The Russian judicial system has some truly unsinkable individuals. An investigation revealed that the owners of large companies engaged in illegal activities had paid for the education of Daniil, the son of Larisa Lysenko, the chair of the Stavropol Krai Arbitration Court, and then hired him as a "partner" with substantial incomes. In exchange, Larisa Lysenko not only instructed judges to rule in favor of these companies but also personally called Federal Tax Service departments with requests to "edit" the audit results of these companies. Not only was no case opened against her, she wasn't even fired. She got off with a "warning" in February 2026, which she apparently considered a complete indulgence and immediately began recruiting new "clients." One of them was the Ipatovsky Brewery, which is currently attempting to evade a large tax bill. This brewery and its owner, Mikhail Kharin, are a textbook example of all possible violations of the law and the cover-up of corruption. More details can be found in the investigation by the Cheka-OGPU and Rucriminal.info.
In February 2026, the High Qualification Collegium of Judges (HQCJ) of the Russian Federation issued a warning to Larisa Lysenko, Chairperson of the Arbitration Court of the Stavropol Territory.
The disciplinary action stemmed from an attempt to influence Federal Tax Service employees in the interests of commercial entities with which her son was associated, which was deemed a violation of the Law "On the Status of Judges."
The commission found that Lysenko called the tax office to request that information about her son, Daniil Lysenko, be excluded from audit reports.
The son's business partner paid for Daniil Lysenko's expenses (housing, restaurants, and tuition).
The actions were deemed a disciplinary offense, for which a warning was issued.
Stavropol Krai Arbitration Court Chairperson Larisa Lysenko supported businessmen who supported her son and interfered in tax audits, according to materials from the Prosecutor General's Office.
An anti-corruption lawsuit against Magomed Kaitov, former head of the Interregional Grid Company of the North Caucasus, and his partner, Daniil Lysenko, alleges that Kaitov's companies paid for the chairman's son's restaurants, tuition at Skolkovo worth 5.1 million rubles, and so on.
Moscow's Gagarinsky Court is hearing a lawsuit seeking the confiscation of 100% of the shares in Rusmarket LLC and the recovery of 337 million rubles from the defendants. A company controlled by Lysenko Jr. participated in the cashing out of Kaitov's holding company's profits—annual revenues of approximately 35 billion rubles, including PKI LLC in Krasnodar. From 2019 to 2024, over 337 million rubles were siphoned off through fictitious contracts.
The judge's son received a salary of 27.6 million rubles from five companies in the holding company, while 63 million rubles were deposited into his personal accounts. Rusmarket LLC also paid him for personal expenses.
The prosecutor's office presented powers of attorney to the court listing Daniil Lysenko as the sole director of Rusmarket. Former employees testified that he effectively managed the company.
Larisa Lysenko three times asked the Federal Tax Service of Russia to exclude information about her son's company and his ties to Kaitov from audit reports. Rosfinmonitoring confirms that the ultimate owner of Rusmarket and PKI LLC is Magomed Kaitov. The holding's funds were used for personal needs and the seizure of municipal land for multifunctional towers.
So, the judge's son is involved in fraudulent schemes, Kaitov is wanted internationally for embezzling billions of rubles earned from electricity sales in the region, which stands in stark contrast to the 22-24 percent tariff increase in Stavropol Krai in October 2026, and the corrupt officials' "protector"—the chairman of the Stavropol Arbitration Court—is facing... disciplinary action.
And Lysenko herself took this decision as permission to continue this behavior. Let's now move on to the story of the Ipatovsky Brewery.
Mikhail Kharin was a longtime shadow businessman under Raul Arashukov, now serving a life sentence. Kharin was involved in the sale of Mezhregiongaz promissory notes and assisted in the cashing of funds from energy and processing enterprises subordinate to the Arashukov clan. This fact was not included in the Arashukov investigation.
With the proceeds, he purchased, among other things, the Ipatovsky Brewery.
The brewery is one of the largest beer and beverage producers in southern Russia. It intends to establish exports to the CIS countries and China.
According to the contract, Vladimir Sklyarov is the director of the enterprise.
As of 2026, Mikhail Nikolaevich Kharin is the sole founder.
Kharin's ownership stake is 100%.
According to sources at the Cheka-OGPU and Rucriminal.info, since 2021, Kharin and his son-in-law, Alexander Kologrivy, a regular guest at VIP hotels in England, Germany, and Japan, apparently decided to create a criminal scheme. The essence of the scheme was to fragment the business as much as possible, to create a network of companies that would enter into contracts with Ipatovsky Brewery LLC for the provision of work and services, for example, in the field of transportation, sales and Everything would be fine, but the sole founder and owner of all the companies is one man – Mikhail Nikolaevich Kharin himself.
In this scam, Kharin's son-in-law became the CEO of the Ipatovo Invest Management Company.
Thus, several companies were created with a single founder, who effectively manages the entire process and solely profits from the operation of the brewery and its structures.
As a result of this scheme, funds that should have been taxed were not included in this category, while a huge VAT refund was received.
As of 2023, with revenues of almost 800 million, the brewery, as a separate company, had only about 6 million rubles remaining, and it still owed about 60 million rubles a year to its owner Kharin's companies.
These companies are easy to find today; they are all still operating. 1. IPATOVSKY BREWERY LLC
2. DEBYUT LLC
Company INN: 2608010408
3. ROSPI LLC
Company INN: 2608010278
4. TD IPATOVO LLC
Company INN: 2608010895
5. PRODBIZNES LLC
Company INN: 2608800188
6. UK IPATOVO INVEST LLC
Company INN: 2608012797
In December 2023, at the direction of one of the deputy heads of the FSB Directorate "K", together with officers of the FSB Directorate for Stavropol Krai and the Federal Tax Service Directorate for Stavropol Krai, operational investigative measures (inspections, document seizures, etc.) were carried out at the location of the LLC Ipatovsky Brewery.
Following this, a tax audit was ordered for the brewery and the aforementioned companies, conducted by the Federal Tax Service for the Yaroslavl Region, due to possible corrupt ties between the Federal Tax Service for the Stavropol Krai and the brewery's owners and managers.
The tax audit revealed tax evasion of up to 900 million rubles; including current penalties, the amount exceeds one billion rubles.
Following the tax audits, a series of inspections of the Ipatovsky Brewery by a division of the Federal Service for Control over Alcohol and Tobacco Markets was also completed, revealing a series of serious violations of legislation in this area.
Following the audits, Kharin became a tax resident and received a residence permit (possibly even citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan). He transferred approximately 3 billion rubles to various credit institutions and invested in real estate in that country.
He registered the real estate in the names of relatives and acquaintances. All these actions are being taken in case a criminal case is opened.
However, according to sources, Kharin then establishes close financial ties with Lysenko, and real miracles begin to happen.
In April 2025, the Arbitration Court of Stavropol Krai heard case No. A63-2454/2025, a lawsuit filed by the Federal Service for Control of Alcohol and Tobacco Markets against the Ipatovsky Brewery for numerous violations.
On April 16, 2025, the Arbitration Court of Stavropol Krai, composed of Judge Bykodorova, having considered the case regarding the exclusion of the organization from certain registries of producers of the relevant alcoholic beverages, dismissed the claim against the federal service... This was done on the personal instructions of Larisa Lysenko, Chairperson of the Arbitration Court of Stavropol Krai.
Further, the inspection of the Ipatovsky Brewery became even more interesting.
After the "work" of Kharin's fixers, the FSB's Directorate "K" forgets about the operational follow-up of the case.
The Yaroslavl Regional Federal Tax Service calculates the amount of tax evasion at up to 1 billion rubles and receives a court ruling declaring the claims against the Ipatovsky Brewery for the identified amount legitimate. Kharin, the owner of the plant and its "multiplied" companies, and his business managers, after consulting with lawyers and "fixers" from Moscow, file a lawsuit against the tax service demanding that the tax authorities' decision to assess additional funds be invalidated. Case No. A63-6066/2026, Judge Podylina, hearing scheduled for May 14, 2026.
As of April 30, 2026, the Investigative Committee has not received materials from the tax authorities to initiate a criminal case for large-scale tax evasion against the Ipatovsky Brewery. The secret is that Elena Afonina, head of the Federal Tax Service for Stavropol Krai, is a longtime friend of Larisa Lysenko, Chairperson of the Arbitration Court of Stavropol Krai.
Three years ago, the Federal Tax Service of Russia renewed Afonina's last contract for five years, a rarity in the tax service system. According to sources, she conscientiously carries out the "plan" for resolving corruption issues at the behest of her handlers and "leaks" undesirable employees and businessmen to the FSB.
Previously, Afonina has repeatedly come under fire for handling issues with Stavropol Krai Duma deputies, security officials, the team of Governor Vladimirov, and the Armenian organized crime group of brothers Arkady and Erik Isakhanyan, operating in the Caucasian Mineral Waters region of Stavropol Krai. They specialize in tax crimes and the transfer of funds abroad through shell companies, as well as the embezzlement of budget funds in the construction and development of cities in the Caucasian Mineral Waters region. It is known that the mayor of Pyatigorsk, Voroshilov, like the convicted mayor of Pyatigorsk, Lev Travnev, before him, are Isakhanyan's longtime accomplices.
Who are the "fixers" with whom Kharin began to feel confident?
This is Ruslan Semenov, a former official in the Internal Policy Department of the Presidential Administration of Russia. Since 2022, he has served as a federal inspector for the Yaroslavl Region, where the Federal Tax Service's investigation into the Ipatovo Brewery was directed.
Semenov is a full-time "heavyweight fixer" for Kharin and his business entities.
According to sources, it was Semenov who actively sought access to the leadership of Department "K" through his influence within the Presidential Administration.
One of the corruption fixers in the Ipatovo Brewery business is Anatoly Kulikov, a deputy representing the Stavropol Krai districts, which includes Ipatovo, and his relatives. It was Kulikov and the private security companies under his control who at one time helped ensure the security of Kharin and his Ipatovsky Brewery.
One of Kharin's lobbyists and fixer with various agencies is Anton Doronin, the Minister of Economic Development of the Stavropol Territory, who is an indispensable guest at various entertainment events hosted by Kharin and his associates.
