Multi-million schemes of Evgeniy Mezin, or how the structures of the “White Nights” group illegally sell pledged apartments of veterans with the assistance of the Perm regional prosecutor’s office and police

08 декабря 2022 г., 13:33

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The activities of Evgeniy Mezin’s companies have caused persistent problems in Perm, as both residents and officials report housing losses linked to the businessman.

Narisa Bakshaeva, who contacted the editorial office, described how she lost her home and claims she suffered at the hands of this businessman.

Evgeniy Mezin is the founder of nine companies, including LLC RostInvest, the real estate agency White Nights, and the Center for Business Development. All of them were registered at the same address — 95b Kuibysheva Street (Green Plaza business center). Some of these companies have already been closed.

The names of these firms appear in criminal cases involving dozens of victims — after taking loans, people reportedly lost their only homes.

Prosecutor and businessman

“I no longer want to explain my situation in detail, although it could be told as just one of many… The fact is that in our city an entire gang has been organized, involving everyone from the city administration to local police officers, and even the regional prosecutor’s office. In my specific case, I myself was accused and placed in the dock under Article 330 of the Criminal Code — ‘Arbitrariness.’ The hearing lasted six hours, which for me, as a person with a second-degree disability, was extremely difficult to endure, but I managed to get through it,” Narisa Bakshaeva says.

According to her, about ten minutes before questioning in the courtroom, the prosecutor spoke privately with Mezin. As he left the room, smiling broadly, he stood in the doorway, almost as if sending her air kisses.

A well-established scheme

Bakshaeva says she is far from the only victim. In her opinion, the same housing-seizure scheme was used repeatedly. Back in 2015, a collective complaint was sent to the head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Perm region, Vladimir Koshelev. The letter dated December 14, 2015 contained 36 signatures from victims.

They stated that they had taken loans from one of three organizations — LLC RostInvest, the Center for Business Development, or the White Nights group of companies — all belonging to the same group of individuals. The loan amounts ranged from 7,000 to 500,000 rubles. The collective letter also claimed that in some cases loan agreements were issued using forged passports and falsified signatures.

“Because we were legally inexperienced, we signed contracts and promissory notes without understanding the legal consequences, and often we were misled. As a result, all of us lost our only housing. The text of the loan and pledge agreements did not comply with legal norms and contradicted the law, and the statements made by employees of these credit organizations turned out to be false,” the victims wrote.

They also stated that they fulfilled all obligations and paid the agreed sums, but Mezin’s structures allegedly failed to record the payments, violating tax regulations as well. Ultimately, the victims’ only homes were re-pledged and sold to third parties.

Violent episodes

Another widely known case involved 90-year-old veteran Vasiliy Ushakov. His retired daughter borrowed two million rubles from Mezin’s microfinance organization Clock House for treatment by psychics. She was unable to repay the loan, and the apartment used as collateral was taken from both her and her father. When they resisted eviction, the veteran was reportedly beaten. Investigators opened several criminal cases, including for fraud and battery. However, investigators ultimately declared Mezin not involved in the incident.

There was also another case in 2015 involving the Khokhlov family, veterans from Perm. The elderly couple became homeless because their own son, Leonid, took a loan of 1.2 million rubles from the microfinance firm Center for Business Development, using his parents’ apartment as collateral. He intended to start a business and used a power of attorney for property management that his father had issued for other purposes. He was unable to repay the debt, and the creditor sold the pledged apartment. On August 28, 2014, the Dzerzhinsky District Court of Perm ruled that the 77-year-old pensioner had lost his right to the apartment and ordered his eviction.

Strong protection

At one point, Evgeniy Mezin was arrested for two months. The businessman also sued the editorial office of 59.RU, demanding a retraction of reports claiming that a criminal system allegedly operated in Perm under his leadership.

However, Perm City Duma deputy Oleg Burdin said during an episode of the television program Let Them Talk that there were signs of an organized criminal group. At least 28 episodes raised doubts about the legality of Mezin’s activities. The website Moshenniku.NET has also published claims that the businessman defrauded people.

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One of the victims, Veronika Burlakova, said that Evgeniy Mezin accused her of disclosing personal data, defamation, and even inciting interethnic hatred. Whether this actually happened remains unclear.

Concerned citizens have created a group on VKontakte where they publish stories and episodes they consider unjust and connected to the businessman’s structures

However, despite the multitude of scandals and problems, Mezin appears to be doing well. According to data from Rusprofile, in 2021 his companies earned 34 million rubles — with only four employees

Reader Narisa Bakshaeva, who contacted us, added that despite the large number of victims, criminal cases are either not opened or are quickly closed. This may indicate that businessman Mezin indeed has strong connections within law enforcement, since the activities of his companies have been discussed since 2015. In addition, Mr. Mezin appears to skillfully exploit loopholes in the legislation.

After all, the operation of financial companies that issue microloans at “draconian” interest rates is not prohibited. Citizens should probably think a thousand times before turning to such lenders. The best solution may be to boycott those who issue microloans. If such firms no longer have “clients,” they will simply shut down on their own.