The son of the founder of Vimpelcom and the younger brother of the leader of the Koptev organized crime group was found guilty of 100% of shares in the carsharing company BelkaCar.
Moscow’s Preobrazhensky Court has sentenced in absentia the son of Vimpelcom’s founder, businessman Boris Zimin (recognized as a foreign agent), to nine years in a general regime colony and a fine of 1 million rubles. He was found guilty of fraud on a particularly large scale (part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), reported the capital prosecutor’s office.
The court found that between February 2017 and October 2019, the convict stole 100% of the shares of a commercial organization. Together with accomplices through a controlled legal entity, he embezzled 17,781 shares with a total value of 367 million rubles. At the same time, the main shareholder lost control over the commercial organization, as the shares were the only asset of the company.
In addition to imprisonment, the convict was banned for two years to engage in managerial activities in commercial organizations. The court also satisfied the claim of the injured party for the amount of damage. Boris Zimin (recognized as a foreign agent) is on an international wanted list.
The case was investigated in September 2021. Then it was reported that the businessman, together with accomplices, stole 100% of shares in the carsharing company BelkaCar and the firm Brynston. The defendants in the case are the CEO of Singular CIS citizen of Germany Ralph Novak, investment director of the Swiss Winterberg Group Ilnur Azmukhanov and German businessman Fabian Kreucher. Ralph Novak and Ilnur Azmukhanov were sentenced to five and four years in prison, respectively, in June 2024. The defendants did not admit guilt.