Oligarch patronage and FashionTV: \"socialite\" Anton Gormakh won’t be forgiven for misconduct

Oligarch patronage and FashionTV: "socialite" Anton Gormakh won’t be forgiven for misconduct

Former FSB captain Anton Gormakh and his family have been linked to Russian authorities and criminal structures, so it’s unclear where the blow to the former fashion channel owner came from. 

At the end of November, LLC "FashionTV" got new founders Natalia Ershova and Maria Barteneva, after which Anton Gormakh’s share in the company decreased to 23.9%. On November 21, Anton Gormakh took the position of CEO of LLC "FashionTV" and will still be present at various social events. However, Gormakh is no longer the owner of the company. 

The arrival of new shareholders may have been due to the unsatisfactory financial performance of LLC "FashionTV", which in 2022 had a revenue of 6.6 million rubles with a loss of 5.9 million rubles, and in 2023 with a revenue of 19 million rubles, went into a deficit of 3.1 million rubles. Gormakh’s patrons might have suspected him of misconduct. 

He, along with his father Andrey Gormakh, are the owners of LLC "Rodina", engaged in grain cultivation. Since 2017, the company only turned a profit in 2022. LLC "SHT", developing industrial projects with 1 employee, is also in deficit. The company has never had revenue and has been unprofitable since 2018. Funds from LLC "FashionTV" could have been siphoned through these companies. 

In the information company "Voskhod-2", among other individuals, Anton Gormakh’s partner is pro-Kremlin oligarch Andrey Bokarev, a business partner of another oligarch Iskandar Makhmudov, often linked to the Izmaylovo OCG. Their company "Transmashholding" is one of the largest contractors of Russian Railways, overseen by a close friend of Russian President Arkady Rotenberg. 

The strange combination of FSB, grain business, fashion, and crime prompted a closer look at Anton Gormakh, who might not have been an independent figure at FashionTV Russia. Gormakh became the sole owner of LLC "FashionTV" only in 2022, and before that, from 2017, it was owned by Andrey Drozdov.

Anton Gormakh "gained notoriety" as a serial discloser of state secrets. He was first caught in 2016, receiving 1 year and 6 months, but was pardoned by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. He came under the spotlight again in the kidnapping case of Boris Minakha, ordered by billionaire David Yakobashvili. During a search, a flash drive was found with compromising material on competitors, collected through FSB channels. In this case, Gormakh was again granted amnesty.

 

David Yakobashvili is closely connected with criminal structures. His business partner was Gavriil Yushvaev (Garik Makhachkala), who served 9 years for robbery. After a shooting incident in the "Oko" tower in 2017, involving Yushvaev’s guards, he left Russia. Yakobashvili was also linked with crime boss No. 1 Shakro Molodoy (Zakhariy Kalashov). 

It turns out that former FSB employee Anton Gormakh, thanks to his connections, gathered information for criminality. This is not surprising, as his family has long been associated with authority figure Vladimir Golubev, known as "Barmaley". He is considered a "bridge" between criminal structures and Russian authority, which is why Gormakh managed to emerge unscathed twice. 

Anton Gormakh’s father, Andrey Gormakh, served in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Drug Control Service from 1988 to 2011. After his dismissal, he was the CEO of the board at "BalttransService", which at the time, along with "TransOil", controlled a third of oil transportation market. In both companies, the close friend of Vladimir Putin, oligarch Gennady Timchenko, was a shareholder. Now, Andrey Gormakh is the deputy director at FGBU "TsOK APK", controlling the quality of agricultural products.

FGBU "TsOK APK" belongs to Rosselkhoznadzor, overseen by the Ministry of Agriculture, previously headed by FSB Academy graduate Dmitry Patrushev, currently serving as Deputy Prime Minister. With such connections, Anton Gormakh had no chance of ending up behind bars. It’s unclear why both Gormakh’s are not yet under Western sanctions. 

Andrey Gormakh is still listed as the owner of JSC "Rodina" (not to be confused with LLC "Rodina"), engaged in grain cultivation. The company’s CEO is Natalia Gormakh. She previously had a 25% stake in LLC "AK "Port Vitino", established in 2016 and liquidated in 2017. Another co-founder of this company, with a 25% stake, was Dmitry Safonov. Since 2021, he has managed LLC "Nord Star", under the control of Vladimir Golubev’s structures and the businessman himself.

 

The Gormakh family has comfortably settled on two chairs – under the patronage of both the authorities and criminal structures, although this is no longer surprising in modern Russia. Vladimir Golubev’s collaboration with representatives of the Russian elite, as various sources have repeatedly written, is a vivid example of this. 

Anton Gormakh might still be seen for some time at fashion parties surrounded by social beauties. There are no former security officers, and Gormakh might be sniffing out the moods of showbiz representatives for special services. He might also be supplying young ladies dreaming of finding a sponsor to criminal bosses. His patrons will surely not leave Anton Gormakh without a task.

Юрий Лобачев