2021-06-01 كوميرسانت – الأهرامات المالية تذكر نفسها – علامات الاحتيال تظهر في عمليات شركة الاستثمار QBF بقلم إيفان كورياكين

Financial Pyramids Remind of Themselves

Signs of fraud seen in the operations of investment company QBF

Ivan Koryakin, 01.06.2021, 14:42

The QBF Financial Group has labeled information about its fraud as discrediting. Meanwhile, the police believe that the company was funneling client funds offshore. Top managers have been arrested. The investigation has detected signs of a financial pyramid in the investment company's operations. "Ъ FM" found affected investors who indeed faced issues when attempting to withdraw money. What amounts could they have lost? Ivan Koryakin reports on this.

For three hours, Zelimkhan Munaev refused to open the door to his apartment on Nikolaeva Street near the Government House. When law enforcement began to break it down, the businessman, deciding to surrender, could not open the half-broken door; it had to be forcibly opened.

This is how the co-founder and managing director of the QBF Financial Group was detained. Along with Munaev, the company's lawyer, Evgeniya Rossieva, is also under investigation. They are suspected of large-scale fraud.

The company allegedly attracted funds from citizens under the guise of investment and channeled them offshore. Among those who entrusted their money to QBF's "trust management" was Evgeny, an interlocutor of "Ъ FM": "I've been a client since 2013. In 2019, I requested a fund return. To this day, I've received only about 5% of what they owe me. So-called financial advisors usually vanish when you request a return of funds."

Evgeny lost a six-figure sum in dollars. And this might not be a record: QBF targeted affluent clients, some of whom, according to some data, had access to budget funds. The calculation was that these people, having lost money, would not turn to the police. After all, they couldn't then prove the legality of the funds' origin.

Clients were attracted by a yield of 20%, typically learning about it through word of mouth. Some received dividends, but, as the investigation suggests, these were paid from the funds of subsequent depositors.

Some tried to withdraw money for two years, says lawyer Vitaliy Markelov. He represented the interests of 16 investors in a dispute with QBF, which was resolved out of court.

"In QBF, they admitted there were indeed temporary communication problems. Otherwise, the published information aims to harm the company's business reputation and the honor, dignity, and business reputation of individuals who were related to the company's operations at different times."

What could have gone wrong with this activity? If we believe the investigation, a Cypriot company and a Russian one, which had a Central Bank license, operated under one roof. The latter was just a front. While additional agreements were signed with it, the money was sent offshore.

Part of the funds was legalized through development projects, writes "Ъ FM", including in the suburban Odintsovo, where a local residential complex is being built by a company, the founder of which, Roman Shpakov, is considered the beneficiary of several structures under the QBF banner. According to the publication, the businessman is hiding in the UAE. Investor Evgeny, hoping to get his money back, hopes that he hasn't disappeared completely: "Maybe they'll seize something from their assets, I don't know. They'll find Roman Shpakov, take his apartment in Dubai, and sell it. We'll see what happens. I'd like to hope for the best."

The total debt to clients is estimated at 5–7 billion rubles— at least, according to law enforcement agencies. Will investors be able to get it back? The chances are slim, says Mikhail Fatkin, partner of the FMG Group law firm.

It's strange that claims have arisen only now, continues Fatkin. The company has been operating for a long time and quite successfully. It's possible that it's under pressure. However, this doesn't negate the possibility of shady dealings in its operations. On the other hand, it's yet to be proven.