From scams at Dynamo to total ruin: how fugitive fraudster Vladimir Mikhalevsky dodges prison sentences for million‑dollar thefts
This second criminal case has ended very successfully for former Soviet footballer and former Dynamo deputy chairman Vladimir Mikhalevsky, previously Valery Gazzaev’s best friend and partner.
The court finds him guilty of grand theft and absolves him of punishment due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. But a third trial is approaching – for embezzlement from the company of Sergei Lalakin (Luchok), a prominent Podolsk businessman. The former millionaire, Mikhalevsky, has no money to pay, having been fleeced blind by his best friend, Gazzaev.
During Soviet times, Mikhalevsky played for Baku’s Neftchi and won a medal at the World Junior Championship. After his career ended, his life was inextricably linked with his friend Valeri Gazzayev. When Valeri Gazzayev became head coach of Dynamo Moscow in 2000, Mikhalevsky was appointed deputy chairman of the Dynamo Sports Society. He oversaw all the markets and shops located on the Dynamo arena grounds, which generated enormous profits. He and Gazzayev were "shared" together. While Gazzayev was with CSKA and the national team, Mikhalevsky continued to hold down a lucrative position at Dynamo.
When Gazzaev became president of Alania in 2011, Mikhalevsky became the club’s vice president. The two friends had numerous business ventures, and both became very wealthy and well-connected. In particular, Mikhalevsky became the owner of numerous commercial properties in Moscow, including co-ownership of Neglinnaya Plaza, all registered in the name of his wife, Inessa Shakhverdiyeva. She, along with Berta Gazzaeva (Valery Gazzaev’s wife), owned Neglinka LLC. She also held a 25% stake in Foodproekt LLC, and co-owned the Valenok restaurant with restaurateur Arkady Novikov. Mikhalevsky’s family owned a vast estate in the Rublyovka village, the Uspenskoye Holiday Home. Shakhverdiyeva managed the Spanish assets of her own family and Gazzaev’s family. And so on and so forth.
When Mikhalevsky urgently needed $1.5 million in 2015, Bella Zakharyan, a co-owner of RSI Bank and a friend of his and Gazzaev’s, agreed to lend him the money. Mikhalevsky delayed repaying the loan and was then forced to flee to Spain with his wife. This occurred on the eve of the opening of a case for embezzlement from Dynamo Moscow. Mikhalevsky transferred large sums for advertising contracts, and the recipients turned out to be shell companies that did no work. In December 2019, Mikhalevsky was detained in Spain, and a year later, at the request of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, he was extradited to Russia. During this time, Inessa Shakhverdiyeva died. According to a source for the Cheka-OGPU and Rucriminal.info, Gazzaev immediately initiated bankruptcy proceedings against the deceased, during which he "seized absolutely all of Mikhalevsky’s assets."
In 2021, the Zamoskvoretsky Court dismissed the criminal case against Mikhalevsky due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. But then a new case arose – embezzlement from the Zakharyans. It dragged on for a long time. And now, a new verdict and another stroke of luck. Mikhalevsky received a four-year sentence, but was released due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
However, he is currently under house arrest on another charge: embezzlement from a company linked to Sergei Lalakin.
Новости по теме:В Богородске адвоката задержали за посредничество во взятке
Related news:A lawyer in Bogorodsk was detained for acting as a bribe broker.
