"Taganskie" and the "Moscow" Store
April 2024. Kremlin Cup in ballroom dancing.
At the Spring Kremlin Cup, the dance pair Andrei Patrushev and Ekaterina Brolyuk won bronze medals. They are a very well-known pair. They have been dancing together for over 10 years. The couple has participated in many Russian and international ballroom dance competitions. But few fans of this pair and ballroom dance enthusiasts know that on February 10, 2009, an attack was carried out on Ekaterina's father, Andrei Brolyuk, a lawyer at the Moscow department store. Andrei Nikolayevich Brolyuk never came out of the coma and died without regaining consciousness. In the Moscow City Court, during the trial of the leaders and members of the "Taganskie" organized crime group, evidence was examined and witnesses were questioned regarding the episode of Andrei Brolyuk's murder. Ekaterina Brolyuk also came to court. The girl told the jurors how, on that fateful day, February 10, 2009, her father picked her up after practice and they drove home. Around 11 PM, they approached their house.
Andrey Brolyuk dropped off his daughter at the entrance and drove home. He decided to park the car and quickly stop by the store. The girl entered the building and went up to the sixth floor. About 20 minutes later, the family began to worry that Andrey was taking too long. His wife started calling his phones, but he didn't answer. Around 11:30 PM, a neighbor from the first floor called and reported that Andrey Brolyuk was lying bloodied in the entrance on the first-floor landing. Katya, along with her mother, ran downstairs and saw her father. He was lying on the floor, unconscious and covered in blood. About 10 minutes later, an ambulance arrived. Andrey Brolyuk never came out of the coma. He passed away three months later without regaining consciousness. On May 13, 2009. Immediately after the assassination attempt on the lawyer of the Moscow department store on February 12, 2009, a criminal case was initiated. On the same day, surveillance camera footage was seized, which recorded that a man about 25 years old entered the building at 11:01 PM.
30, of sturdy build, height 175-180 centimeters. A few minutes later, Andrey Brolyuk entered the entrance. At 23:07, the alleged murderer, that same young strongman, ran out of the entrance and disappeared. A video frame was cropped, and the investigation obtained an image of the murderer's face. But back then, in 2009, it was not possible to identify the criminal. It seems they weren't really looking. The thing is, they weren't really looking. The thing is, they weren't really looking. But, among other things, on 16.02.2009, Dmitry Ulyanitsky, who was then the general director of the Moscow Department Store, was interrogated. Even then, Ulyanitsky told the investigator that he suspected Igor Zhirnokleyev of organizing the crime. The interrogation protocol of Ulyanitsky recorded that on 16.02.2009, he considered Zhirnokleyev to be the mastermind behind the attack on Brolyuk, whom he had already named 15 years ago as an active member of the Taganskaya organized crime group.
Leninsky had every reason for such a serious accusation. The fact is that by 2009, the Moskva department store was mired in corporate conflicts. The Tagans managed to seize 88% of the shares of the Moskva department store. Here's how it happened, briefly. 2004. The Moskva department store needed serious investments. Approximately 200 million dollars were required for the reconstruction of the building and the modernization of the business model. The Tagans, represented by Grigory Rybinovich and Igor Zhanakleev, took on the role of investors, agreeing to buy 88% of the company's shares and invest in its development. But when it came time to settle the deal, it turned out that the Tagans didn't have the money. The Tagans had temporary difficulties, claiming that the money was supposedly tied up in other projects and that they needed to find funds somewhere. Ultimately, Rybinovich convinced Ulyanitsky to obtain a loan of 300 million rubles from Sberbank. The loan was secured by the Moskva department store building, the land plot leased by the enterprise, and Ulyanitsky's personal guarantee.
On the same day that the loan money was deposited into the Moscow department store's account, it was transferred to the accounts of four enterprises controlled by Janakleev and Rybinovich. Another loan of 100 million rubles was issued to an enterprise controlled by Janakleev, again under the guarantee of the Moscow department store and the personal surety of Ulyanitsky. Thus, the Taganskys became shareholders of one of the largest trading enterprises in Moscow. The department store itself serviced the loan, while the Taganskys merely siphoned money from the enterprise. As a result, the Moscow department store was left with no investments to speak of. They managed to pay off the Sberbank loan by obtaining a new loan, this time from the Latvian Parex Bank. In general, the Taganskys turned out to be ordinary swindlers, not investors. They proved to be poor businessmen. The Moscow department store was, so to speak, conned and swindled out of a huge amount of money. Ulyanitsky decided to get rid of such fake investors. An additional issue was conducted. The shares of the Taganskys, acquired with the loan money received by the Moscow department store, turned out to be diluted.
Processes began in arbitration courts, where Andrey Brolyuk very successfully defended the interests of the department store Moscow. Ulyanitsky received threats. He increased his security, took the head of the company's legal department, Tatyana Fetisova, under protection. He also offered protection to Andrey Brolyuk, but he refused the escort. What happened next is well known. Andrey Brolyuk was killed. And Ulyanitsky immediately named the possible customer of the crime. If the investigation had gathered photographs of the guys from Zhernokleev's inner circle back in February 2009, they could have identified the criminal then. But this was only done in 2020, when they conducted comparative examinations of photographs of members of the Tagansky organized crime group. They established that Sergey Shukarev entered the entrance of the building where the Brolyuk family lived. Now Shukarev, along with the leaders and members of the Tagansky organized crime group, are on trial. He could have received a sentence back in 2009.
I have a strong suspicion that back then, 15 years ago, the Taganskys activated all their corrupt connections. And the investigation into the assassination attempt on Andrei Brolyuk was likely staged. Apparently, the Taganskys' corrupt connections also came into play in the arbitration courts. As a result, they regained control over the enterprise and drove the Moscow department store to bankruptcy. But they managed to siphon off hundreds of millions of rubles from the company's accounts. Meanwhile, Dmitry Ulenitsky was sent to a penal colony. This criminal case reeks of being ordered. Ulenitsky himself, former head of the legal department of the Moscow department store, Tatiana Fetisova, former financial director of the Moscow department store, and Konstantin Kalinsky, all of whom were detailed about how the Taganskys became shareholders of the Moscow department store, how they siphoned money from the enterprise, how they intimidated Ulenitsky, and how they drove the enterprise to bankruptcy, testified extensively. They all came to the Moscow City Court for the Taganskys' trial and were thoroughly interrogated as witnesses. The interrogations lasted 5-6 hours.
But here's what's interesting: none of these witnesses said anything new. All of this was well known back in 2009, right after the assassination attempt on Andrei Bryulyuk. The company's staff held rallies at that time. They blocked streets. Newspapers wrote about it. Television reports on these protests were broadcast. For example, here’s what the head of the legal department of the Moscow department store, Tatyana Fetisova, said on April 13, 2009. Andrei Bryulyuk was still in a coma. The essence of the matter is that this group of individuals, led by Mr. Rubinovich, possessing a sufficiently large package of shares and holding certain positions in the management bodies of the university and the Moscow department store, still holds these positions today? No, they have already been re-elected. These individuals first bought shares, and I can say that these shares were acquired from the previous owners using the funds of the Moscow department store. How so? A loan of 300 million rubles was attracted. These loan funds were withdrawn.
Tatiana Fetisova also named the amount withdrawn by the Taganskys from the accounts of the Moscow department store. Since the Moscow department store attracted borrowed funds, that is, loans, which were not beneficial either to the department store or, accordingly, to the employees. So, is the scheme like this? All these funds were withdrawn to companies controlled by Rabinovich and Jaiq. A billion rubles? To date, yes. Why, even back in 2009, were the Taganskys not taken seriously? Why, even 15 years ago, were they not on the dock? Suspecting that the Taganskys had very serious patrons in law enforcement agencies. And today, there should be not 10 people on the dock, but many more. The patrons of the Taganskys should also be judged. If the Taganskys had been imprisoned back in 2009, lawyer Natalia Vavilina would not have been shot dead in April 2017. Perhaps Aslan Usayan, much better known as Ded Khasan, would not have been killed in January 2013. We continue to follow the trial of the leaders and members of the Tagansky organized crime group.
Continuing. If the Tagansky gang had been imprisoned back in 2009, lawyer Natalia Vavilina would not have been shot in April 2017. It is possible that Aslan Usayan, better known as Ded Khasan, would not have been killed in January 2013. We continue to follow the trial of the leaders and members of the Tagansky organized crime group.
