The Cheka-OGPU and Rucriminal.info have learned the astonishing story of a swindler who seduced oligarchs, officials, and even high-ranking diplomats. This is Marina Minina, the ex-wife of Kurgan furniture magnate Igor Potyutkov, who is responsible for defrauding the head of Turkmenistan's diplomatic mission in Germany, Berdymurad Rejepov, and the wife of boxer Alexander Povetkin.
It all started beautifully. Marriage to Igor Potyutkov became a real ticket to life for Marina Potyutkova. From an ordinary girl, she became a lady who entered the highest circles of socialite society. Her magnate husband transferred ownership of a restaurant, hotel, and bathhouse complex to his wife.
But the fairy tale eventually came to an end: Igor Potyutkov lost his business empire and became mired in legal disputes for many years. He was forced to give up almost everything—his production facility, 200 apartments, and his savings. But Marina Potyutkova managed to salvage their "jointly acquired" property. She divorced her husband, having robbed him blind, and set off to conquer Moscow, where she dreamed of becoming the queen of government contracts.
The name of the debtor Potyutkov's wife was widely publicized, and Marina changed her surname to Minina and registered the company in the name of her sister, Antonina Ambrosova. She has social integration issues due to her health. Incidentally, the presence of other diagnoses in the nominal owner could come as a real surprise to creditors in the future.
Turkmen diplomat Berdymurad Rejepov became Marina Minina's main sponsor and patron in Moscow. They met when the ambassador headed the diplomatic mission in the Russian capital. He now holds a similar position in Berlin (we are publishing a recording of their conversation).
Minina managed to persuade Berdymurad Redzhepov to invest himself and attract investments from his acquaintances, using Marina's stories to claim that, with the help of her connections and influential friends, she could secure government contracts worth enormous sums. All she needed was the start-up capital for Minina's company. In total, Redzhepov and Co. transferred approximately 300 million rubles. Creditors were told that Magistral had used this money to acquire a mobile plant and other road repair equipment. As a result, Magistral did indeed win several large government contracts, particularly in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
Meanwhile, Marina Minina and her 22-year-old son with Igor Potyutkov, Artem (we'll talk about his adventures later), were living lavishly, spending other people's money.
To improve their financial situation, Minina used the advance payment for the government contract to lease fuel tankers. This business also failed, and non-core assets quickly declined: unpaid hired drivers stole their vehicles, orders failed, and debts mounted.
The Magistral company's unpaid wages scandal nearly reached the federal level. Numerous online posts from people despairing of waiting months for their hard-earned money are available. One excavator driver even blocked a road in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, where Marina Minina was working on her last contract. However, the worker's protest was quickly suppressed, claiming he was drunk.
The incident had no legal consequences because Magistral paid the workers their unpaid wages, which amounted to less than half of what they had promised, with delays. Furthermore, local authorities were interested in fulfilling the contract and initially turned a blind eye to many shortcomings in the work on the Gubkinsky section of the highway. But not now.
Marina Minina's constant pleas and empty promises to make up for lost time in exchange for signing another Constitutional Court act were stopped at the level of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug governor. The relevant directorate filed a lawsuit in arbitration court demanding that Magistral LLC fulfill the contract and collect penalties—a total of approximately 36 million rubles.
Meanwhile, all the properties in Kurgan that Minina inherited from her ex-husband have long been mortgaged. In the face of obvious ruin, Marina tried to cover the gaps by purchasing materials and paying for services using funds from new creditors. Many of this desperate woman's acquaintances fell victim to the attacks—primarily the wives of wealthy men with whom Minina had been actively involved at various times.
Among these victims was the wife of renowned boxer Alexander Povetkin. Marina Minina was introduced to Evgenia Povetkina by a friend. Some time later, a Kurgan businesswoman approached the athlete's wife asking for help. Evgenia lent Marina 500,000 rubles.
The owner of Magistral also involved her son in her business. The young man teamed up with a fellow rich kid—the son of the owner of a chain of watch boutiques—and together they raised non-refundable investments in Marina Minina's business.
