More Corruption: Ramzam Kadyrov
The vertical of power is not limited to Moscow. It’s also present in the regions. One in particular is essential for keeping the northern Caucasus alive and well and, chiefly, aligned with Moscow. It was once a breakaway region that Russia finally brought to heel, with widespread destruction, and we have no idea how many died. But it may be as high as 50,000 civilians dead:
Estimates of the number of civilians killed range widely from 20,000 to 100,000[ii], with the latter figure commonly referenced by Chechen sources. Most scholars and human rights organizations generally estimate the number of civilian casualties to be 40,000[iii]; this figure is attributed to the research and scholarship of Chechnya expert John Dunlop, who estimates that the total number of civilian casualties is at least 35,000.[iv] This range is also consistent with post-war publications by the Russian statistics office estimating 30,000 to 40,000[v] civilians killed. The Moscow-based human rights organization, Memorial, which actively documented human rights abuses throughout the war, estimates the number of civilian casualties to be a slightly higher at 50,000.[vi]
It was not in the interest of the Russian Federation to have an accurate count; this is why it’s all over the place. It is believed that 13,000 Russian soldiers died during the conflict as well.
The war destroyed Grozny since it’s been rebuilt. Ultimately, the Kadyrov family turned on their erstwhile allies in the resistance. So they were richly rewarded. So this story of corruption and other issues comes as zero surprise:
Kadyrov’s scheme: how money is stolen from the budget of Chechnya
The network of denominations created in Chechnya cashed out tens of billions of rubles in favor of the family of Ramzan Kadyrov and his entourage in 2023 alone. In this way, a significant part of Chechnya’s budget was stolen, says “Project” in the film “Kadyrov’s Vertical. A biography full of blood.”
Details . The withdrawal of money was carried out through three Chechen companies — Benofon , Orbita and Izumrud . They have one nominal owner and virtually no employees or contractors. Moreover, as of the end of 2023, they owned assets worth 150 billion rubles — this amount is equal to the entire budget of Chechnya.
▪️The Project has the financial statements of Benofon at its disposal. With its help, the filmmakers were able to restore the money withdrawal scheme.
How did you deposit money into Benofon? In 2023, Benofon’s accounts received 64.8 billion rubles . Almost a third of this money came directly or indirectly from the Chechen budget.
▪️For example, 1.49 billion rubles came from the Grozny mayor’s office — supposedly for the repair of all Grozny schools (such information was indicated in the purpose of payments). For such an amount, 1.4 thousand transfers were required, most of them for 600 thousand rubles. The transferred amount amounts to 16% of the budget of Grozny , whose mayor is Khas-Magomed Kadyrov, the nephew of the head of Chechnya.
▪️ 16.3 billion rubles were sent to companies that are controlled by the Kadyrov family or their nominees and receive government contracts from the Chechen government, that is, this is also money that was essentially withdrawn from the budget.
▪️The rest of the funds came from private companies or were deposited in cash. Perhaps this is payment to Kadyrov’s men for security support or cash-out services.
How was the money withdrawn? In 2023, 58.9 billion rubles were withdrawn from the company using interest-free loans. The largest part, totaling 48 billion rubles, was received by 15 young Chechens, mainly natives of the Shalinsky district. For example:
▪️ Muslim Muradov , a taxi driver, received 4.6 billion rubles from Benofon in 2023. Duk-Vakha Movsurov , head of the housing and communal services department of the Vedeno district, received the same amount.
▪️ Ayub Berdukaev from Serzhen-Yurt, who five years ago was a defendant in a criminal case for the theft of 13 thousand rubles, received 2.2 billion rubles .
▪️Apparently, these people received colossal money from other legal entities (“Orbits” and “Emerald”). For example, at least 22.6 billion rubles had accumulated in the accounts of taxi driver Muradov by the end of last year — that’s exactly how much he withdrew in three days before New Year’s. This is how he used these funds:
🔸 Received 11.3 billion rubles in cash at the Grozny branch of VTB Bank,
🔸 purchased precious metal bars there for 8.4 billion rubles ,
🔸 he sent another 3.2 billion rubles to third parties, again in the form of an interest-free loan.General scheme. Apparently, these three companies are “shelters” that are needed only to carry out multi-billion dollar transactions, and after completing this mission they are closed and new ones are opened. For example, Benofon has already been in liquidation since April 2024.
For more information about how Ramzan Kadyrov came to power through brutal murders, created a huge harem with underage girls, stole a significant part of the budget of his republic and helped the murderers of Boris Nemtsov, Paul Klebnikov and others evade responsibility — about this and much more — see film “Vertical Kadyrov. A biography full of blood.” [Agency]
I keep referring to a system of patronage. Ramzan Kadyrov also gives some loot to the tsar. This goes without saying. But here you can see how a vertical of power takes shape in a critical region for Putin.
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