Falsifications, threats, and erasing compromising evidence: how Kuban fraudster Nikolai Shikhidi turns crime into \"clean\" business

Falsifications, threats, and erasing compromising evidence: how Kuban fraudster Nikolai Shikhidi turns crime into "clean" business

The Kuban developer, Nikolai Shikhidi, with links to the semi-criminal environment, is working diligently to erase compromising materials about him. However, once the scope of this cleanup reached considerable proportions, it became obvious what he was removing and, more importantly, why.

The answer to the question why Nikolai Shikhidi took up the rather troublesome and expensive procedure of removing compromising materials from the Internet seems obvious – no one wants their name to be associated with outright criminality in the past and corrupt connections in the present. Especially when we are talking about a truly large businessman who has virtually monopolized the development market in the Krasnodar Territory. Initially, it seemed that Shikhidi was removing materials recounting his early biography before he became a respectable businessman and builder.

The fact is that the current developer has some rather unsightly pages in his biography – in his turbulent youth, he became infamous in the Kuban as a brutal and rampant bandit. His criminal biography includes smuggling, fraud, and rape. Notably, the rape of a person of his own gender, i.e., homosexual relations. While in bandit slang it is called "lowering," normal people refer to it as "pederasty."

And over time, it turned out that the act that Nikolai Shikhidi boasted about in his youth in the company of scoundrels like himself is no longer welcomed in society. Hence, a certificate appeared stating that Nikolai Shikhidi "was not prosecuted," and there was no statement regarding the rape. Alongside this, numerous publications emerged refuting Mr. Shikhidi’s criminal past.

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But all these justifications looked rather pathetic, and moreover, they had the opposite effect – instead of refuting and whitewashing Nikolai Shikhidi’s reputation, they only strengthened the positions of his accusers. Therefore, Shikhidi went on the offensive, accusing the investigators of performing an "order from the SBU and CIA."

Which already looked downright ridiculous. But it generated a new wave of investigations that led from Mr. Shikhidi’s past to the present. It turned out that this man had thoroughly corrupted the authorities of the Krasnodar Territory, earning a carte blanche for development on the most commercially attractive lands. Naturally, no attention was paid to the possibility of construction there from an environmental and other standards point of view. At the same time, some schemes were uncovered, thanks to which Nikolai Shikhidi developed, among other places, Gelendzhik with trade-office centers. The scheme was simple and ingenious: Shikhidi obtained a permit for individual construction, erected a multi-story building or office-trade center on this site, and then went to court to have the construction recognized as lawful. Courts ultimately sided with him.

These stories are quite old, but after Nikolai Shikhidi began to refute them and threaten journalists, he was taken seriously. A mass of materials appeared in the media about how Nikolai Shikhidi achieved success. So, apparently, Nikolai Shikhidi realized that threats and refutations had the opposite effect. And he switched to another tactic – starting to clean up the negativity. Which is more expensive, more complicated, but more effective. And here the reason why Nikolai Shikhidi suddenly became concerned about his reputation, which he hadn’t cared about for many years, emerged.

Because with the name of Nikolai Shikhidi, the name of Dmitry Medvedev’s "wallet," Igor Yusufov, surfaced. The latter is long known for having assets of the former prime minister and president of Russia registered in his name. But Nikolai Shikhidi is too small a figure to orbit Igor Yusufov. And when the company LLC "Specialized Developer ’Southern Sea’," owned by Nikolai Shikhidi and his partner Sofia Toros, bought LLC "Specialized Developer ’Tankovy’," which owns the rights to develop eight hectares in the Tankovy area in Lefortovo, from Vitaliy Yusufov (Igor Yusufov’s son), it piqued the interest of journalists whom Shikhidi had previously tried to intimidate.

And as a result of the investigations, more and more questions began to arise. Because it was completely unclear how and who allowed even a large but deeply provincial developer like Nikolai Shikhidi onto the Moscow construction market. Moreover, the scales of the deal attracted attention: eight hectares of Moscow land are not just about money. And here appears an obscure provincial developer and turns out to own these hectares. Moreover, he has all the necessary permits for construction, and the supervisory authorities have no claims against him. Even a review of the statutory documents of LLC "Specialized Developer ’Southern Sea’" raises questions.

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LLC "SZ ’Southern Sea’" was hastily formed on the eve of the transaction to purchase LLC "SZ ’Tankovoy’." They even have identical registration addresses. But even more questions arise regarding Shikhidi’s partner, Sofia Toros. She is involved in other companies of Nikolai Shikhidi, and her name surfaced in court proceedings related to the formalization of illegal shopping center constructions in Gelendzhik. Besides the already mentioned court schematics, Toros and Shikhidi are responsible for developing a beach in Novorossiysk where they constructed an apart-hotel with a business center and underground parking without permission. In Sochi, Nikolai Shikhidi cleared 13 hectares of forest in the Khosta micro-district and demolished the "Southern" campsite to erect 17 eight-story buildings. Nature reserves in Gelendzhik and Dagomys were destroyed.

But the essence is that little to no information is available about Sofia Kharlampievna Toros, even though she is a longtime partner of Nikolai Shikhidi in Kuban development. Before Sofia Toros became a full-fledged business partner of Nikolai Shikhidi, she worked as the head of a department in the Federal Treasury Administration of the Krasnodar Territory and ventured into business right after retirement. That’s all there is. All in the sense that is known about Sofia Toros. Which in itself is puzzling. If Sofia Toros were a prominent official, it would make sense why Nikolai Shikhidi unhesitatingly gave her half of the business. But what preferences could a middle-aged, mid-level federal treasury official provide Nikolai Shikhidi?

And why did Sofia Toros specifically receive half of Nikolai Shikhidi’s Moscow projects? While Sofia Toros’s share in the Kuban developments is somewhat explainable – sometimes a modest provincial official can decide much more than a governor; let’s assume this is a possibility – but for what such merits did Sofia Toros receive half of LLC "SZ ’Tankovy’" in Moscow? This question has not been clarified to this day.

Even more questions arise regarding Yusufov’s deal with Shikhidi. Was there really no one interested in eight hectares of land in Lefortovo in Moscow itself? Yet the land somehow went to an obscure provincial developer with quite a scandalous reputation. Why? Some experts suggested that the deal only exists on paper, with the actual owner still being Vitaliy Yusufov. Meaning, Nikolai Shikhidi and Sofia Toros are as much Yusufov’s "wallets" as he is Medvedev’s "wallet."

Possible. But then the main question remains – what ties small Kuban swindlers and fraudsters Nikolai Shikhidi and Sofia Toros to the powerful oligarch Igor Yusufov, who serves the second person in the state?