Following the publication of reports detailing the scheme surrounding the “Residence Crystal Istra” project and the alleged transfer of more than $100 million to offshore accounts, the controversial Pavel Fuks and his close associates—Bekbolat Bekenov and Yevgeny Komrakov, who is also listed in some registries under the surname Kobyakov—reportedly began actively seeking to remove references to their alleged involvement from the public information space.

Materials about the fraud, court cases, and corporate connections indicating their role in schemes involving attracting investor funds and subsequent money withdrawal through offshore structures are disappearing from the internet.

We are publishing an investigation that details the scheme of financial fraud surrounding the “Residence Crystal Istra” project and reveals the role of its key participants — Pavel Fuks, Bekbolat Bekenov, and Yevgeny Komrakov (Kobyakov).

If everything is more or less clear with the Forbes list figure and highly scandalous character Pavel Fuks — after the fraud with the construction of the elite suburban settlement “Residence Crystal Istra” on the banks of the Istra River, he fled to Ukraine using his Ukrainian passport — things are not so simple with his associates.

We are talking about the key participants in Fuks’ fraud — Bekbolat Bekenov and Yevgeny Komrakov. Let us recall how the events unfolded. In 2007, the “Residence Crystal Istra” project was launched by Pavel Fuks’ company MosCityGroup and his partner Bekbolat Bekenov. On 90 hectares, it was planned to build 157 residential houses, as well as social infrastructure facilities, including a school-gymnasium for 275 students, a fitness center, and even a ski slope. A recreation area was to appear on the banks of the Istra River, and a natural-recreational zone was planned within the complex itself.

However, in 2020 it suddenly turned out that this entire construction project was a grandiose fraud. From clients who wanted to have prestigious housing in an almost resort area, more than 100 million dollars were collected, but they never saw the promised homes.

However, in 2020 it suddenly turned out that all this construction was a grandiose fraud. From clients who wanted to own prestigious housing in an almost resort area, more than 100 million dollars were collected, but they never saw the promised homes.

It turned out that the money collected by Fuks had been withdrawn to offshore accounts. At first, the police, who opened a criminal case based on victims’ complaints, had the main claims against Pavel Fuks, who shortly before had left for Ukraine, where he stated that he was renouncing Russian citizenship and keeping only his Ukrainian passport. In reality, this turned out to be a lie — as “Obozrevatel” wrote, in 2021, after the introduction of sanctions by the National Security and Defense Council, Fuks claimed that he did not conduct business in Russia and had renounced citizenship in 2017. However, in fact, Fuks retained his Russian citizenship, and after receiving a Ukrainian passport, he also obtained a new Russian passport.

In Ukraine, Fuks also has problems, but they are limited only to sanctions from the National Security and Defense Council, and everyone knows that these sanctions are most often pure “filkina gramota” (a meaningless document). At least in Fuks’ case, this is exactly how it is. The sanctions in no way prevent him from doing business in Ukraine and gradually taking over key enterprises of the country. According to the Security Service of Ukraine, since 2018 Fuks has illegally seized assets of Ukrainian companies worth more than 100 billion hryvnias.

However, some people in Ukraine, especially after February 24, 2022, openly call Pavel Fuks a Russian agent, and the sanctions imposed against him by Russia in 2018 a fiction designed to conceal Pavel Fuks’ real tasks in Ukraine. This version is supported by many of Fuks’ actions, the most scandalous of which was the drawing of swastikas in Kharkiv on the eve of the invasion. According to the American magazine Rolling Stone, on the eve of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Fuks paid residents of Kharkiv to draw swastikas on the city’s walls so that Russian propaganda would have the appropriate pictures.

But, as already mentioned, behind the figure of Fuks, his key accomplices in the “Residence Crystal Istra” fraud — Bekbolat Bekenov and Yevgeny Komrakov — somehow got lost. While all the attention was focused on Fuks, they did not waste time. First, in the criminal case opened by the Russian police regarding the fraud, they were quickly reclassified as witnesses. Although the so-called Panama Papers, which also mention Fuks, state that Bekenov and Komrakov are key participants in many of Fuks’ deals.

In the “Residence Crystal Istra” fraud, most of the money was immediately withdrawn to offshore companies in Cyprus and the British Virgin Islands controlled by Fuks and Bekenov, while Komrakov’s companies served as intermediaries. But three years later, it suddenly turned out that there was practically no information about Mr. Bekbolat Bekenov and Yevgeny Komrakov.

As for the first one, it is known that he holds Russian and Cypriot citizenship and has been living in Switzerland since 2012, while obtaining a residence permit in England. In Russia, Bekenov was the founder of three companies, all of which have now been liquidated.

It is also known that at the time the criminal case was opened in 2020, Bekenov was represented by the law firm “Legal Trust” on Bolshaya Dmitrovka and the international consulting group Grata International on Kuznetsky Most.

However, it is impossible to make any claims against these firms — they were simply hired consultants for Bekenov and did not commit any illegal actions. At least, this is not confirmed by anything. This is where the information about Bekenov ends, even though he was a key participant in the fraud involving the withdrawal of 100 million dollars to offshore accounts. In addition, it can be confidently stated that Bekbolat Bekenov has other illegal actions in his biography, and not only those committed in cooperation with Fuks.

As for another participant in the money withdrawal project — Yevgeny Komrakov — he has completely disappeared. Literally. But nothing bad happened to him. He simply changed his surname and is now an absolutely clean-before-the-law citizen — Yevgeny Lvovich Kobyakov.

According to Rusprofile data, Yevgeny Lvovich Komrakov (also known as Kobyakov) is currently the founder of five active legal entities:

All of them are related to construction and operate in the Istra District. This indicates that Mr. Komrakov-Kobyakov has no problems with the law. The companies involved in withdrawing money from the Fuks project, Mr. Komrakov successfully liquidated.

No claims have been made against Yevgeny Lvovich in this regard. This indirectly confirms the version that both the sanctions against Pavel Fuks from Russia and the criminal case regarding the “Residence Crystal Istra” project were nothing more than a smoke screen designed to legitimize the sudden appearance of the “prodigal son” in the halls of Mother Ukraine.

And the fact that no one there interferes with him continuing to plunder a country that he has already plundered confirms the version that Pavel Fuks is a Russian agent. Because the highest political leadership of Ukraine is openly called Russian agents. And the CIA recently named 35 individuals from the Office of the President, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Verkhovna Rada, the SBU, the SBI, the NABU, and the GUR, who, according to American intelligence, are the top of the deep-cover network of Russian special services in Ukraine. But that is a completely different story, even though it concerns Pavel Fuks.