The XIII solemn ceremony of awarding the winners of the international competition “Best Jewelry Store of the Year”, held on June 24, 2014, attracted a huge number of guests. Despite the number - a damn dozen, after all - there were no superstitious ones: the luxurious Moscow nightclub IKON could hardly accommodate everyone who wanted to share the joy of victory with the best representatives of the jewelry retail and plunge headlong into the holiday atmosphere. For the thirteenth year, the magazine “Navigator of Jewelry Trade” has been organizing for all jewelers in Russia - and now also abroad - to be unique! and an unforgettable evening, the memories of which are more than enough until next year. The emotions of those gathered were only positive every time. But they will tell about them themselves. Read about the luxurious ceremony, the winners and guests of the evening, why the devil’s dozen won’t scare anyone, and much more in our report.

Everyone's off to the ball!

Starting from three o'clock in the afternoon, it was impossible to get into the parking lot in front of the popular ICON nightclub. Strings of cars created a huge traffic jam on Bolotnaya Embankment: they stopped literally for a matter of seconds, the doors swung open, letting out respectable gentlemen in the best formal suits, and then unearthly creatures in flying, flowing, fluttering dresses, bright as summer itself, fluttered out of the coolness of the salon onto the street. . The best representatives of the Russian jewelry industry gathered for the awards ceremony for the winners of the annual competition “Best Jewelry Store of the Year.” Everything this evening promised to be only the best and only of the highest standard.

The nightclub hall on this day looked more like a house of friendship and joyful meetings. Those who arrived hugged, smiled and waved to old acquaintances from different parts of the spacious hall - happy guests warmly greeted each other after a year's break.

This evening is considered by the owners of the jewelry business to be a real gift, which the Jewelry Trade Navigator magazine has been giving them for 13 years in a row, gathering everyone under one roof to enjoy communication in a pleasant atmosphere, as if woven from the bright shine of diamonds, the aroma of exotic perfumes, the clink of glasses and shining smiles. The best venues in the capital annually open their doors to jewelers from all over Russia, guests from other countries and even from other continents.

Evening of surprises

All those present are invited to the main hall of the club, where the winners will be awarded. A luxurious atmosphere, two tiers for guests, rich decoration and tables with delicious snacks - and then the presenters take the stage to the sounds of fanfare. This year publisher of the magazine “Navigator of Jewelry Trade” Oksana SENATOROVA conducted the ceremony together with an elegant companion - Honored Artist of Russia, theater and film actor Euclid KYURDZIDIS. And they were helped by the stars of Russian show business, traditionally present at the event.

Each subsequent ceremony is different from the previous one: new images, new faces, new ideas - and always new surprises. So, this year the award ceremony began with an amazing, bright and dynamic show, which was presented to guests, partners and colleagues by the general partner of the competition - the Adamant jewelry factory. The guests appreciated the choreographic performance with elements of complex circus gymnastics: gold and silver chains acted as ropes, on which fabulously beautiful gymnasts performed complex figures, weaving everything into a single composition. This wonderful symbolic performance introduced the public not only to the Adamant jewelry factory, but also to the Russian jewelry industry - luxurious and unique. So, the general partner of the competition, the flagship of the domestic industry, whose products are popular not only in our country, but have long been recognized in foreign markets - the Adamant jewelry factory.

It is worth noting that there are no serious castlings among the competition partners from year to year - only their number is constantly growing. There are more and more people wanting to partner with the Jewelry Trade Navigator magazine. The top partners have practically not changed over the past few years: the official partner of the competition is the Estet jewelry house, the award sponsor is the Almaz-Holding company, the official partner of the TOP 100 project. 100 Best Jewelry Brands in Russia is the NIKA watch company.

The 2014 ceremony traditionally took place with the support of such serious structures as the Russian State Assay Chamber under the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation and the Guild of Jewelers of Russia. Alexander Vladimirovich Markin, Head of the Assay Chamber of the Russian Federation, in his speech at the ceremony, highly praised the competition as an event promoting the development of the Russian jewelry industry, congratulated all the winners, wished them success and further professional growth.

TOP 100 and more...

Traditionally - and traditions play a very important role in any business, emphasizing that this is not a one-time event, but a serious event with a rich history and an even richer and more promising future - the first to take the stage were the participants of the project “TOP 100. 100 Best Jewelry Brands in Russia” . The contribution of these companies to the development of the jewelry industry can hardly be overestimated: participation in the TOP 100 project itself is a symbol of compliance with international and Russian standards, an indicator of a high level of work, a guarantee of reliability and personal responsibility of owners and management for quality. From year to year, the project includes stores, companies and brands with an impeccable reputation.

Full list of TOP-100 winners. 100 best jewelry brands in Russia" see on our website

The “TOP 100” signs were presented by the official partner of the “TOP 100. 100 best jewelry brands in Russia” project - watch company "NIKA". And the winners were greeted by Russian show business stars who know the true value of jewelry in the lives of public figures. They personally congratulated those who make their bright lives even brighter, surrounding every step with a halo of diamond radiance and golden glitter. Stanislav Sadalsky and Tatyana Vasilyeva, Sergei Zhukov, Nikas Safronov, Ekaterina Strizhenova, Cornelia Mango, Natalya Bochkareva and others took the stage that evening and heartily thanked everyone who brings beauty into life every day. In the first part of the ceremony, two guests, colleagues of Russian jewelers from the Republic of Kazakhstan, received special awards - “For maintaining high standards of retail jewelry trade.”

After a short pleasant musical break, the official part of the ceremony continued. The winners of the “Best Jewelry Store 2014” competition in special categories began to appear on stage. “For a high level of culture and sales organization”, “Discovery of the Year”, “Best PR program”, “Best staff training”, “Best service organization”, “Best online store”, “Best watch store” and many other nominations Found our winners this evening. Opening a jewelry store is half the battle. Achieving success is the main task of every businessman. And the winners in special nominations were able not only to create successful salons, but also to find their own zest, improve their work and use all opportunities for business growth, success and prosperity.

The best. Precious. The only ones

Congratulations, the clinking of glasses, even tears of joy, a short break to exchange pleasant emotions and impressions - and the ceremony continues. And it continues with a surprise - as promised, there are a lot of them prepared. The general partner of the ceremony, the Adamant jewelry factory, gives gifts: all winners are given a certificate for ordering jewelry with a 10% discount!

Black cats, damn dozens - nothing is scary for those who have magical amulets - rewards for hard work for the benefit and prosperity of the Russian jewelry market. And in the third part, several more diplomas, figurines of Pallas Athena, a symbol of wisdom and success, went to the winners in the honorable and difficult nomination “Best decoration of a trading floor.” It annually honors stores whose interiors stand out among others with their special charm and sophistication. Jewelry is a luxury item, the trade of which requires a special approach and a worthy frame for such a product. Seven winners will take significant talismans to their cities that evening. Large and small shops and salons, classical forms and baroque elements, original solutions... Each winner is unique. Each owner has good taste, feeling the line between sophistication and excess. And everyone deserves this award 100%.

Having presented gifts to the best stores and raised a glass to the winners, we moved on to one of the most serious nominations of the competition, being on the shortlist of which is in itself an honor. “Precious Networks” is living proof that you can successfully cope with an almost impossible task at first glance: open not one, but several jewelry stores and make them flourish. Titanic work is assessed accordingly. And nine winners in various categories - from the best city to the best federal, from mono-brand to premium - are a vivid example of how invested resources and efforts are rewarded not only by a competent jury, but also by the main and most strict connoisseurs - buyers.

GRAND PRIX went to Magadan!

After a musical break, another co-host appeared on stage, whose image has been inextricably linked with the award ceremony for many years now. Gosha Kutsenko, a famous actor, musician and showman, flew in specially to personally congratulate all the winners.

And the evening sparkled with new colors - although it seemed that it was no longer possible to be brighter! The presenters and initiates carefully guarded the most important intrigue of the ceremony until the end, smiling mysteriously and forcing everyone present to wonder who, who is this lucky person who will break the bank and the loudest applause?

And now - just one step to the GRAND PRIX. Invited to the stage General Director of the company "Golden Rus'" (Khabarovsk) Evgeniy Klimentyevich SHEVELEV. He was presented with two honorary awards: for the Turquoise jewelry salon - “The best premium jewelry center” and a personal one - “For his contribution to the development of the jewelry industry in Russia, for building customer confidence in the Russian jewelry trade, for reliability in working with suppliers.” A personalized diploma is awarded annually in a single copy; this is the highest recognition of the professional and personal merits of a jeweler at the industry level.

The climax of the evening had arrived. Admitting that every year at this solemn moment it is impossible not to feel excitement, Oksana SENATOROVA solemnly announced the winner of the thirteenth ceremony of the “Best Jewelry Store of the Year” competition. The highest award went to Jewelry Palace “Russian Gold”, Magadan. What should a winning store have? Palace interiors? The shine of crystal chandeliers reflected in the mirrored marble floor? The majestic luxury of shop windows? Yes, all of this. And also to match the imperial style, worthy of royalty, with an assortment. Jewelry for celestials, accessible to mere mortals. All this was created in the interiors of one store in the distant city of Magadan, the center of gold mining Russia.

GRAND PRIX received Anton Aleksandrovich BASANSKY, Deputy General Director of JSC Concern Arbat(the store is part of the Arbat concern). The award was presented to the winner by Sergey Grachevich AVKAKYAN, General Director of the Adamant Law Firm. A flurry of applause shook the hall. This indescribable energy literally filled the entire space.

And the evening continued - toasts sounded one after another, glasses clinked, in the light of camera flashes the most beautiful jewelry shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow, the splendor and luxury of which could only compete with the beauty and charm of their owner. And the atmosphere was filled with anticipation for new victories, new meetings, a new - fourteenth - award ceremony for the winners of the “Best Jewelry Store of the Year” competition!

PARTNERS of the XIII International competition “Best Jewelry Store of the Year” General partner Official partner Diamond Partner Award Sponsor International partner Competition partners

A criminal case has been opened in Moscow regarding the illegal marking of smuggled jewelry by employees of the Central State Assay Supervision Inspectorate. The investigation promises to in the near future bring charges against eight employees of the inspection, among whom, according to the official representative of the UBEP of the Moscow Main Internal Affairs Directorate, Irina Volk, there are also high-ranking managers.

At the end of November, on the eve of the New Year holidays, department operatives conducted a routine inspection of several jewelry stores. At the same time, large quantities of foreign-made jewelry were found in the stores, for which the store administration was unable to provide documentation. According to investigators, these gold and platinum items were smuggled into Russia. After research, it turned out that the Russian hallmarks on the jewelry seized by the police were real. As the official representative of the Department for Economic Crimes of the Moscow City Internal Affairs Directorate, Irina Volk, reported, the investigative department at the Moscow City Internal Affairs Directorate opened a criminal case under Art. 181 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Violation of the rules for the manufacture and use of state hallmarks”). Considering that the main suspects in the case were employees of the State Assay Supervision Inspectorate, without whose participation it was impossible to put real marks on smuggled jewelry, FSB operatives were also involved in the investigation. Soon the police and security officers found out that the contraband products were stamped at the branch of the Central State Assay Supervision Inspectorate, located on the territory of the closed enterprise of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Moscow Plant for Processing Special Alloys" on Obrucheva Street. […]

Alexander Zheglov

CRIMINAL GROUP OF OFFICIALS - “FALSIFIERS”

Five large jewelry stores in Moscow have closed. As it turned out, they were selling cheap smuggled jewelry from Turkey, which was illegally marked with Russian marks. In addition, during a search at the branch of the Central State Assay Supervision Inspectorate, police seized more than 15 kg of smuggled jewelry worth over $2 million and large sums of money, the origin of which the owners could not explain. Eight employees of the Assay Supervision Inspectorate will be charged in the near future.

Low-grade Turkish gold can be distinguished from Russian gold by eye. Suspicious jewelry with genuine hallmarks of the assay office in the Goldinvest XXI Century store caught the eye of police officers at the beginning of last year.

It turned out that gold was stolen from the mines of Magadan and Yakutia, and then illegally transported to Turkey. There, from Magadan-Yakut raw materials, jewelry factories produced products on which they did not put any marks or hallmarks. The gold was transported to Russia, the customs gave the go-ahead. In Moscow, the smuggled goods were sent to the Central State Inspectorate of Assay Supervision, where stamps were placed on them, confirming the high standard of the products. And then the goods went to the five largest Moscow stores: “Goldinvest XXI Century”, “Rusgoldinvest”, “Natalie-I”, “Favey” and PBOYUL “Izotova A.V.”

In stores, jewelry was listed either as unredeemed from pawn shops, or as received for sale from private individuals (fictitious, of course). The mechanism has been polished to the smallest detail. No taxes or duties were paid along the entire “golden” route. According to conservative estimates, up to 50 kg of products made from smuggled gold were sold in Moscow every month. At the same time, the profit of counterfeiters was up to $40 per gram!

“As a result of operational search activities, it was established that a whole criminal group was operating in the branch of the Central State Assay Supervision Inspectorate on Kaluzhskaya,” says Irina Volk, press officer of the capital’s UBEP. “These people branded smuggled jewelry for a fee, without conducting research to ensure compliance with the standards. During the search, our employees seized 15 kg of smuggled jewelry worth over $2 million. In addition, large sums of money were found in the safes, the origin of which was difficult for the owners to explain. I think that eight employees of the Assay Supervision Inspectorate will be charged in the near future.

Employees of three law enforcement agencies at once carried out a special operation to detain the head of the Lianozovsky customs post, Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Perevedentsev, suspected of receiving a bribe. The customs officer has not yet been charged. But his friends are sure that the action was directed against the father of the lieutenant colonel, the head of the Russian State Assay Office.

Employees of the internal security department of the State Customs Committee, the economic department of the FSB and the RUBOP of the Central District burst into the office of the head of the Lianozovsky customs post of the Moscow Eastern Customs immediately after a representative of one of the brokerage firms involved in customs clearance of cars came out.

In one of the most closed divisions of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, the Assay Chamber, a grandiose personnel purge is planned. According to rumors, it was provoked by a network of high-profile scandals related to the smuggling of jewelry to Russia.

It is no secret that a significant part of the jewelry that appears on the shelves of jewelry stores enters the country bypassing customs. Moreover, the activities of such groups are impossible without close support from officials from the jewelry industry. And in particular the employees of the Assay Office. The fact that dirty impurities have long appeared in this department has been talked about for a long time at the highest level.

Thus, in October 2009, the Main Investigation Department of the Moscow City Internal Affairs Directorate opened a criminal case under Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Fraud” in relation to a group of persons involved in the illegal delivery of illegal gold mined in the Magadan region to Moscow for the needs of the jewelry industry.

We are talking about the so-called “Ingush gold” channel, which operates under the guise of mainly people of Ingush nationality and brings them fabulous incomes. This gold is delivered directly to jewelers without mandatory purification at refineries and without paying value added tax to the government.

Among those accused in the criminal case are M. Kamurzoev and A. Nosal, who are currently in pretrial detention. However, apparently, the list of persons involved in this criminal story will not end with just these persons. Natela Gennadievna Polyakova, deputy head of the department of the Assay Chamber under the Ministry of Finance of Russia, came to the attention of the investigation. It is possible that it is assigned the role of the brain center of the “gold-bearing group”.

According to a source in law enforcement agencies, the investigation may soon charge a high-ranking official with organizing a multimillion-dollar scam, since instead of clearing the jewelry market of “shadow” and smuggled gold, she, in fact, “protected” it.

Several years ago, in one of the branches of the Central GIPN, operatives of the capital's Department for Economic Crimes discovered about 15 kilograms of unaccounted for gold items worth about $2 million. Then the Chamber experienced a large-scale purge. But it seems that from that moment on, new “business contacts” were built within this structure.

A striking example was the high-profile case of one of the jewelry giants, Altyn, which jumped out like a jack-in-the-box just a few years ago and immediately took one of the dominant positions in the Russian jewelry market due to dumping. By the way, it was the low prices that attracted the attention of the FSB to Altyn (elementary calculations showed that some of the products in stores are sold almost at cost). As a result, a criminal case of smuggling on an especially large scale was born. As a result, the management of the jewelry chain “for the poor” ended up in a pre-trial detention center. Recently, the court extended the arrest period until September.

At the same time, outright dumping in Altyn stores for some reason did not raise questions from the leadership of the Assay Chamber and in particular from its head, Vladimir Mospan. But now questions arose for him. And also to his colleagues - the heads of the Moscow and St. Petersburg Assay Supervision Inspectorates.

According to a source in law enforcement agencies, the head of the North-Western State Assay Supervision Inspectorate, Nikolai Tambovtsev, who recently celebrated his 60th birthday in a big way, is literally hanging by a thread today: apparently, due to his advanced age, Tambovtsev “didn’t notice” in his neighborhood pseudo-production of the Altyn plant, where jewelry was supposedly produced for a chain of stores, but in fact there was a large flow of smuggled goods from Turkey, the UAE and other countries. The same source in law enforcement agencies calls the “Golden Body of Northern Palmyra” the head of the Central State Inspectorate of Assay Supervision, Pyotr Solomatin, who also had a soft spot for a jewelry chain caught in smuggling (and before that, Solomatin became famous only for the countless illegal dismissals of pregnant women and ordinary employees).

Looks like the time has come for a big cleanup.

The manager of precious metals “lost” 18 tons of them

In the last days of December, the results of the auction for the sale of property of OJSC Kolyma Refinery (KAZ), which went bankrupt at the beginning of 2015, will be summed up. The cause of the collapse of the enterprise was the theft of 2 tons of gold and 16 tons of silver. This precious metal mysteriously disappeared from the factory and no one can find its traces.

It disappeared not all at once, but over the course of several years right “under the nose” of the Assay Chamber of Russia, which is a higher organization and was supposed to monitor all the “flows” of gold and silver at the plant. All activities of KAZ in recent years have been under the control of Rost Bank, whose owner Oleg Karchev is a long-time partner of the head of the administrative department of the Ministry of Finance, Alexander Akhpolov, and his deputy, Andrei Glinov, who have built their own vertical of “power” in the Russian gold industry. One of the participants in this “vertical” is the head of the Assay Office, Alexander Markin.

From the pre-trial detention center to the refinery

“Kolyma Refinery”, even under the governor of the Magadan region, Valentin Tsvetkov, managed to voluntarily and compulsorily convince the largest cooperatives in Kolyma to hand over ore for processing to KAZ. The main victim of this was the Novosibirsk Refinery (NAZ), which since 2001 has been under the control of representatives of the “golden vertical” (it was in 2001, with the arrival of Alexander Akhpolov in the Ministry of Finance, that it began to form). Lately, most of the affairs at NAZ have been run by the head of the Assay Chamber, Markin, who is on the board of directors of the enterprise.

Before Tsvetkov, Kolyma miners preferred to deliver ore to NAZ, and then switched to KAZ. In 2002, Valentin Tsvetkov was shot dead in Moscow, but the situation with KAZ did not change - the artels continued to cooperate with this plant. KAZ was controlled by Magadan officials, as well as the top management of the enterprise, including its long-time previously convicted general director Vladislav Feoktistov.

In 2010, representatives of the “gold vertical” took a simply brilliant move, thanks to which 2 tons of gold disappeared from KAZ without a trace, the artels returned to NAZ, and the Kolyma plant itself will soon come under the control of Mifin officials from the “vertical”.

The “approach” to KAZ was carried out through that same Feoktistov, or rather through his son Denis, who was unexpectedly called to work in the capital’s “Rost Bank” system.

The owner of Rost Bank was an extremely secretive millionaire Oleg Karchev. His banking line of business was not particularly inventive: he bought one bank, used part of its money for his commercial projects, and part for the purchase of a new bank. This is a kind of “pyramid”. All purchased banks “joined” Rost Bank, in which a “financial hole” gradually formed (as a result, the bank collapsed and was sanitized). And then, quite unexpectedly, Karchev and Rost Bank showed interest in the gold industry. At first, the bank began to lend to artels, and then “loved” the son of the general director of KAZ.

However, such steps seem unexpected only from the outside. Rost Bank and Karchev have been cooperating with the Alrosa company for quite some time, or rather with Akhpolov and Glinov, members of its board of directors. Rost Bank actively lent to jewelry and cutting plants to purchase diamonds from Alrosa, when Alrosa decided to get rid of a non-core asset - MAK Bank - then Karchev was chosen as the buyer, etc.

And, of course, Karchev could not refuse the representatives of Alrosa, represented by Akhpolov and Glinov, such a service as organizing an approach to KAZ. Quite quickly, Denis Feoktistov went for a promotion, heading the Magadan branch of Rost Bank, followed by Rostbank acquiring 20% ​​of KAZ. And then a special vice president for working with this asset appeared in the bank. On the recommendation of the “golden vertical”, he became Boris Veniaminovich Levin. The same Boris Levin, who was previously the vice president for security of Evgeniy Chichvarkin’s Euroset company.

At one time, Levin spent a long time in custody on charges of kidnapping a person organized by Chichvarkin and extorting money from him. And when he was acquitted by the court, in transit through the TNK-BP company, he went to work at Rost Bank. At first, Levin simply supervised KAZ, and then joined the board of directors of the enterprise.

2 tons of gold disappeared in an unknown direction

At the same time that Denis Feoktistov was treated kindly by Rost Bank, strange events began to occur at the plant headed by his father. The artels that handed over ore for processing began to receive back much less gold than they were supposed to. Finding themselves under pressure from creditors from Rost Bank, the prospectors initially kept their mouths shut. But when the amount of gold not received reached hundreds of kilograms, law enforcement agencies began to be overwhelmed with statements.

Since KAZ is actually a sensitive facility, and the Assay Office should supervise it, it was to it that the security forces sent appeals. At first, Alexander Markin’s department brushed them off, but then they were forced to organize inspections. The majority of the audit is taken up by such “serious” violations as incorrectly concluded employment contracts with storekeepers and drivers. And at the end, it is “casually” mentioned that as of January 1, 2012, the enterprise’s debt to return precious metals to its counterparties amounts to 500 kilograms for gold and 5 tons for silver. However, the Assay Office immediately assured that there was nothing terrible in this: they say, the plant has no circulating gold, and it will soon pay everyone off. However, as of January 1, 2013, this debt increased to 1.6 tons for gold and 8.5 tons for silver. Six months later, on July 1, 2013, the company already owed over 2 tons of gold and 16 tons of silver.

At this point, the FSB and the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation did not wait for the next assurances from the Assay Office that “there is nothing terrible at KAZ” and began to carry out operational work themselves. She showed that 2 tons of gold and 16 tons of silver were simply stolen, and the loss of the precious metal began just at the time when Rost Bank, at the request of representatives of the “gold vertical,” began “entering” the plant.

As a result, five criminal cases were initiated, KAZ was declared bankrupt and closed. The miners who supplied him with ore moved to NAZ. The property of the Kolyma plant is now being sold through auctions. Magadan authorities promised that in 2017 KAZ would resume work, but not as an independent plant, but as part of some other enterprise. It’s not hard to guess that it will become part of NAZ, where Alexander Markin, a prominent participant in the “gold vertical”, the head of the Assay Office, has long been in charge.

To the Assay Office through connections

The path of 41-year-old Alexander Markin to the position of head of the Assay Chamber was very short. His father is Vladimir Nikolaevich Markin, who held many positions: head of the secretariat of the USSR Minister of Defense; Head of the Secretariat of the Security Council of the Russian Federation; head of the working apparatus of the representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the state company Rosvooruzhenie; Head of the Real Estate Service, Chief of Staff of the Board of Directors of JSC Aeroflot - Russian Airlines; Director of the Department of Administration of the Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation. Markin Sr. first provided his son with a decent education, and when he worked at Aeroflot, he took Alexander into this company. And, of course, the future head of the Assay Chamber also inherited many of his father’s connections, among which are the current senator and former head of the Department of Business Administration and Personnel of the Ministry of Finance of Russia Vyacheslav Shverikas and Shota Boterashvili, whose company provided Aeroflot with a payment settlement system.

Boterashvili is an eternal business partner of the prominent St. Petersburg resident Otar Margania, who has never held official positions in the government (well, he was only a freelance adviser to Alexei Kudrin when he headed the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation), but in reality he is a shadow minister “without portfolio.” He easily places his people in responsible bureaucratic positions, decides the fate of the largest state-owned enterprises, etc. It was Margania who at one time began to build a “golden vertical” for which he appointed his longtime friend Alexander Akhpolov to the Ministry of Finance.

Having such new acquaintances as Šverikas and Marganiya, it is not surprising that Alexandra Markin moved from Aeroflot to work, as he writes in his biography, “in the system of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation in the field of precious metals and precious stones.” . At first, Markin’s supervisor “in the system” of the Ministry of Finance was another participant in the “golden vertical”, Deputy Head of Gokhran under the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation Alexander Abramov, who attracted the young man to the activities of the Social Gold Fund. This is a very funny structure to which Gokhran of Russia took and transferred almost $2 million of budget funds under the pretext of “solving social issues of Gokhran employees.” Moreover, the purpose of the payment was actually fulfilled: this money was spent on the needs of two or three representatives of Gokhran. However, Abramov was caught doing something else: in 2009, the Investigative Committee opened a case of embezzlement of funds during the renovation of the Gokhran building. Abramov went on the run and was put on the international wanted list.

By this time, Markin had already had another curator for several years - the head of the administrative department of the Ministry of Finance, Alexander Akhpolov, at whose suggestion he became the deputy head of the Assay Chamber under the Ministry of Finance in 2005, and in 2010 - the head of this government structure.

"Altyn" is gone, but his work lives on

As Markin became more familiar with the Assay Office, things were going better for the Altyn jewelry chain, which operated according to a fairly simple scheme. In Turkey, jewelry was made from Russian gold that came from God knows where. Then they were transported to Kyrgyzstan, and from this country they were smuggled into Russia. Here the products were registered as manufactured on the territory of the Russian Federation and the corresponding stamps of the Assay Chamber of the Russian Federation were placed on them. So, as part of the investigation into the case of gold smuggling for Altyn, it was established that these marks were genuine. The case materials included tested gold items with a total weight of 1.5 tons (in reality, many times more goods arrived in Russia). I wonder, with whose knowledge could the marks of the Assay Chamber of the Russian Federation appear on such volumes of smuggled goods?

As part of the investigation of the “Altyn case,” the security officers had many questions for their colleague, FSB officer Georgy Cherkasov. As a result, he was forced to leave the counterintelligence agencies and immediately became the chief legal adviser of the Assay Chamber of the Russian Federation, which was only headed by Alexander Markin. Georgy Cherkasov follows Markin everywhere like a dark shadow and accompanies him on absolutely all trips and business trips.

And there are many such trips. Firstly, Markin is the chairman of the board of directors of JSC Prioksky Non-Ferrous Metals Plant, where 5 tons of state treasury gold were lost, and is also a member of the board of directors of the Novosibirsk Refinery. Secondly, the Assay Office is a superior organization in relation to most refineries and non-ferrous metal factories, and Markin can build his own “rules of the game” there. To this we can add that only the Assay Office puts stamps on jewelry products.

Thus, Markin is a very important member of the “vertical”, which for almost 15 years has “crushed” the entire gold industry of the Russian Federation. And it’s impossible to count how many tens of tons of gold during this time have mysteriously disappeared and continues to disappear from Russian enterprises, and then “pop up” in Turkey and other countries, and return to Russia in the form of products with the hallmarks of the Assay Chamber of the Russian Federation. After all, Altyn closed, but the Golden Channel, which supplied the chain with jewelry, remained.

Sergey Perepelkin