The curators of the Belarusian gambling business, including H Casino and its owner Mustafa Egemen Shener, may be linked to the entourage of the Dagestan senator, oligarch Suleyman Kerimov, who has close ties with the Russian authorities.
H Casino, the largest casino in Belarus, has found itself at the center of an investigation into money laundering schemes. It was revealed that the owner of the establishment, Mustafa Egemen Shener, has Russian partners. Among them is Zubair Aliyev, who, together with Shener, founded LLC "Dostluk," operating in the real estate sector. The company, registered in the Astrakhan region in 2021, generates no revenue and has no profit, with losses amounting to 9 million rubles in 2023. The organization also owed 12 thousand rubles to tax authorities, indicating signs of fictitious activity and possible money laundering.
Until October 2021, the shareholder of LLC "Dostluk" was Kirill Ozerov. Currently, he manages and owns LLC "Orum Invest," registered in Moscow. The company operates in the investment market, employing 0 people. It was established in 2019 and last published financial reports in 2021.
Until August 1, 2024, LLC "Orum Invest" owned the now-liquidated LLC "Landsbay," which provided services in accounting, financial auditing, and tax consulting.
Information about the address of "Landsbay" and general director Andrey Cheremikhin was deemed unreliable, raising suspicion about the company’s involvement in some gray schemes. According to the latest financial report for 2021, LLC "Landsbay" incurred a loss of 26 million rubles, but it was only liquidated in 2024.
In addition to LLC "Orum Invest," which owned 49% of LLC "Landsbay," its founders were individuals: Aleksandr Koptelov (23.54%), Anton Gazizov (21.4%), Lyudmila Lukashova (2.85%), Petr Khokhlov (1.78%), Vladimir Gorbunov, and Andrey Cheremikhin, each owning 0.71% of the shares.
Among these entrepreneurs, the most successful was Petr Khokhlov, who owns LLC "STR Cosmetics," which trades in perfumes and cosmetics. The founders of this company are also individuals, but different ones. One of them, Artem Martirosov, was previously a shareholder of LLC "Russian La-Manche 2007," operating in the sports sector.
Martirosov’s partner in LLC "Russian La-Manche 2007" Pavel Kuznetsov served as general director of the Economic Reform Working Center (ERWC) under the Russian government from 2003 to 2008, which was then headed by Mikhail Fradkov, who later became director of the Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS). Unexpectedly, among seemingly insignificant entrepreneurs, one emerged who might have been connected to the top of the Russian power.
Zubair Aliyev, the current co-owner of LLC "Dostluk" and partner of Mustafa Egemen Shener, previously owned several structures through which money might have been siphoned off. Apparently, Aliyev coordinates the associates of H Casino in Russia. Zubair Aliyev’s financial capabilities are indicated by the fact he was stripped of his candidate of economic sciences degree. Information on the "Dissernet" website shows that Aliyev served as the head of investment-banking management at Capital Group Ltd.
Capital Group Ltd was a fraudulent broker, as information online suggests. Since 2022, it has been on the list of companies identified with signs of illegal activity. This indicates that the broker did not meet expectations. However, Zubair Aliyev’s financial services suited Mustafa Egemen Shener.
Other Russian associates of the H Casino owner include Omar and Timur Murtazaliyev, father and son. Timur Murtazaliyev appeared as a shareholder of LLC "Novomoskovskaya," registered in the Astrakhan region. From this company, traces lead to several companies and entrepreneurs operating in the Astrakhan region and Dagestan.
Currently, Timur Murtazaliyev, together with his brother Ahmed, owns LLC "Pront," operating in the real estate market. The company is registered in Moscow.
Omar Murtazaliyev is a real legend of Dagestan. At the beginning of last year, Murtazaliyev Sr. was elected president of the Federation of Martial Arts (FMA) of Dagestan. Probably, martial arts enthusiasts worldwide, not just in Russia, know fighters from this republic. However, the fighting world has a downside—the criminal one.
The scandalous senator from Dagestan, Suleyman Kerimov, headed the trustee council of the FSB Russia (Federation of Sports Wrestling of Russia) back in 2008. And, of course, well acquainted with Omar Murtazaliyev.
Suleyman Kerimov is also a legend of Dagestan, "famed" as a pro-Kremlin oligarch linked to international crime. Kerimov planned to build an entertainment complex with a casino back in 2017 but later changed his mind. The senator owns a large business and, naturally, has curators from the FSB.
Investigators will have to figure out how H Casino is connected to a whole cohort of entrepreneurs from the Astrakhan region. However, in Russia, loyalty to the Kremlin absolves all sins. Even if Suleyman Kerimov’s partners betray him, the oligarch is in no danger. Such people are not imprisoned; the authorities have long learned to use other people’s criminal schemes to their advantage.
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