In our investigation into a network of underground casinos—linked to individuals within God Nisanov’s inner circle—the name "Iliya Beniaminov" surfaced. While the general public knows him as a restaurateur, it turns out his business interests are far more extensive.

As discovered by VChK-OGPU and Rucriminal.info, Iliya Beniaminov—a U.S. resident with ties to God Nisanov’s empire—is currently conducting business with the Russian Ministry of Defense. Specifically, he is attempting to use the court system to void bank guarantees totaling nearly 100 million rubles. These guarantees were issued by his firm, "Velestrans," to secure the obligations of a developer, "Tsentrproekt," under a government contract with the "Military Construction Company" (a state-owned entity). "Tsentrproekt" has since gone bankrupt, and "Velestrans" has already lost a legal battle against the Military Construction Company. Unwilling to pay out on the guarantees, Beniaminov has filed a lawsuit against his own company, seeking to have the documents declared invalid. "Tsentrproekt" entered into the government contract in April 2022; based on the project code, the work involved a naval aviation training center in Yeysk, which includes a ground-based testing and training complex for carrier-based aviation. This was not "Tsentrproekt’s" only government defense contract during the war: the company also performed work at the Noginsk-9 military town, specifically on projects under the research and development (R&D) programs "Nivelir" and "Burevestnik"—both of which are linked to Russian military space programs. It is not yet known what prompted Biniaminov to provide guarantees for "Centerproekt."

Iliya Biniaminov is a 38-year-old native of the Azerbaijani settlement of Krasnaya Sloboda—a place that has produced figures such as God Nisanov and German Zakharyayev, along with their numerous relatives and the various nominees they have used to hold their assets in Russia and abroad. Iliya holds an Israeli passport, has residency in the United States, and owns companies in several countries around the world.

 

In Russia, Iliya controls Levantine Family and Future Group, which encompass a number of restaurants in Moscow—including Levantine, Meykhana, Fish Kultura, and Yuma—as well as Lira in Turkey, among others. Iliya’s business interests are linked to the empire of God Nisanov, who frequently registers his assets under the names of relatives and fellow natives of his hometown. The restaurants associated with Biniaminov are, in fact, located within properties owned by God Nisanov; for instance, "Lesnoy" and "Chin Chin Lesnaya" are situated in the "Depo Lesnaya" complex, while "Chin Chin" and "Nanuka" are located in "Depo Tri Vokzala." Furthermore, some of these restaurant projects—specifically "Lesnoy"—are operated in partnership with Emin Agalarov, the son of Baku-born Aras Agalarov. Aras Agalarov’s company, Crocus International, once secured large leasehold spaces in the Lotte Plaza retail and office center on Novinsky Boulevard. Two dining establishments linked to Biniaminov—Yuma and Levantine—are also located within Lotte Plaza. According to various sources, Iliya Biniaminov’s partner in Yuma—which includes a small area equipped with poker tables—is Artem (Asaf) Yakubov. Together, they also control several clandestine gambling dens. Biniaminov registers some of his assets under the names of his relatives. For instance, until March of this year, a stake in Levantine was held by his mother, Malka Biniaminova, through the LLC "Gastronomiya." Meanwhile, 90% of the LLC "Etalon"—located in the same Novy Arbat building as the restaurant "Fish Kultura"—belonged to 28-year-old Rozi Nafialova until the summer of this year. She is the wife of Ilia Biniaminov and, like him, is a native of Azerbaijan. The remaining 10% of the firm was held by Sergey Sismiy. Sismiy, along with Andrey Dachkovsky, was previously identified as a founder of the holding company PR Future. Currently, "Etalon" is registered to an individual named Alexander Vyzhigovsky. Furthermore, in January 2025, Rozi acquired a 55% stake in the LLC "Ray" (Krasnogorsk), in which Sergey Sismiy holds 6% and Alexander Sorkin holds 39%. The firm’s predecessor, JSC "Ray," owned "White Cafe" on Novy Arbat. Ilia also holds assets abroad—for example, Levi IP Holding LLC, based in the U.S. state of Delaware, which filed a trademark application for "LEVANTINE FIRE CUISINE BAR." He also owned the U.S.-based ZamZamTechnology LLC, which operated the cryptocurrency project "Zamio"—a platform focused on money transfers within CIS countries. This company had a British subsidiary, ZAMIO LIMITED (compulsorily liquidated in December 2025 due to a failure to file financial reports), and an Estonian legal entity, ZAMZAMTECHNOLOGY OÜ (liquidated for the same reason in 2024). Nevertheless, the Russian legal entity for the "ZamZamTechnology" project remains active, with Ilia Biniaminov himself as its sole founder. However, the Binyaminovs’ interests extend beyond the restaurant business and cryptocurrencies. Since 2012, Ilya’s father—66-year-old Borukh Binyaminov—has owned "TA Jewelry Trading Company," which is listed in the Register of Operators Dealing in Precious Metals and Gemstones. Another Binyaminov-linked firm, "Lombard Tsentrgold"—founded and directed by Vadim Borukhovich Binyaminov (presumably Ilya’s brother)—was previously registered at the same address on Avtomotornaya Street. However, after the Federal Tax Service was unable to find any trace of the company there, it was re-registered in December 2025 at 23 Oruzheyny Lane. In that building, in fact... A pawn shop used to operate there, but judging by photos, the sign had disappeared from the building by 2025. Vadim also owns the company "Skupka Tsentrgold" (Purchasing Center Gold) and several restaurant businesses: "Panorama," "Grand Madrid," and "Synergy."

 

Another family-owned firm in the "gold" business is LLC "YK Zolotoy Sad" (Gold Garden Jewelry Company), which is also registered to Vadim Binyaminov—who followed in his father’s footsteps in the jewelry trade and holds a degree in gemology. The company operates under the brand name TESORO. Its flagship store is located in the "Evropeisky" shopping mall, an asset of God Nisanov’s "Kyiv Ploshchad" (Kiev Square) Group. The company’s website features a romantic backstory about an Italian firm called "TESORO"; however, there is no trace online of its alleged founder, Leonardo Tesondino, nor of any "boutiques in various cities across Italy and beyond." The Binyaminov-owned store also sells costume jewelry from the Italian brand Bronzallure, which the site claims is produced in Italy by the "successors to the family business" behind "TESORO." In reality, however, this brand belongs to the Italian Milor Group, owned by the Mukhadab brothers—originally from Libya, who settled in Italy about 50 years ago. The jewelry items featured on the Russian and Italian websites are identical, though in Binyaminov’s store, they are sold at prices 1.5 to 2 times higher. It is worth noting that, since 2022, European Union sanctions have strictly prohibited the sale, supply, export, or transfer of European-made jewelry, precious stones, and watches to Russia. Nevertheless, "YK Zolotoy Sad" continues to offer "Italian gold jewelry" on its website, with prices ranging from 93,000 to 765,000 rubles. The "TESORO" trademark (and its variations) is owned by the Moscow-based LLC "Tesoro," which is also held by Vadim Binyaminov. The company was previously named "Sapphire" and was registered to Nina Barkayeva—as was "YK Zolotoy Sad"—while Barkayeva also served as the general director of "TA. Jewelry Trading Company." In 2018, "Sapphire" won a legal battle against the American luxury retailer Tiffany & Co. to secure the rights to the "Tesoro" trademark.

 

The Binyaminovs are also involved in the large-scale construction business. Vadim Binyaminov holds a 50% stake in "Falcon Construction," a major construction firm that reported 4.2 billion rubles in revenue last year and employs over 1,000 people. The remaining 50% is split equally between Turkish nationals Murat Akçay and Yusuf Akçay. The company is currently facing difficult times: the Federal Tax Service has filed for its bankruptcy, its accounts have been frozen, and its debts exceed 420 million rubles. The firm had been working under contract for Evraz on the construction of a new metallurgical complex in Novokuznetsk, as well as at a site for NLMK in Lipetsk. Furthermore, until February of this year, Vadim Binyaminov also held a 50% stake in the construction company "Tan Construction," which has a revenue exceeding 700 million rubles. The other half was owned by Yusuf Akçay and Erol Yılmaz Yükseloğlu. The company was involved, among other projects, in the construction of an entire residential neighborhood in the city of Svobodny for 5,000 employees of the Amur Gas Processing Plant (with Gazprom Pererabotka Blagoveshchensk as the investor). It is currently registered to Murat Akcay.

 

Interestingly, according to leaked data, 50-year-old Namig Masim Ogly Mamedov—an Azerbaijani businessman and former CEO and chairman of the board of the company Caspel—was registered at the Biniaminov family’s apartment on Slesarny Lane. As of 2020, the founder of Caspel Holding was Namig Mamedov’s wife, Nailya Mamedova, while the position of chairman of the board is held by Jeyhun Guliyev. The latter is the brother of Namig Guliyev, who is the son-in-law of Azerbaijan’s former Minister of Taxes, Fazil Mamedov. Azerbaijani journalists have noted that Caspel secured a monopoly on the installation of cash registers, a venture that allowed those close to the company to earn tens of millions of dollars. Caspel is a major IT service provider for Azerbaijani government institutions and also developed "Plus.az," an application for making payments in restaurants and cafes. In the late 2000s, Namig Mamedov appeared alongside President Ilham Aliyev during the inauguration of the Oguz-Gabala-Baku water pipeline; he was subsequently awarded the "Tereggi" ("Progress") medal by the president for his contributions to the development of information and communication technologies and the space industry. By a curious coincidence, restaurateur Iliya Biniaminov also had ties to the space technology sector: leaked data reveals that in 2022, he served as an advisor at JSC CNPO Kaskad. This enterprise is part of the Russian defense-industrial complex, and Kaskad has been involved in the development of space systems. ...Buran, Mir, and Alpha, as well as the technical and launch complexes at the Baikonur and Plesetsk cosmodromes. In 2023, the enterprise was declared bankrupt with debts exceeding 1.1 billion rubles, and a criminal case was initiated against its CEO, Sergey Posokhov, for violating the terms of a state defense contract. It is known that Kaskad received major contracts worth hundreds of millions of rubles from the Ministry of Defense in 2021—even while in an unstable financial position—and the funds subsequently vanished from its accounts.

 

Namig Mamedov, an Azerbaijani national, conducted business in Russia with Vadim Binyaminov; the two were co-founders of Trinity LLC, from which Namig withdrew in August 2024. The company is currently directed by Eduard Shadunts, who also serves as a founder of several other firms, including... ...including RT-TRADE LLC (formerly BeautyLab), where Iliya Biniaminov was employed in 2019. Currently, Mamedov is the sole founder of Selset LLC, a company engaged in software development; the trademarks "FairCode" and "future is coming" are registered to this company.