Bard Alexander Novikov plans to perform in Moscow, despite a written undertaking not to leave, issued by a Yekaterinburg court. And the prosecutor’s office refused to take his case of fraud on an especially large scale to court. Shareholders who have been waiting six years for housing promised by Novikov’s company are dissatisfied with this state of affairs.
Freedom for the bards
Tickets for the concert of Alexander Novikov, which will be held in the fall at the Kremlin Palace, cost from 2.5 thousand rubles to 15 thousand. And the cheapest ones were sold out on the same day when the singer announced performance. The fact that since December 2016 he has been under recognizance not to leave Yekaterinburg does not hinder him at all from performing in the capital.
A year ago he already performed in the Kremlin on his birthday. Investigators allowed him to leave, citing the fact that “Novikov’s concert activities are his main activity.” True, when after the concert he did not appear in Yekaterinburg for another month, the Investigative Directorate for the Sverdlovsk Region refused to comment.
And at the beginning of 2017, Novikov completely flew from Russia to the UAE. “I am on vacation in the United Arab Emirates. You should know that a written undertaking not to leave is not a restriction on a person’s movements in principle. I’m just obliged to notify about my location: where I flew to, when I’ll return,” he told reporters then.
Timur Khutov, head of the criminal practice of the law firm BMS Law Firm, found this explanation strange. “According to Art. 102 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, a written undertaking not to leave and proper behavior consists, in particular, in a written obligation of the suspect/accused not to leave the place of residence without permission. Therefore, Novikov’s words cannot be called correct - movements during subscription are of a permissive nature, and not of a notification nature. Moreover, in practice, it is very difficult to achieve travel abroad, since investigators may refuse on the basis of suspicions that the person may escape. As for travel for work, this is resolved in the same way - by contacting an investigator or a judge,” Khutov noted in a conversation with the website portal.
While Alexander Novikov was touring, the shareholders of the company founded by him and former Deputy Minister of Economy of the Sverdlovsk Region Mikhail Shilimanov were waiting for housing, in which they invested about 150 million rubles. Construction began in 2008 and stopped by 2011. According to investigators, the total damage to 65 shareholders and the legal entity - the consumer housing and construction cooperative (PZHSC) "Queens Bay" amounted to 54.3 million rubles.
Sverdlovsk Albion
10 years ago, Alexander Novikov, together with his son Igor, former regional official Shilimanov and realtor Larisa Assonova, decided to build luxury housing on the shore of Lake Shartash in Yekaterinburg. “Residents of Queens Bay are free people who, in the center of a modern metropolis, will be able to provide themselves with the comfort of a country residence. Restrained English classical style, expressed in the architectural appearance of houses, in small architectural forms, in the decoration of facades and landscaping elements of adjacent territories. The architecture of London villas is taken as the basis for the architectural image,” the Queens Bay project was announced.
The first residents were supposed to move in in 2012, but by that time not a single house had been completed. It turned out that the money received from shareholders was not enough. They went to the authorities, even went on a hunger strike. But unsuccessfully. And they forgot about history for four years.
We remembered at the end of 2016, when Novikov quarreled with Larisa Assonova - by the way, the consequence of that conflict was a four-year prison sentence, which she is now serving.
“The realtor of Alexander Novikov and Mikhail Shilimanov for other business projects was their close friend Larisa Assonova,” Dmitry Rozhin, a lawyer whose services Assonova used, told KP-Ekaterinburg. - But one day they had a conflict over other lands. Novikov’s company Svetoyar previously bought agricultural land from the state for 20 million rubles. Then realtor Assonova sold 1/6 of this plot for 14 million rubles. This outraged Shilimanov and Novikov, who began to claim that these lands were worth almost 100 million. They believed that the realtor had forged documents and carried out a fraud without their consent.”
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Larisa Assonova became a defendant in a criminal case under the article “Fraud.” And in retaliation, she provided the investigation with documents on Queens Bay, which gave rise to a new criminal case. According to her version (Novikov claims that she is slandering), the same people supervised the allocation of money for the construction of Queens Bay from the housing cooperative fund and received this money as developers: Alexander Novikov, his son and Mikhail Shilimanov. Thus, they could control financial investments and carry out construction at inflated prices, leaving part of the money in their pockets.
In December 2016, the singer and his partner, a former official, were charged with embezzling funds from shareholders. Novikov was sent under house arrest, Shilimanov to a pre-trial detention center. However, before the end of the year, both were released on their own recognizance. Friends, Vladimir Vysotsky’s son Nikita and singer Vladimir Presnyakov Sr. stood up for Novikov.
Accomplice without participants
In November 2017, the Sysertsky District Court of the Sverdlovsk Region made a decision in the Svetoyar case - the one due to the initiation of which Larisa Assonova decided to talk about Queens Bay. She was sentenced to three years in prison, like the other founders of the UK Uktus company, Ivan Obukhov and Viktor Novikov (the bard’s namesake). The court concluded that the transaction between the bard's company (Svetoyar) and the company of his namesake (UK Uktus) was carried out without the knowledge of the artist.
By that time, Viktor Novikov had already been released on parole. Ivan Obukhov should be released from prison in the near future. And Assonova sat down. Moreover, a fourth year was added to the three years of general imprisonment in this case. In May 2018, she was found to be an accomplice in fraud in the case of theft of funds from Queens Bay shareholders. It is not clear who is an accomplice. Alexander Novikov and Mikhail Shilimanov still remain under recognizance not to leave the place - judging by the bard’s tour schedule, this does not bother him at all. And they may never end up in the dock.
This circumstance haunts the chairman of the Queens Bay public housing cooperative Zila Bulatova. On August 31, she went out on a solo picket to the building of the prosecutor's office of the Sverdlovsk region. So she expressed disagreement with the decision of the supervisory agency, which refused to transfer to the court the materials of the case against the bard and his business partner.
From the document signed by the Deputy Prosecutor of the Sverdlovsk Region Alexander Chernyshev, it follows that the specific circumstances of the case do not correspond to the collected evidence, and the investigation has not established evidence of the guilt of the accused.
In particular, the prosecutor's office noticed inconsistencies in the figures. The indictment states that 134.6 million rubles were collected for the construction of Queens Bay. Including 133.85 million rubles - this is the money of shareholders. According to the judicial construction and technical examination carried out at the direction of the investigation, 87.34 million rubles of this money were spent on housing construction. At the same time, Novikov and Shilimanov are charged with theft of 54.3 million rubles. Thus, construction costs plus the stolen property (141.6 million rubles) exceed the amount of funds collected.
They also pointed out to the investigation that the case was mainly based on the testimony of Larisa Assonova. The prosecutor's office believes that it has reasons to slander the former leaders.
Moreover, the resolution refusing to approve the indictment states that Novikov himself acted as an investor in the project. He provided his land for the construction of a residential complex and was supposed to receive a yacht club and hotel building for it. However, neither one nor the other, unlike the houses for shareholders, has yet been built. Accordingly, the bard can be considered a victim.
Zilya Bulatova does not agree with all these arguments. She believes that the prosecutor's office has taken a strange position. All possible inconsistencies did not prevent Assonova from being sentenced in May, she recalls.
Among other things, Bulatova gave an explanation for the contradiction in the numbers. In a conversation with Znak.com, she recalled that in addition to houses for shareholders, several townhouses and cottages were built on the site. “Initially, their investor was the former partner of Novikov and Shilimanov [Vladimir] Klinov. It was not shareholders' money. But as part of the forensic construction and technical examination, they assessed all construction work on the site. Of the total amount of 87 million rubles, our house accounts for only about 30 million. Taking into account the amount of stolen goods imputed to Novikov and Shilimanov at 54 million rubles, this is less than what was collected from shareholders,” said the chairman of PZhSK.
In general, relations between Bulatova and Novikov have been tense for a long time. Shortly before the picket, she even announced people’s readiness to commit self-immolation if the artist avoids responsibility in a criminal case for stealing money from them. He responded by inviting her to sit on a stake. “Very right decision. But it’s expensive - you need kerosene, matches, and a fire extinguisher. It’s better to stake it straight away, preferably an aspen one. Or better yet, into the cesspool that she cares about so much. Along with 96 volumes of custom-made documents. Don’t be tormented, people are really looking forward to it,”
The Verkh-Isetsky District Court of Yekaterinburg placed the bard and artistic director of the Ural State Variety Theater under house arrest. According to assistant judge Olga Taff, the famous singer was placed under house arrest for two months on charges under Part 4 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud).
According to investigators, Novikov was involved in the theft of funds from shareholders of the Queens Bay club village in the amount of 36 million rubles.
Construction of Queens Bay began in 2008 in the village of Isoplit. It was assumed that 56 houses would be built on the land plot owned by Alexander Novikov. Financing of the construction was carried out from the funds of the consumer housing and construction cooperative (HBC) “Queens Bay” created by Domberi Group of Companies. 65 shareholders with a total contribution amount of more than 150 million rubles became members of the cooperative. However, in 2011, construction was frozen.
In November last year, based on statements from shareholders, a criminal case was initiated under Part 4 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud) against the ex-Deputy Minister of Investment and Development of the Sverdlovsk Region, business partner Alexander Novikov. Until recently, the singer himself was a witness in this case, but investigators believed that he was also involved in the disappearance of shareholders’ funds.
According to a TASS source close to the situation, Novikov took part in confrontations in a real estate fraud case in the Sverdlovsk region. During the confrontations, evidence was obtained that Novikov was not only aware of all the schemes, but also acted in concert with the attackers. As a result, investigators went to court with a petition for Novikov’s arrest.
According to Ura.ru, lawyer Svetlana Shcherbintseva asked the court to release Novikov on bail.
Novikov himself did not admit his guilt and called the case “fabricated.” “How can you call me a criminal, a fraudster, a potential murderer?
What creature published this disgusting thing? — the artist addressed reporters during his speech, saying that he had been lied to by his shareholders. Novikov said that he is a patriot of his country and is not going to flee abroad from the investigation. “I am a patriot of my country, but I hate America and will never leave for it!” - said Novikov.
However, the singer’s fiery speech did not impress either the injured shareholders, who promised to go to a rally if the singer was not arrested, or the judge, who recognized the investigation’s charges as legal and decided to put Novikov under house arrest for two months.
Alexander Novikov is a singer-songwriter in the Russian chanson genre. His most famous songs are “Remember, girl?..”, “Carrier”, “Chansonette”, “Street Beauty”, “Ancient City”, “School Romance”. Born on October 31, 1953 on Iturup, Kuril archipelago, in the family of a military pilot and a housewife. For the first two years, Novikov lived on Sakhalin, then moved to the Latvian village of Vainede, then lived in Frunze for ten years and in 1969 moved to Sverdlovsk.
In 1971, Novikov received his first sentence for a fight in a restaurant.
Novikov and his friend stood up for the waitress when a restaurant visitor refused to pay and used physical force against her. The man lost consciousness from the blows, and while he was lying on the floor, Novikov and his friend took the watch out of his pocket and gave it to the waitress. The visitor then ended up in the hospital, and Novikov was given a suspended sentence for a year with mandatory involvement in work: he was building a public service center in Nizhny Tagil.
In 1985, by a verdict of the Sverdlovsk court on charges of manufacturing and selling counterfeit goods (the matter involved electrical musical equipment, including guitars), he received 10 years in prison. In 1990 he was released. The verdict was overturned by the Supreme Court of Russia for lack of evidence of a crime.
On June 16, 2003, Novikov was awarded the Order of the Holy Prince “for his services in the construction of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in Yekaterinburg.” In 2010, he was appointed artistic director of the Yekaterinburg Variety Theater.
After his appointment, the first thing he did was the play “Blue Puppy,” in which he saw signs of promoting pedophilia.
: hopelessness pushed people to extreme measures - construction was frozen, and the land of the cottage village was completely seized. The mastermind of the construction, singer Alexander Novikov, who invested about 200 million rubles in a residential complex on the shore of Shartash, refused to dialogue with shareholders and today for the first time explained his silence: “I was busy with business!”
Alexander Novikov opened his press conference with a lengthy review of the media, extensively quoting materials from local news agencies that, in his opinion, discredited his reputation. The prosecutor’s office is now deciding whether to initiate a criminal case: “My advice to you: record all informants on a tape recorder. Otherwise I will have to answer you.”
Talking about the fate of the project, the singer-entrepreneur explained the cessation of construction by objective factors.
Alexander Novikov:
Construction stopped for objective reasons: a crisis occurred, and new shareholders stopped joining the cooperative, and the flow of funds stopped. But the management of the cooperative did not come up with anything other than rallies with slogans: “Novikov is a swindler”, “Thief Novikov, give back our money!” But it's not my fault! I'm not very good at construction myself. I met with the governor, the chairman of the government, and investors to find a way out of the situation. I was even ready to take out a loan to continue construction. But while I was silent, the press began to openly accuse me of an uncommitted crime. This is a monstrous, disgusting lie! 132 million were collected from shareholders, but 168 million were built! Where is the theft? I am the same deceived shareholder!
Despite the fact that even before the start of the press conference, Alexander Novikov ordered to “get this rabble out of here,” meaning the deceived shareholders who met him at the House of Journalists with posters “Give us back our apartments, swindler Novikov,” one of them - Andrei Grafsky - everything But I managed to take a place in the hall and ask the question: “Who should we, seventy shareholders, conduct a dialogue with?”
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Alexander Novikov:
Chansonnier noted that a billion rubles are required to complete the project. According to him, he will be able to attract money from familiar bankers and oligarchs under his good name.
Why did you delay for four years, did not initiate a change in the management of the cooperative as the largest shareholder, and are only now trying to explain yourself?
Alexander Novikov:
Alexander Novikov named his competitor in the constituency, Evgeniy Zyablitsev, as the customer of the “operetta” hunger strike of the Queens Bay shareholders, showing journalists photographs of the same people who came to children’s concerts with his participation and there who handed out leaflets in the spirit of “Rogue Novikov, bring back apartments for us." The singer also announced a trial on September 7 to remove his opponent from the elections for violating election campaigning.
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Alexander Novikov:
Returning to the fate of the Queens Bay cooperative, the singer named himself as a victim. In conclusion, he quoted a letter from one of the shareholders, Eduard Khapunov, in which he, on behalf of the 70 members of the cooperative, expresses hope for a constructive solution.
A famous bard is suspected of fraud on an especially large scale. The former Deputy Minister of Economy of the Sverdlovsk Region was also arrested in this case
Singer Alexander Novikov. Photo: Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS
A court in Yekaterinburg placed the famous singer Alexander Novikov under house arrest. The performer of songs full of prison romance is suspected of fraud of 36 million rubles.
Earlier, former Deputy Minister of Economy of the Sverdlovsk Region Mikhail Shilimanov was arrested in this case. We are talking about fraud on an especially large scale - the deception of shareholders of the Queens Bay housing complex. The apartments in this residential complex should have been completed several years ago. Shareholders have repeatedly organized rallies and appealed to various authorities. Alexander Novikov, according to SPARK, was previously listed as a co-founder of a construction company, but later dropped out of the list of its owners.
Andrey Guselnikov.Ura.ru correspondent“Houses in the village should have started to be rented out back in 2012, but today there are three houses, of which the third has not yet been completed. Shareholders of the housing complex accused Alexander Novikov and his partner Mikhail Shlimanov, a former deputy minister of the Sverdlovsk region in the energy sector, of embezzling funds and withdrawing funds from shareholders. Actually, that’s why they are accused of fraud on an especially large scale.”
As shareholders told Business FM, it was assumed that an elite residential complex would be built on the shore of the lake. The billboards bore the phrase “heaven on Earth.”
Many shareholders invested in construction because they believed Alexander Novikov, says Anna Krindach, chairman of the All-Russian public movement in defense of the rights of defrauded shareholders “Strength in Movement”.
Anna Krindach Chairman of the All-Russian public movement in defense of the rights of defrauded shareholders “Strength in Movement”“In my opinion, there was a deception initially, because communications were not laid to this “paradise on Earth.” The main thing is communication. That is, it turns out that there is an area surrounded by a fence in an open field, I myself have been there several times, I am telling you my impressions, where there are no utilities. It costs a lot to build more communications to this “paradise on Earth,” and it turns out to be mass advertising. Alexander Novikov stood behind her. The people who told me, and the deceived shareholders told me, I know many of them from this cooperative, they told me: “Why did we buy it?” There are promises here, not apartments, but simply promises to build this paradise. Behind this was a singer, we respect him very much, chansonnier Alexander Novikov. We believed that he would definitely not deceive us.” So people got into mortgages. I know a woman, Olga, she still pays 34 thousand a month on the mortgage for this “paradise”. She also sings here at the conservatory. There was a hunger strike, I talked to everyone again in the summer. People pay mortgages, take out loans and are still paying off loans and have nothing. It is impossible to enter the territory, there is security and a fence. The problem is that this land is owned by Alexander Novikov, that is, it is his property. And the change of developer, no matter how our regional authorities try to solve this problem, he will not give away any land. I could be wrong, it’s 200-odd million, that is, very expensive.”
In court, Alexander Novikov stated that it would not be possible to complete the complex using money collected from shareholders; there would not be enough funds. As a result, a verbal spat ensued between the chansonnier and the shareholders. The events were recorded by the Ural RIA Novy Region:
“- By putting me under house arrest, shooting me and imprisoning me, you are mistaken that you will get apartments! You will never get them!
We will get!
Because we need a new arrival of shareholders.
We will get (the apartments) and you will get yours.
You will be held accountable for libel!”
Previously, Alexander Novikov stated that he was the same injured shareholder as everyone else. The court arrested the chanson singer for two months. That is, if the house arrest is not extended, Novikov will be released on Defender of the Fatherland Day.
He announced the completion of the construction of the Queens Bay club village in Yekaterinburg, because of which he became a defendant in a criminal case. According to him, shareholders will receive their apartments in the near future. According to experts, if Mr. Novikov manages to reconcile with the victims, he may be released from criminal liability. Meanwhile, shareholders claim that construction work has not been completed.
Information about the completion of the problematic long-term construction project “Queens Bay” was disseminated by the press service of singer Alexander Novikov. “In February, I promised that the facilities would be completed by mid-summer. I kept my word,” Mr. Novikov’s words are quoted in the official statement.
Let us remind you that the cottage community “Queens Bay” has been built since 2008 in the village of Izoplit in Yekaterinburg. The construction was carried out by Mr. Novikov and his business partner - former Deputy Minister of Economy of the region Mikhail Shilimanov. According to the project, Queens Bay was to consist of 56 households and be located on an area of 4.6 hectares. Construction was planned to be completed in 2012. Financing of construction was carried out from the funds of a specially created consumer housing and construction cooperative (HBC) “Queens Bay”. 65 shareholders became members of the cooperative, making contributions worth 134 million rubles. In 2011, construction work was suspended due to lack of finance.
In November last year, based on statements from shareholders, investigators from the Main Investigation Department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Sverdlovsk Region opened a criminal case for fraud (Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and later the case materials were transferred to the Investigative Committee. Charges were brought against Messrs. Novikov and Shilimanov. According to investigators, the singer stole 35.6 million rubles, and his partner stole 41 million rubles. from the collected funds of shareholders. In January, Mr. Novikov announced that he had found investors with the help of which the construction of Queens Bay would be completed. The construction was supposed to be carried out by the Mayak company, but in the end Elite Stroy LLC became the general contractor, and part of the work was financed by the singer himself.
According to experts, the surrender of a problematic property can significantly affect the course of the criminal case. “According to the provisions of criminal law, a person who has committed a crime of minor or medium gravity for the first time can be released from criminal liability if he has reconciled with the victims and made amends for the harm caused. Alexander Novikov has all the grounds to avoid criminal prosecution,” Artem Denisov, managing partner of the Genesis law firm, explained to Kommersant-Ural. The investigative department of the Investigative Committee for the Sverdlovsk Region told Kommersant-Ural that the investigation into the criminal case against Messrs. Novikov and Shilimanov is ongoing.
In turn, shareholders who are victims in a criminal case are surprised by the statements of Alexander Novikov. According to the representative of the shareholders of the Bay of Queens housing cooperative Zili Bulatova, the facility is not ready. “At the moment, only the façade of the buildings has been completed. In order to commission the building, a lot still needs to be done. I believe that the object can be considered ready only after acceptance by a special commission and delivery of the keys to the owners. When I receive the keys and a certificate of ownership, then perhaps I will have no claims against Novikov and Shilimanov,” she noted.
The singer’s press service declined to comment on the dates of occupancy and the state of work inside the premises and in the surrounding area.
