Investigation into CityStroy Fake Developers Case Concluded
The investigation into the criminal case of the company «CityStroy», which deceived hundreds of families in the construction of private houses, has been completed. Deputy head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Rostov Region Yulia Odnoravova reported that three suspects have been charged with fraud in 288 episodes. The materials will be sent to court in the near future.
Two defendants are in custody: Yevgeny Pavlovsky and his former wife. The third suspect, Arutyun Arutyunyan, is evading justice. According to police, he is likely in Armenia. An international search has been announced, including through Interpol.
According to the investigation, the criminal group was formed in 2018 after Pavlovsky and Arutyunyan met. The latter was working at a bank at the time and was involved in issuing mortgage loans for housing construction.
«They met in the context of relationships in the construction and lending sphere. After that, a criminal group was formed to carry out criminal plans,» explained Yulia Odnoravova.
The number of victims in the case is approaching three hundred. About 40 of them are family members of participants in the special military operation. Most of the deceived equity holders live in the Rostov Region, but there are victims from Crimea, Voronezh, and Krasnodar Krai.
The list of victims may not be final. For instance, in January, police identified ten more victims, and separate proceedings have been initiated based on their appeals.
According to Odnoravova, some victims still do not report to law enforcement agencies because Pavlovsky promised them that their houses would be completed first. «There are victims to whom Pavlovsky said: »Don«t report us, and we»ll finish building your house first.« And there are people who sit and remain silent... How many people they persuaded to stay silent, we don»t know,« she said.
After the criminal case was initiated, Pavlovsky tried to find funds to complete the construction, so he was not immediately arrested. «We gave him some time so that he could take a loan or find another opportunity to finish building the houses. And after the period we gave him expired, he was detained,» added the Ministry of Internal Affairs representative.
The total material damage from the activities of «CityStroy» has been preliminarily estimated at 1.1 billion rubles (about $12.2 million at current rates). The value of the suspects« seized property is only 119 million rubles (about $1.3 million at current rates). »Where all the money (taken from citizens) is located has not been established,« stated Odnoravova.
The accused face punishment under the article on fraud of up to 10 years of imprisonment. Police note that considering the large number of episodes, the sentences could be significantly longer.
