The scapegoats of VIM-Avia are Kochnev, Kalashnikova and Panteleeva. Lawyer of the detained general director of VIM-Avia: “For Alexander, all this was a complete surprise Alexander Yakovlevich Kochnev vim aviation biography

Today, employees of the Investigative Committee of Russia (ICR) detained the general director of VIM-Avia, Alexander Kochnev, and the air carrier’s chief accountant, Ekaterina Panteleeva, as suspects. They are accused of complicity in fraud, which resulted in the collapse of the company. During the day, the investigation plans to bring charges against the detainees and petition the court to impose a preventive measure on them. The co-owners of VIM-Avia, Rashid and Svetlana Mursekaev, according to investigators, went abroad. The Ministry of Transport, meanwhile, announced an agreement with airports and fuel companies of the Russian Federation to service VIM-Avia flights, due to the problems of which over 30 thousand tourists remain abroad. Passenger transportation will be carried out until October 15 inclusive, after which VIM-Avia will completely cease operations. According to experts, foreign companies will have to be involved in transportation due to the lack of free boards in Russia.

Detentions

The general director of VIM-Avia, Alexander Kochnev, and the company’s chief accountant, Ekaterina Panteleeva, were brought in for questioning to the Investigative Committee this morning. For Mr. Kochnev, this is already the second visit to the investigators: the day before he was interrogated as a witness. This time he had a different procedural status - a suspect in a case of particularly large-scale fraud with the funds of airline passengers (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Tomorrow Mr. Kochnev and Ms. Panteleeva will be formally charged, and then the investigation will petition the court to impose a preventive measure on them. It is still difficult for law enforcement officers to say how long the interrogations of the suspects will last.

Lawyer of the general director of the VIM-Avia company on Kommersant FM:

In any case, at the moment the accusation is not specified, and for Alexander Kochnev it even looks somewhat absurd and surprising. Because, according to his explanations, the situation occurred due to temporary financial difficulties, due to a temporary cash gap, and all other things being equal, it was quite normal - timely funding was simply not received within a certain period of time.

As reported official representative Investigative Committee Svetlana Petrenko, co-owners of VIM-Avia Rashid and Svetlana Mursekaev “hurriedly left the country, according to the information available to the investigation, they are abroad, measures are being taken to establish their whereabouts.”

Photo: Grigory Sobchenko, Kommersant

According to an Interfax source, spouses Svetlana and Rashid Mursekaevs may be declared international search, since the investigation is going to achieve their arrest in absentia.

Transportation

On Thursday night, the Ministry of Transport announced a meeting of the operational headquarters for organizing the transportation of VIM-Avia passengers, in which representatives of the Federal Air Transport Agency, Siberia Airlines and VIM-Avia itself took part. Remotely, the Ministry of Transport agreed to service VIM-Avia flights with Russian airports and fueling companies. In particular, Domodedovo will release five airline planes, stopped by the airport for debts, to Vnukovo, from where they will fly to Antalya to pick up about 2 thousand passengers to Moscow. Regular flights should be operated from Vnukovo to Blagoveshchensk, Krasnodar and Simferopol, as well as from Anadyr to Moscow, and a regular flight from Pulkovo to Beijing and back is being prepared for departure. Today Red Wings must carry out charter transportation of VIM-Avia passengers from Rimini to Moscow.

The Ministry of Transport stated that the development of a plan for the transportation of passengers on regular VIM-Avia flights has almost been completed. Transportation will be carried out until October 15, and will cease from October 16. “Passengers with a regular flight date from October 16 onwards are recommended to return their tickets at the place of purchase for a refund,” the Ministry of Transport said in a statement. The next meeting of the headquarters was supposed to take place today at nine in the morning, but its results have not yet been announced. Meetings of the operational headquarters for organizing the transportation of VIM-Avia passengers will be held twice a day until the situation is completely resolved.

Political scientist Pavel Svyatenkov on Kommersant FM:

To begin with, achieve the return of Russian citizens from abroad, because this, apparently, is the main problem that has caused irritation on the part of the head of state. It is clear that what is happening now is a full-fledged crisis, the ministry and the deputy prime minister in charge of this ministry bear their share of responsibility for this.

Rostourism previously said that 196.6 thousand tickets had been sold for VIM-Avia flights by the end of October, and 38.9 thousand tourists were abroad. The Association of Tour Operators of Russia cited a similar figure: according to its data, there are about 30 thousand clients of tour operators abroad who cannot return from vacation due to problems with VIM-Avia.

Press secretary of the Russian Union of Travel Industry Irina Tyurina told Interfax that “the cost of exporting tourists from only four of the eight affected tour operators will be at least 600 million rubles.” “There are consolidators who are willing to pay such amounts. But the problem with the export of VIM-Avia tourists is not only financial; an equally pressing issue is the lack of free flights in Russia. You can now find them only on the foreign market, in particular the Turkish one,” said Ms. Tyurina. In her opinion, the involvement of foreign carriers will be a real solution to the problem: “You can’t find so many of them in Russia, and it makes no sense to send VIM-Avia planes for tourists - they can be detained in Turkey for debts, so this money will be completely lost” .

On September 26, Mosstroyeconombank, represented by the bankruptcy trustee, the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA), filed a claim in the Arbitration Court of Tatarstan, where VIM-Avia has been registered since the spring of 2016, in the amount of about 90 million rubles. airline bankruptcy. However, today, given the social tension that has arisen, the DIA has withdrawn the claim pending the determination of the government’s position. As Deputy Minister Alexey Moiseev said, the Ministry of Finance has not yet discussed restructuring the airline’s debts.

Alexander Alexandrov; business department

Replenishment of an airline's fleet is always a great event, AK has an increase in passengers, the airport is busier, passengers have more comfort, destinations, flying on a new type of aircraft (although many of them probably don’t think about it), and photographers have a new object of hunt.
On February 17, another joyful event took place in the history of VIM-AVIA and Domodedovo Airport - a new type of aircraft Airbus A330-200 was handed over in a solemn ceremony.


The event turned out great in terms of brightness and emotions. Steadfastly enduring the cold Moscow weather, Vim-Avia flight attendants participated in a photo shoot with both the A330 model and the hero of the occasion.

The guys, judging by their smiles and emotions, did not notice the cold and happily helped us, responding to our “look there”, “look here”, “.. into the lens”

The event was attended by representatives of VIM-AVIA, Airbus, and Domodedovo Airport.
In the photo: Elena Fedorova, Director of Public Relations of VIM-AVIA, General Director of VIM-AVIA Alexander Yakovlevich Kochnev and Vadim Marusov, Regional Director for Business Development in Russia and the Republic of Belarus.
Alexander Yakovlevich said that already having in the park Airbus aircraft, in particular the A319, which showed excellent performance, VIM-AVIA is pleased with the addition of the A330, another milestone in cooperation with Airbus and a new stage in the development of the AK. In 2017, VIM-AVIA will celebrate its 15th anniversary and plan to double its air fleet, this will happen mainly due to wide-body aircraft. Thanks to this, AK’s route network will also actively develop in the segment of long-haul routes.
And Vadim Marusov wholeheartedly welcomed the new A330 operator and expressed confidence that VIM-AVIA, as a successful and efficient A319 operator, will fully appreciate the benefits of unifying the Airbus aircraft families.

PIC appreciated the replenishment

Well done guys, thank you very much.

It’s a pleasure to fly with such flight attendants, if you fly with them, say hello from us)
Look with what warmth they look at their newcomer, soon they will have to accompany him in the sky.

This is how you sometimes have to do squats for a good shot - so spotting is also fitness))

Can't tear yourself away from the guys)

Although some switched to themselves)

Oh, and Seryoga is so carried away by the A330 that he doesn’t look back and is about to get pecked in the back of the head))

And here is our handsome man in full height, angle and girth.

Welcome on board

Tea, coffee, cutlets?)

And here is such a bright and positive safety card for the A330

And we didn’t lag behind the flight attendants on board)

A330-200 VIM-AVIA is presented in 252 seat configurations, of which: 24 for businessmen, 228 for economists.

Guess the riddle - what is the name of the flight attendant?
Hussars and hussars be silent!)

Plowshare)

well, you understand - no comments)

I had a strange association - a whale shark

Big plane

Engines and winglets, in my opinion, are one of the most fascinating elements in airplanes, and of course also the mechanization of the wing during takeoff and landing.

The Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia has completed the main investigative actions in a high-profile criminal case of fraud and abuse in what was once one of the largest airlines countries "VIM-Avia", which is currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings. On Friday, GSU ​​investigators brought final charges against three persons involved in the investigation. Depending on the role of each of them, the former CEO of the company Alexander Kochnev, Vice President Alevtina Kalashnikov and accountant Ekaterina Panteleeva were accused of committing crimes under Part 2 of Art. 201, part 1 art. 176 and part 3 of Art. 193.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (abuse of authority resulting in grave consequences; illegal receipt of a loan and transfer of currency to non-residents of the Russian Federation using forged documents). Similar articles, but in absentia, the investigation incriminated the co-owner of the company Rashid Mursekaev, who left Russia even before the start of the proceedings.

Initially, the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation accused the defendants of particularly large-scale fraud committed by an organized criminal group (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). According to investigators, knowing that the airline located in a difficult financial situation and unable to pay for fuel and airfield services, they continued to sell tickets for flights that ultimately did not fly. However, according to Alexander Kochnev’s lawyer Mikhail Voronin, investigators, having analyzed this episode, obviously came to the conclusion that the airline still tried to fully fulfill its obligations to customers. The former top managers of VIM-Avia did not admit their guilt.

“Alexander Kochnev conscientiously performed the duties of the airline’s general director, so all his actions complied with the law,” says lawyer Voronin. “Kochnev himself believes that if the company had been able to pay for fuel in September last year, its planes would still be flying.”

According to Voronin's lawyer, after the final accusation was presented, his client refused to testify, considering it necessary to first familiarize himself with its text in detail. “In addition, we need to study several more documents that are not in the case,” the defense lawyer explained to Kommersant. “We assured the investigation that we would give our answer to the charges in a week.”

After the charges of fraud were dropped, the main issue in the case was the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on abuse of power, which provides for up to ten years in prison. According to the investigation, top managers of VIM-Avia allowed it, in particular, in relation to CJSC "Commercial agency of Domodedovo airport", which was not paid more than 500 million rubles for ground maintenance of aircraft, as well as the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “State ATM Corporation”. The latter was unable to receive more than 200 million rubles for air navigation support of flights of VIM-Avia airliners. It is worth noting that the guarantor for fuel loans in Domodedovo was Rashid Mursekaev. The claim against him personally for 300 million rubles was satisfied, but in fact there was nothing to recover.

The press service of Domodedovo Airport reported that according to the arbitration decision, the entire debt was collected from VIM-Avia, but then it was fully included in the register of claims of the airline’s creditors.

Lawyers for those involved in the investigation were unable to explain exactly which episodes the charges under Art. 176 and 193.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, explaining this by the fact that they did not familiarize themselves with the investigation documents in detail. According to a Kommersant source, the investigation believes that hundreds of millions of rubles were withdrawn from the airline under fictitious contracts. The banking episode is obviously connected with PJSC "Bank Zenit"(62.66% belongs to PJSC Tatneft), which provided VIM-Avia with a credit line of 3.6 billion rubles until December 31, 2020. The funds were allocated against the collateral of expensive aircraft engines, auxiliary power units and securities of various companies. In 2017, VIM-Avia stopped servicing the loan without paying interest on it in the amount of 32 million rubles. In addition, in violation of the agreement with Zenit, the airline received another loan - from Absolut Bank for 581 million rubles. Absolut, by the way, is still trying to get its money back through arbitration.

In turn, Zenit assigned the right to claim the loan to LLC RNGO, which also went to court. During an inspection of the collateral, it turned out that six out of ten aircraft engines and one auxiliary unit (valued at almost 1 billion rubles) were missing, and the securities did not really correspond to the value at which they were taken as collateral. The arbitration court recovered 3 billion rubles from the suspicious borrower in favor of the RNGO, allowing the remaining engines to be put up for auction and the bills to be sold.

It is expected that in a couple of weeks the persons involved in the investigation can begin to familiarize themselves with its materials, after which the indictment will be sent for approval to the Prosecutor General's Office.

On Friday, September 29, the interrogation of the general director of VIM-Avia, Alexander Kochnev, and the chief accountant of the airline, Ekaterina Panteleeva, took place. After this, the investigation appealed to the Basmanny Court of Moscow with a demand to place both defendants under house arrest in the case of the theft of funds from the air carrier’s clients.

The investigation period in the case was extended until November 25, and both defendants were sent under house arrest until this date. At the same time, Panteleeva’s chief accountant and her lawyers agreed with the preventive measure, and former general director Kochnev asked the court to release him on his own recognizance. Kochnev’s defense has not yet decided on the issue of appealing the court’s decision.

At the same time, the investigation continues to identify those involved in the theft case. Thus, the number of detainees may increase.

The investigator in court stated that in connection with the theft of funds, it was established that the company’s management “withdrew cash abroad".

The representative of the Investigative Committee also emphasized that the owners of VIM-Avia, Rashid and Svetlana Mursekaev, left the territory of Russia on the day the criminal case was initiated. Their location is being established.

In addition, on Friday, Alexander Burdin, who previously headed Transaero, was appointed new general director of VIM-Avia, and the new team began to carry out financial analysis and stabilization of the company's activities.

“In order to resolve the crisis situation that has developed in the VIM-Avia airline, a new general director has been appointed - Alexander Burdin, who has significant experience as an anti-crisis manager,” RIA Novosti quotes a VIM-Avia representative.

“A schedule for repayment of existing debt for fuel and airport services is being agreed upon. The new management of the company is cooperating with law enforcement agencies,” the company said in a statement.

At the same time, the Federal Air Transport Agency stated that the agency was not informed about the appointment of Burdin as the new general director of VIM-Avia.

• Airplanes of VIM-Avia airlines
• RIA Novosti

Presidential attention

After the Russian airline VIM-Avia declared bankruptcy, the Russian government came to the aid of passengers who cannot return to their homeland due to flight cancellations. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the dispatch of Tu-214 aircraft, belonging to the special flight detachment (SLO Rossiya) of the Office of the President of Russia, to Antalya to transport tourists.

“The special flight detachment “Russia”, on behalf of the President of Russia, will send two Tu-214 aircraft to Antalya to transport passengers of the VIM-Avia airline,” said Elena Krylova, press secretary of the Presidential Administration.

The government plane made its first flight to Turkey from Vnukovo to Antalya at 13:00 Moscow time, and the second at 18:00. Thus, 320 Russians will return to Moscow.

According to the press secretary of the Russian head of state, Dmitry Peskov, Putin is constantly informed about the measures being taken in connection with the situation with the VIM-Avia airline, and he keeps the situation under personal control.

“The President is constantly informed about the measures being taken, but the main work is carried out by the government. Energetic measures are being taken there,” Peskov explained.

The day before, the Russian President took a number of steps at the ministerial level, announcing to the head of the Ministry of Transport Maxim Sokolov about incomplete official compliance.

Airline assistance

Meanwhile, Russian and foreign air carriers quickly responded to the request of the industry headquarters to help Russian passengers who found themselves without return tickets due to the bankruptcy of VIM-Avia. On Friday, UTair airline began transporting passengers from Turkey.

• UTair airline plane
• RIA Novosti

“UTair airline began transporting VIM-Avia passengers at the request of the operational headquarters of the Ministry of Transport, which is dealing with the crisis situation.<...>Passengers with VIM-Avia tickets can fly on all regular UTair flights subject to availability,” the airline’s press service said.

On Friday at 11:30 Moscow time, a Boeing 737-500 plane took off from Moscow’s Vnukovo airport; this plane will transport Russian citizens from Antalya to Samara.

The UTair press service explained that, according to the airline’s general director Andrey Martirosov, “the airline’s cost recovery mechanism has not yet been determined, but in at the moment it’s more important to help our compatriots return home.”

In parallel with this, the airline " Ural Airlines"expressed its readiness to accept VIM-Avia passengers on its flights.

From September 29, Ural Airlines began transporting passengers with VIM-Avia tickets on its own flights. Transportation is subject to availability until October 16. VIM-Avia passengers with valid tickets are allowed to board the flight if the route indicated on the ticket coincides with the Ural Airlines route. To board a flight, VIM-Avia clients who have a valid ticket in hand must contact the Ural Airlines representative offices at their airports,” the company’s press service reported.

• Airplane of Ural Airlines
• RIA Novosti

At the moment, there are free seats on airliners flying from Simferopol to Yekaterinburg and Moscow. Ural Airlines is ready to “pick up passengers flying to Domodedovo (Moscow) and Koltsovo (Ekaterinburg) airports.”

S7 Airlines also volunteered to help by organizing additional flights from September 29 to October 10.

On a daily basis there will be a flight on the route Moscow - Simferopol - Moscow, and from October 1 to 10 - a flight Moscow - Sochi - Moscow. The planes will be sent along the route Moscow - Simferopol - Moscow on September 30 and October 2; October 2 - Moscow - Yerevan - Moscow and Antalya - Moscow; October 3 - Antalya - Moscow and Moscow - Nizhnevartovsk.

Also on topic

The general director and chief accountant of the VIM-Avia airline were detained in a fraud case, the Investigative Committee reported...

Advisor to the head of the Federal Air Transport Agency Sergei Izvolsky said that airlines such as Royal Flight and Azur Air have joined the transportation of VIM-Avia passengers. "Urals" are still transporting people from Barcelona, ​​EllinAir - from Thessaloniki, the Turkish Global Atlas - from Antalya to Samara, the flight is planned today (September 29. - RT),” he explained.

About 600 Chinese citizens affected by the suspension of the charter program of the VIM-Avia airline will return to their homeland this coming Saturday and Sunday, the Interfax-Tourism portal reports.

According to the Ministry of Transport, in just one day on September 28, almost 4 thousand VIM-Avia passengers were transported. More than 2 thousand were transported by the airline itself, 1.25 thousand by other Russian airlines, 548 passengers by foreign air carriers. 36 flights are planned for September 29: 22 regular and 14 charter, of which 16 are domestic scheduled flights, six are international scheduled and 14 are international charters.

Bankruptcy and fraud of VIM-Avia

The airline officially admitted on September 25 that it does not have the finances to continue operating. Management said it would stop operating charter flights.

The total debt of VIM-Avia for services, fuel, airport and ground support for flights is about 1.3 billion rubles. Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich signed a document according to which the board of directors of Aeroflot on September 28 was to approve the allocation of funds to the airline to finance operational and financial activities, which it could compensate for through mutual settlements with the industry.

A criminal case was initiated against VIM-Avia under Part 4 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Fraud”). On Wednesday, September 27, the official representative of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Svetlana Petrenko, reported that, on behalf of the head of the department, Alexander Bastrykin, the case was transferred to the central office of the Investigative Committee. According to the investigation, since September 22, airline officials, knowing that there were not enough funds to purchase fuel, continued to sell tickets for flights, receiving over 1 million rubles for them.

Emin Jafarov / Kommersant

Two top managers of bankrupt airline arrested

The general director and chief accountant of VIM-Avia, Alexander Kochnev and Ekaterina Panteleeva, accused of fraud, were placed under house arrest, to which they did not particularly object. At the same time, Kochnev asked to be given the opportunity to fulfill the company’s obligations to passengers. The head of the Federal Air Transport Agency, Alexander Neradko, was questioned in the case as a witness.

Petitions from Investigative Committee investigators to place Alexander Kochnev and Ekaterina Panteleeva under house arrest were considered in different halls of the Basmanny Court. From the documents read out during the meeting, it followed that on September 23, the investigator received a report from FSB officers, which spoke about fraud at the airline. Two days later, on its basis, a criminal case was opened for fraud on an especially large scale (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code) against unidentified managers of VIM-Avia; two days later, Messrs. Kochnev and Panteleeva were interrogated as witnesses, and then the accused.

According to investigators, the airline's managers, knowing that VIM-Avia was unable to fulfill its obligations to clients, continued to sell them air tickets, and in addition, transferred the company's assets to shell companies and abroad. The damage in the case has not yet been calculated, but, according to preliminary data, it could amount to hundreds of millions of rubles - the company’s debts are estimated at 7 billion rubles.

“Kochnev made management decisions related to the crime,” the investigator said, requesting to place the accused under house arrest. According to him, “due to his official position,” the accused can put pressure on other persons involved in the investigation and escape.

A representative of the Investigative Committee said that active investigative actions are now being carried out in the case: financial documents of VIM-Avia are being seized and witnesses are being questioned. Among the latter was the head of the Federal Air Transport Agency, Alexander Neradko.

The investigation expects to increase the number of persons involved in the investigation. In the near future, among them will be the co-owners of VIM-Avia, spouses Rashid and Svetlana Mursekaev. On the day the criminal case was opened, they managed to fly abroad, so they will be charged in absentia. The arrests of entrepreneurs, who are soon planned to be put on the international wanted list, will also be in absentia.

The investigator was supported by the prosecutor, who said that only house arrests would contribute to an objective investigation against Kochnev and Panteleeva.

In general, the defendants were not against being at home and not in a pre-trial detention center. “I don’t mind house arrest,” Panteleeva said. The general director of VIM-Avia timidly asked to be allowed to go for walks and visit the doctor, since he suffers from diabetes. According to the businessman, if he is limited to a written undertaking not to leave, he will be able to take certain measures to ensure that the airline fulfills its obligations to passengers.

Kochnev’s lawyer, in turn, said that the investigation did not provide any convincing evidence that the Mursekaevs fled the country and their obligations. At the same time, he cited a whole list of violations committed during the investigation. For example, the arrest of the general director of VIM-Avia was issued only after he had spent ten hours in the building of the Investigative Committee.

The VIM-Avia team (the airline employs about 1 thousand people) also opposed the arrests of its leaders, whose representatives were ready to vouch for them. “Kochnev led the company during a difficult period economic crisis. Under his leadership, VIM-Avia not only maintained its position in the air transportation market, but was also able to become one of the ten largest Russian airlines,” the statement noted.

However, the court decided that crisis management of VIM-Avia could be carried out without its top managers. Kochnev and Panteleeva were placed under house arrest until November 25. At the same time, they are prohibited from leaving their homes, using any means of communication, except in emergency situations, and can communicate only with close relatives, defense lawyers, investigators and employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service. The latter will soon put electronic bracelets on the accused to monitor their movements. Kochnev will remain under investigation in his apartment in Solovyiny Proezd. The court refused to allow him to take walks, but allowed him to visit doctors, notifying the investigator in advance.