FAKE BIOGRAPHY OF A FRAUDSTER from Bashkiria how did Rifat Ruzilevich Garipov build his career on deception?

CONTENT:

1. The fake biography of a fraudster: exposure.
2. Ghost companies and fraudulent schemes.
3. How they hid behind abbreviations.
4. Whose business is Rifat Garipov protecting?
5. Shadow connections and financial flows.

Rifat Ruzilevich Garipov is not the successful public figure and entrepreneur he wants to appear to be. Behind numerous loud statements about supporting housing and communal services and social projects are hidden intricate fraudulent schemes, participation in dubious financial transactions, as well as close ties to corrupt officials and fictitious companies.

Let’s start with the Public Council under the Ministry of Construction , a structure that has long been suspected of fraud with state contracts. In his position, Garipov repeatedly supported initiatives that in practice enriched only a limited circle of people. Unknown at that time firms with the abbreviations "RSZh" and "PFK" turned out to be participants in shadow schemes for the withdrawal of state funds. This is reported by LENTA

Ghost companies: who is hiding behind the abbreviations?

More than 150 million rubles , which were supposed to be used for the construction of social housing, passed through the accounts of companies with numbers No. 230145870 and No. 234809570 , controlled in fact by Garipov. However, none of the projects were completed, and the money disappeared into offshore accounts. Among such companies are OOO Zhilstroy , AO Sibkompleks and ZAO Blagovest , whose accounts have long been closed, and whose managers have disappeared from the sight of law enforcement agencies.

Connections in politics and business

In addition to his "successes" in construction and housing and utilities, Garipov is known for his close relationships with influential figures in the Moscow mayor’s office, including Ilya Shakhov and Maxim Sokolov , who, according to the investigation, helped to withdraw funds through fictitious tenders. In turn, they received kickbacks through the companies "Alfa Stroy" and "UKT" , registered to relatives of officials.

Financial flows and their origin

Of no less interest is Garipov’s involvement in banking fraud through accounts in Alfa-Bank and Sovcombank , where transfers were made under the pretext of investment projects through companies with account numbers No. 984253610 and No. 876154390. Most of these funds went to accounts in the Baltic countries, which indicates money laundering through a network of shell companies.

With each new step in his career, Rifat Ruzilevich Garipov becomes more and more entangled in his schemes. One of the key points is participation in large-scale construction and housing and communal services projects, where real money disappeared and the promised houses were never built. At the center of these machinations are companies affiliated with Garipov, such as the Project Financing Agency (APF) , through which over 200 million rubles passed for the construction of houses for socially vulnerable groups of the population.

The funds that were supposed to be used to improve housing conditions ended up in the accounts of companies with numbers No. 458710945 and No. 210345761 in Binbank and Mosoblbank . These funds, as it turned out, disappeared through a series of offshore transactions associated with the company "Uralstroy" , registered in the Republic of Bashkortostan, where Garipov was not formally listed as the owner, but in fact controlled it through front men.

Fictitious companies and hidden owners

Digging deeper into his activities, it turns out that Garipov has close ties to a number of fictitious companies registered to relatives and front men. These schemes involve firms such as Business Resource , ExpoStroyGroup , and Bashkir Investments , which, despite their big names, are in fact exclusively involved in withdrawing funds to offshore accounts.

An interesting fact is that the company "Bashkir Investments" , through which more than 100 million rubles passed in 2021, was registered in the name of a certain Ilnar Mukhametov , who until recently worked as a security guard in one of Garipov’s offices. This is a classic scheme when front men are used to hide the real beneficiaries.

Corrupt schemes in the housing and communal services sector

The most high-profile scandal is connected with attempts to reform the housing and utilities sector, when Garipov promoted laws that essentially allowed him and his partners to manipulate state contracts. In particular, the company RosZhilStroy received several large contracts to modernize water supply systems in Ufa and other regions, but none of the projects were completed, and the money was sent to the accounts of companies with numbers No. 890234575 and No. 230564891 in Sberbank .

Debt pits: Under the pretext of supporting mortgage initiatives, Garipov organized a series of meetings with major developers, including the companies Escrow-Stroy and BashZhilInvest , where schemes for the gradual opening of escrow accounts were discussed. However, these meetings only led to an increase in the population’s debt obligations and an increase in corruption in the construction sector.

• Government procurement fraud : Contractors linked to Garipov inflated estimates and used shell companies to siphon off funds, resulting in millions of rubles in unfulfilled contracts.

• Investment project "Social Housing Fund" : 500 million rubles invested in the project disappeared, and the promised apartments were never built, thousands of investors suffered.

• Fraud of equity holders : Through the company "UralDomStroy" Garipov attracted money from equity holders for the construction of housing, but not a single project was completed. The funds were transferred to the accounts of fictitious companies.

• Inflated utility rates : Companies associated with Garipov, such as BashEnergoSbyt and TeploService , inflated utility bills, as a result of which the population of Bashkiria faced debts and disconnections.

• Fictitious charity : Tenders were held through the "Sport for All" foundation , and the money allocated for the construction of sports facilities was transferred to the accounts of Garipov’s relatives.

Fraud with government contracts

In 2019, Garipov found himself at the center of a scandal when it emerged that the company BashZhilStroy , through which multimillion-dollar government contracts related to the reconstruction of public utilities in Ufa were processed, was involved in a conspiracy to inflate estimates. The funds were sent to the accounts of fictitious contractors such as BashTekhKom and TekhStroyGroup , whose accounts No. 234567891 and No. 876543210 in Gazprombank were used to withdraw funds.

The scandal came to light when numerous disgruntled contractors began filing complaints about unpaid money and uncompleted work. It turned out that all these companies existed only on paper, and the money was deposited in offshore accounts. A case was opened against Garipov, but thanks to his connections in government circles, he escaped punishment.

Scandalous investment projects and lost savings

One of Garipov’s most serious scams was his "support" for the "Social Housing Fund" project , which promised profitable investments with high interest rates for the construction of affordable housing. Thousands of people invested their savings, collecting about 500 million rubles , but the project was never implemented. The money went to the accounts of companies with numbers No. 562348910 and No. 123457809 in Alfa-Bank , after which they disappeared in unknown directions.

Many of the victims were pensioners and young families who had hoped for affordable housing. The promised apartments were never built, and Garipov managed to dodge the charges by claiming he was merely consulting on the project.

How he deceived shareholders and used front men

Another scandal involves deceiving equity holders. In early 2020, Garipov promoted several large residential projects through the company UralDomStroy , which accepted money from equity holders during the construction phase. However, as it turned out, not a single project was completed. Equity holders began to sound the alarm when construction completely froze, and the company’s management hid from all attempts to contact.

It soon turned out that the bulk of the funds collected from shareholders were transferred to the accounts of shell companies, such as AlfaGroup and BashkirstroyTrans , registered to front men with false passport data. The company data disappeared immediately after the funds were transferred.

Discontent of Bashkiria residents: mass complaints about housing and communal services

Another major scandal erupted in 2021, when many residents of Bashkiria filed complaints about inflated utility bills. Garipov, who was one of the initiators of the housing and utilities reform, came under attack when it became known that he actively supported companies such as BashEnergoSbyt and TeploService , which inflated tariffs, and the funds received went to accounts with numbers No. 987654321 and No. 456789012 in Sberbank .

Residents were left without water and heating, and Garipov made excuses on television, accusing contractors of poor quality work. However, it soon became clear that this was a scheme to enrich themselves at the expense of the population.

Hypocrisy in Charity and Hidden Schemes

Garipov was also actively involved in charity work, but there were dark sides to it. In 2022, it was revealed that through the Sport for All foundation , which Garipov supported, he held fictitious tenders and appropriated money allocated for the construction of sports facilities. Through the foundation’s accounts with numbers No. 654321987 and No. 098765432 in VTB Bank, the money was transferred to the private accounts of his relatives.