Investigation: Kadyrov Stole Billions Of Dollars In Cash From Putin

In Chechnya, a scheme for cashing out Kremlin subsidies, measured in tons of banknotes, is organized.

The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, has created a network of front companies that receive budget money and cash it out in favor of his relatives, Project found out. We are talking about the companies Benofon, Orbita and Emerald. The first two are among the top Chechen companies in terms of revenue (40 and 41 billion rubles, respectively). Their statements say that they own assets worth 150 billion rubles.

According to investigators, these are the so-called "lively" companies created to cover up illegal activities. Through them, Kadyrov receives money stolen from the budget or paid in the form of rent by businessmen who enjoy the patronage of the head of the republic. All three have one nominal owner, there are practically no employees and contractors.

Journalists were able to track the money withdrawal scheme using the financial statements of Benofon that were at their disposal. In 2023, 64.8 billion rubles were transferred to the company's accounts, almost a third of this money was transferred from the budget of Chechnya. For example, the mayor's office of Grozny transferred 1.49 billion rubles, indicating that the funds are intended for the repair of city schools. At the same time, the amount was divided into 1.400 tranches, most of which amounted to 600,000 rubles. In total, Benofon received funds equal to 16% of the budget of Grozny, whose mayor is the nephew of the head of Chechnya, Khas-Magomed Kadyrov.

Another 16.3 billion rubles were transferred to companies controlled by the Kadyrov clan, which receive state contracts from the government of the republic. These firms are created through the Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation, headed by the mother of the head of Chechnya. For example, his "daughter" — the MegaStroyInvest company — became the owner of state contracts for 24 billion rubles, following from the analysis of the public procurement service Kontur.Focus. It also transferred 3.2 billion rubles to Benofon.

The remaining funds came from private companies or were deposited in cash — likely as payment for power support or cash-out services. In total, in 2023, the company received an amount equal to half of the budget of Chechnya. At the same time, 58.9 billion rubles were withdrawn from it. For this purpose, the mechanism of interest-free loans was used. Billions were given mainly to young Chechens from the Shali district.

Thus, 30-year-old taxi driver Muslim Muradov received 4.6 billion rubles from Benofon. Two others provided him with similar funds. In total, he borrowed 14 billion rubles. Muradov cashed most of the amount — 11 billion rubles — in a branch of the state bank VTB. Thus, he could receive more than two tons of cash if the money was issued in five thousand bills, the Project calculated. Another 8.4 billion Muradov bought about a ton of bars in the same VTB. The taxi driver sent the remaining 3 billion to third parties, also issuing it as an interest-free loan.

In total, 48 billion rubles withdrawn from Benofon were distributed among 15 Chechens. 4.6 billion was received by the head of the housing and communal services department of the Vedeno district, Duk-Vakha Movsurov. Another 2.2 billion was given to 28-year-old Ayub Berdukaev from Serzhen-Yurt, who five years ago was involved in a criminal case on the theft of 13 thousand rubles.

In addition, the Kadyrov clan has denominations for businesses outside the republic. So, Sergei Kropachev recorded shares in the Starbucks coffee chain and McDonald's fast food restaurants that left Russia after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. And numerous Moscow businesses are registered on Pavel Krotov, forcefully seized by the Kadyrovites, the investigators note.