming from China and Vietnam.

Along with consumer goods, the Cherkizon underground was also used as a transshipment base for Afghan heroin. used Cherkizon as a warehouse for drugs.

As those market workers with whom we managed to talk now say, people often slept standing up in the Cherkizon dungeon, as well as in rooms intended for natural needs - the bunker was so packed.

Closing of Cherkizon

In 2006, there was a strong explosion at the Cherkizovsky market. 14 merchants and buyers died. Everyone vied with each other to voice their versions. Whoever said that this was a terrorist attack, who considered it a showdown among merchants, Telman Ismailov himself thought that these were the intrigues of competitors. The answer was unexpected - one of the nationalists, subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment.

The decision to close the market was issued back in 2007, but the market continued to operate for another two years. And only in 2009 it was possible to eliminate the state within the state. However, this was accompanied by a showdown not only in the vicinity of Cherkizon itself, but also in the offices of officials.

In general, people took to the streets to picket, because the market accommodated a hundred thousand workers. The closure of the market has become comparable to the closure of an entire city. True, the majority of illegal immigrants from neighboring Republics found themselves without work. The authorities began to demolish the trading premises, confiscated all contraband goods, and dispersed the underground city of Cherkizon.

Telman Ismailov is associated with contract killings.

The former owner of the famous Cherkizovsky market, Telman Ismailov, became a defendant in the investigation of the activities of a criminal group, which is suspected of committing eight contract killings. Together with the oligarch, his brothers may also be involved in the case. "Our Version" figured out how Telman Ismailov went from one of the richest people in the country to a potential defendant and why the criminal scandal broke out right now.

In May last year, in the Moscow region, the bodies of the owner of the Stroy-Market shopping center Vladimir Savkin and the director of the Lyublino-Motors company Yuri Brilev were found in the passenger compartment of a car. Both businessmen were shot dead. On suspicion of murder, law enforcement officers soon detained a certain Mehman Kerimov. During the interrogation, according to Rosbalt, he admitted that he was brought to the crime scene and then taken back by the brother of the oligarch Rafik Ismailov. The reason for the murder was allegedly that Vladimir Savkin allegedly owed him a large sum. According to another version, it seems that Ismailov himself did not want to give Savkin the money he received from the sale of the shopping and entertainment complex.

The issue of Telman Ismailov is now being resolved. It is possible that he, too, will be put on the wanted list. Rafik Ismailov was taken into custody. The second brother, Vagif, in whose apartment Karimov was holed up, could not be detained, since he had gone on the run in advance. The piquancy of the situation was given by the fact that Vagif Ismailov until recently was an employee of the Main Directorate of Criminal Investigation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. Nevertheless, law enforcement officers managed to follow the trail and establish that they, apparently, have to deal with a whole criminal gang.

Therefore, new arrests followed. During interrogation, someone Harry Belotserkovsky said that he was ready to make a deal with the investigation and, in exchange for the court's indulgence, tell the whole truth. As a result, he spoke about eight contract killings committed from 2000 to 2016, in which the Ismailovs were allegedly involved. So, the first victim was Andrei Lobanov, a representative of the Koptev organized criminal group, who was shot in December 2000 on Dmitrovskoye Highway. Belotserkovsky reportedly admitted that he personally heard Rafik and his brother Telman discuss the murder of Lobanov. Later, several more Koptevs were killed, who did not want to let the Ismailovs to profitable trading facilities in the Northern Administrative District of the capital. Thus, the clan of brothers probably managed to subdue several markets and shopping centers. Strengthening the business, according to some observers, could be facilitated by the friendship of Telman Ismailov with Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, as well as the stay of another brother, Fazil, as deputy prefect of the SAO.

“The issue of Telman Ismailov is now being resolved. It is possible that he will also be put on the wanted list, ”Rosbalt quotes the words of its source in law enforcement agencies. The oligarch himself is currently unknown where - it is suggested that he may be in Turkey or Israel.

President's abuser

The scandal around Telman Ismailov can be considered a sensation in its own way. Recently, domestic oligarchs have repeatedly found themselves in the field of view of law enforcement officers, but, as a rule, it was about financial fraud. Now we are talking about a serious crime, flavored with blood. The last time Mikhail Khodorkovsky was accused of this. Now Ismailov got into this company. Who will be next? But similar skeletons can certainly be found in the safes of people from the dashing 90s ...

It is worth noting, however, that Telman Ismailov himself is no stranger to scandals. In the mid-90s, Cherkizon, as Ismailov's Cherkizovsky market was colloquially called, became a household name. Streams of smuggling and unrecorded cash passed through Cherkizon, and he himself turned into a ghetto for migrants from Asia, where laws did not apply. Naturally, such a "black hole" could not exist without patronage from above. For example, as Forbes wrote, in 2002, the head of the State Customs Service, Mikhail Vanin, allowed the strict measures imposed on consumer goods from China not to be applied to the temporary storage warehouse located in Cherkizon, thus establishing a special regime for customs clearance of goods. More than once it was said about the condescending attitude towards what is happening in the market on the part of the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

As a result, Cherkizon became a goldmine for Ismailov, allowing him to realize his wildest fantasies. In 2006, the Financial Times included the Russian oligarch in the list of the most extravagant billionaires in the world after he flew to a party in France on a gilded plane. However, Ismailov's real shock came in the fall of 2009, when he pompously opened the $1.4 billion luxury hotel Mardan Palace in Antalya, Turkey. Richard Gere, Sharon Stone and Monica Bellucci entertained the guests at the opening ceremony, Yury Luzhkov and Iosif Kobzon cut the red ribbon. Ismailov walked like a gogol, announcing in the morning that he had received Turkish citizenship. However, this celebration was the beginning of his end.

They say that the foppishness of the oligarch, who invests billions in the economy of another country in the crisis, angered Vladimir Putin personally (he himself later confirmed this during the “straight line”). A week later, the Investigative Committee reported the discovery at Cherkizon of goods "not meeting consumer health safety requirements." Next, a criminal case was initiated on smuggling, searches were carried out in the Praga restaurant owned by Ismailov. Realizing that he smelled fried, the oligarch left Russia.

defector

How the story with Ismailov will end, so far we can only guess. The fact that its ending may not be so unambiguous is indicated by the behavior of the investigating authorities - law enforcement officers are in no hurry to proudly report on the disclosure of the case of the “oligarch-killer”, as it should have happened in such a situation. Perhaps, of course, everything is still ahead and the investigators are prudently silent, consolidating the evidence base. Or maybe everything will be different - in the end, 10 years ago, Ismailov never got on trial, although the president personally announced the smuggling in Cherkizon then.

Therefore, perhaps, you should not rush into forecasts. It is unlikely that anyone will argue that the fate of people of this level is decided outside the high lobbies. In addition, some observers believe that the news about Ismailov's possible connection with crime may be an attempt to put pressure on him. Not so long ago, the oligarch was declared bankrupt by his own statement, but he is in no hurry to pay his debts, hiding from creditors. At the same time, the oligarch owes more than 18 billion rubles to BM-Bank, which is part of the VTB structure. “With a high degree of probability, this is an attempt to put pressure on Ismailov on the subject of bankruptcy and on the subject of assets,” Dmitry Abzalov, president of the center for strategic communications, told Business FM. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that in this way the ex-owner of Cherkizon really wants to be made more accommodating.
However, against this background, another story comes to mind. It is known that, having hastily left Russia, he subsequently tried to earn forgiveness and return home.

So, in February 2010, Ismailov, unexpectedly for everyone, flew to Chechnya. According to the press service of the head of the republic, Ramzan Kadyrov held talks with the oligarch, as a result of which he agreed to invest in investment projects lobbied by Grozny. And two months later, RBC, citing a source in the government, said that Ismailov offered his services to the Russian authorities as an investor-developer of the Olympic Sochi, demonstrating his readiness to build a hotel complex with 4.2 thousand rooms worth a billion dollars. In fact, it was not an investment, but the purchase of an indulgence, and the method seemed to be a win-win - shortly before that, in the same way, another oligarch who fell into disgrace, Mikhail Gutseriev, was able to earn forgiveness from the Motherland.

However, Ismailov did not burn out like this. Either his patrons on the Olympus of power turned out to be not strong enough (it was reported that Alexander Khloponin, presidential envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District, could act as an intercessor), or the resentment against the owner of Cherkizon was too deep. Or, as other commentators suggested then, “at the top”, in principle, do not want to get involved with Ismailov, knowing some unsightly secrets about him. Does the latest version seem to be correct? Apparently, it was not for nothing that the founder of communism, Karl Marx, once said: “The basis of any large fortune is crime.”