VChK-OGPU and Rucriminal.info have learned how Sergei Malofeykin, former member of the Delovaya Rossiya General Council, who is accused of laundering and siphoning billions of rubles abroad, previously escaped a criminal case for bribery of employees of the Moscow Federal Tax Service. The businessman, who laundered money for the Samolet Group of Companies, paid large bribes so that tax officials would reduce the amounts of tax arrears discovered during audits by tens of times and not report the findings to law enforcement. He was essentially caught red-handed bribing tax officials. Then a "deal" occurred, resulting in Malofeykin being made the victim. They claim the tax officials did not receive bribes from him, but rather took the money fraudulently.
Our project previously reported in detail that Sergei Malafeikin, a former member of the Delovaya Rossiya board, founder of the fashion retail neural network VIJU, and head of the Euroservice Group of Companies, was arrested on charges of creating a criminal organization that laundered and transferred billions of rubles abroad for years. Materials obtained by the editorial staff indicate that a key link in the scheme was Alexander Prygunkov, a member of the board of directors of PJSC Samolet Group of Companies.
According to sources, Prygunkov was Malofeykin's direct contact within the corporation. Friendly ties with Samolet shareholders allowed him to build a sophisticated cash-out machine through fictitious security services, etc.
Prygunkov, through his administrative resources, also ensured the tacit immunity of Malofeykin's "laundromat." But the businessman personally handled issues with the tax authorities, who, during audits, could not help but notice that Malfoykin's structures were being used to launder funds through fictitious transactions and contracts. He paid them bribes and was even caught red-handed on one occasion. But he got away with it. We'll share the details.
In 2021, Federal Tax Service Inspectorate No. 4 began an audit of Malofeykin's NSK Euroservice, covering all taxes for the period from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2020. The businessman knew full well that nothing good would be uncovered. His structure had evaded hundreds of millions of rubles in taxes. And, most importantly, the tax authorities would immediately see that they were dealing with a "laundromat" whose contractors were entirely shell companies.
Through a doctor he knew at the Sechenov Clinical Center, he contacted Maria Demina, a tax inspector in the Control and Analysis Department of Federal Tax Service Inspectorate No. 4. In April 2022, he met her at the Cofix coffee shop in Moscow and bluntly stated that, following the audit, his companies would be assessed over 300 million rubles in taxes, while he wanted the amount to be no more than 20 million, and, most importantly, that the materials not be handed over to law enforcement. He was willing to pay for it. Demina approached Aurimas Soldatovas, the head of the information security department, with her proposal. He approached even higher-ups and soon announced the bribe amount: 50 million rubles. Demina passed the proposal on to Malofeykin, who managed to negotiate the "price" down to 40 million rubles and handed over the first tranche of 15 million rubles. Demina gave the entire sum immediately to Soldatovas, who put his "share" in a safe and took the rest "up the chain."
From then on, the two sides maintained constant correspondence and personal communication. Demina gave Malofeykin instructions, received from Soldatovas and his higher-ranking intermediaries, on what to do and what documents to submit so that the Federal Tax Service could reduce the amount of additional assessments. The problem was that Malofeykin turned to the authorities too late, after the audit had already concluded and the amount of additional assessments had been "inflated." To reduce the amount, he needed to "cover" himself with documents that allegedly "surfaced" after the audit.
As often happens in such situations, a conflict erupted between the parties. Malofeykin failed to follow the tax authorities' instructions and did not submit any additional documents, believing that the bribe payment was sufficient. Furthermore, he refused to pay the second installment of 25 million rubles until he received the audit results.
As a result, Malofeykin's company was assessed 245 million rubles in additional taxes, 71 million rubles in penalties, and a 64 million ruble fine.
Then began the second part of the "corruption ballet." The tax authorities claimed they had fulfilled their portion of the 15 million rubles. They had recouped at least 100 million in additional taxes, and the materials would not be sent to law enforcement. Malofeykin believed he had been cheated and demanded his 15 million rubles back. He was eventually offered the opportunity to appeal the decision, hand over the necessary documents, and pay the remaining amount, and then everything promised could be fulfilled. But the businessman dug in his heels and in January received the final decision with the same amounts.
And then the following happened. In February 2023, the Moscow Department for Economic Security and Anti-Corruption opened an investigative case, having received information, we quote: "about M.S. Demina's commission of illegal activity related to the acceptance of a bribe in the form of money on an especially large scale for actions and inactions in favor of the bribe-giver." Zadeh They laugh at Demina, who agrees to participate in an operational experiment. She goes to Soldatovas with a bug. After a recorded conversation, he is also detained. He immediately files for a pre-trial settlement, promising to reveal who the money was intended for. The case is opened under Articles 290 of the Russian Criminal Code (accepting a bribe) and 291 (giving a bribe). The latter charges are brought against Soldatovas and Demina.
In other words, it's clear that a case is being built about Malofeykin bribing the management of Federal Tax Service Inspectorate No. 4, with Soldatovas and Demina acting as intermediaries. A separate pre-investigation check is underway against Malofeykin under Article 291 of the Russian Criminal Code.
And then those same miracles of administrative resource occur, thanks to which everyone involved in the story is satisfied, with the possible exception of Soldatovas, who was blatantly deceived. Malfoykin says he has no correspondence with Demina and can only verbally recount how events unfolded. He approached her through a doctor merely for a consultation, as an experienced tax inspector, but she began demanding money for a favorable outcome of the audit and not handing over the materials to law enforcement. He himself had never asked her for anything of the sort. A frightened Malofeykin was forced to agree.
Demina pins her entire testimony on Soldatovas, claiming she transferred the money to him and, from him, passed on instructions to Malofeykin. Soldatovas, however, claims he never approached anyone about this matter, but decided to commit fraud and embezzle the money. And as part of a plea bargain he had already reached with the investigators, he testifies against Demina, who is already cooperating with the investigation and even participated in the sting operation. The investigation quickly reclassifies the case from corruption charges to Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code (fraud). As a result, Malofeykin, instead of being a suspect in bribery, becomes a victim in a fraud case. The entire leadership of Federal Tax Service Inspectorate No. 4 is no longer under attack. The court sentenced Demina to two years in prison, which she "served" under house arrest. Soldatovas was promised the same sentence. Therefore, he requested that the case be heard under a special procedure. Instead, he was given four years in prison. During his appeal, he attempted to hint that the money was intended for other Federal Tax Service employees, but his plea fell on deaf ears.
Meanwhile, Malofeykin and his organizations continued laundering money for Samolet until he was jailed in 2026. The main thing is that the bribe-related incident doesn't repeat itself. Malofeykin and the owners of Samolet still have administrative leverage.
