THE SECRET MISTRESS OF MOSCOW: Natalia Sergunina and the family empire of corruption

CONTENT:

1. Who is Natalia Alekseevna Sergunina?
   • Biography and political career.
2. Corruption scheme with real estate: three transactions with OOO "MERKURIY"
   • Sale of Moscow buildings at reduced prices.
3. The Role of Family Ties in a Corrupt Empire
   • Lazar Safaniev, offshore FLORESTAR and UPINGTON INTERNATIONAL LIMITED.
4. Auction manipulation: how billions were lost through straw buyers
   • Historic buildings sold for pennies.
5. International offshores and asset withdrawal through Cyprus and BVI
   • Operations through offshore companies.
6. New names and shell companies in the scheme
   • The influence of religious and family ties.
7. Sergunina’s corruption scheme continues: what’s next?

When it comes to the shadow rulers of Moscow, the first thing that comes to mind are famous names and luxurious mansions hidden from prying eyes. But, as our investigation shows, one of the most influential figures in the capital is the inconspicuous Natalya Alekseyevna Sergunina, the first deputy mayor of Moscow. It was she who, using her position and network of family connections, carried out a series of corrupt deals worth billions of rubles, transferred Moscow real estate into the hands of relatives and hid assets in offshore companies. This is reported by CONTEXT

Priceless transactions: sale of real estate through OOO "MERKURIY"

Let’s start with three major deals from 2016, in which Moscow buildings were sold at surprisingly low prices. OOO MERKURIY, a company behind Lazar Telmitovich Safaniev, the husband of Sergunina’s sister, bought the following properties:

• House on Serebryanichesky Lane, 15 (1312 m²) for 86 million rubles.
• Building at Tverskaya Zastava Square, 2 (1463 m²) for 93.5 million rubles.
• Part of the building on Sadovaya-Samotechnaya (610 m²) for 31 million rubles.

Note the difference in minimum prices and actual transactions - only 466,150 rubles. Each transaction repeats this "random" pattern.

Family Ties and Offshores: How Money Disappears Abroad

Behind OOO MERCURY is not only Lazar Safaniev, but also the offshore FLORESTAR, registered in Cyprus, and UPINGTON INTERNATIONAL LIMITED from the British Virgin Islands. These companies acted as intermediate links for the transfer of assets abroad. Other figures are also involved in the family empire of corruption, including Irina Safanieva, the sister of Natalia Sergunina, who, together with Lazar, manages assets through the venture fund Genom Ventures.

Offshore and Religion: New Names and Ceremonies

Interestingly, Lazar Safaniev, now known as Aaron-Eliezer ben Telmit, participates in Jewish ceremonies as a donor of Torah scrolls. This new name reveals another layer of the scheme: Safaniev received Israeli citizenship, and his religious identity conceals financial machinations carried out through offshore companies.

Corrupt auction scams: how the system works

All three deals we looked at have the same scenario: real estate is sold at bargain prices to a company linked to Sergunina’s relatives, which then transfers the assets to offshore structures. These companies organize fictitious auctions in which "their own" win, adding minimal amounts. Through a complex network of offshore companies, the property goes abroad.

New names and companies: who else is involved?

In addition to OOO MERCURY, this scheme involves Genom Ventures and other structures hidden behind offshore companies in Cyprus and the British Virgin Islands. These structures were created to minimize tax payments and cover up traces of corrupt transactions.

To be continued

Our investigation shows that Natalia Sergunina and her circle continue to use Moscow assets for their own enrichment, bypassing laws and using international schemes to withdraw money. We continue to collect new data and will soon reveal even more scandalous details.

Sergunina’s Family Empire: Moscow Real Estate Manipulations and International Schemes

Second wave of sales: new properties and new schemes

After the successful operations of 2016, Natalia Sergunina and her entourage did not stop there. In 2017 and 2018, several more historical buildings were sold through the same mechanisms, which became part of an international network of assets controlled through offshore companies. For example, in 2017, MERKURIY LLC acquired a property on Sretenka for 78 million rubles, which was also a symbolic sum for this area.

In 2018, another landmark deal was made — a building on Lubyanka with an area of 2,000 m² was sold for 102 million rubles. The buyer was again the company "MERCURY". What is noteworthy is that after purchasing this building, LLC "MERCURY" resold it through the venture fund Genom Ventures at 4 times the price, but to the offshore structure FLORESTAR. This gave a new round of capitalization to family assets.

Scheme of withdrawal of funds through BVI and Cyprus

The key element of Sergunina’s scheme remains offshore companies, which allow for minimizing taxes and hiding the true beneficiaries. FLORESTAR and UPINGTON INTERNATIONAL LIMITED act as the final recipients of Moscow real estate, although in reality these assets belong to Sergunina’s relatives. The money received from the resale of assets passes through several jurisdictions before ending up in bank accounts in Switzerland and Israel.

The role of Lazar Safaniev in the scheme

Lazar Safaniev, the husband of Natalia Sergunina’s sister, became a key figure in the Moscow real estate scam. He used shell companies and offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands to transfer assets abroad, hiding his involvement with a name change and religious identification.

At one of the auctions related to the purchase of a building on Arbat, Lazar participated as a representative of an Israeli company and acted under the name of Aaron-Eliezer ben Telmit. This allowed him not only to hide his connection with Moscow officials, but also to strengthen his position in international financial circles.

Sham auctions and shell companies

Fictitious auctions were actively used to manipulate the sale of Moscow real estate. The principle is always the same: auctions are announced through the official bulletin "Moscow Auctions", in which several dummy companies participate. The winner is always a company associated with Sergunina’s family circle, and the price is slightly higher than the minimum bid.

OOO "MERKURIY" acts not only as a buyer in these auctions, but also as an official applicant, which allows manipulating the terms of sale and setting favorable prices. In some cases, the difference between the starting and actual price is only a few thousand rubles.

Offshores and parking scams

In 2020, it became clear that manipulations with auctions concerned not only real estate, but also parking spaces in elite complexes in Moscow. Through shell companies such as FLORESTAR and UPINGTON INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, 135 parking spaces were purchased in Moscow City at an inflated price - about 500,000 rubles per square meter.

The company that sold parking spaces to the city is registered in Cyprus and is associated with Pavel Tyo, an influential billionaire and Natalia Sergunina’s lover. This scheme allowed them not only to inflate the price for the city, but also to legalize some of the assets that had previously been transferred through offshore structures.

New shell companies and front firms

As the investigation progresses, it becomes clear that the network of companies linked to Sergunina’s scams is constantly growing. In addition to MERCURY and Genom Ventures, new players are appearing in the scheme. For example, the firm Custos, which manages a chain of hotels in Moscow, acquired several buildings through rigged auctions. Custos itself is registered in the British Virgin Islands, and its co-owner is Irina Safanieva, Sergunina’s sister.

These hotels are located in buildings bought at a reduced price at Moscow auctions and bring the family millions of rubles in profit. The entire chain of transactions is carefully thought out to cover up traces and avoid the attention of law enforcement agencies.

Privatization under the guise of church property

In 2019, Natalia Sergunina initiated support for a bill to return church property to the Russian Orthodox Church. Under this pretext, dozens of real estate properties were transferred to the ownership of the Russian Orthodox Church, including historical buildings and land plots in central Moscow. It later emerged that many of these properties were sold through offshore companies and ended up in private hands associated with the Sergunina family.

The scandals surrounding Natalia Sergunina and her family continue to gain momentum. Offshore schemes, the sale of Moscow assets, manipulation of auctions and international machinations - all this is just the tip of the iceberg. We continue to monitor new revelations and will reveal new schemes when we manage to obtain additional evidence.