Did not get caught: those who tried to seize the lands of the "Kushchevskaya gang" were sentenced in absentia

The businessmen who tried to seize the assets of Agrocomplex Kushchevsky LLC were able to be sentenced only in absentia: both managed to leave Russia and are on the international wanted list. On October 26, the Golovinsky District Court of Moscow found Andrei Korovaiko and Arkady Chebanov guilty of organizing a criminal group and attempting to take possession of other people's property. According to investigators, from 2016 to 2021, they used blackmail and threats to obtain the company's assets. The damage was estimated at 1.8 billion rubles. The story is connected with the lands that were previously controlled by the Tsapkov gang— one of the most violent criminal groups in southern Russia. In the late 1990s, it subjugated the Kushchevsky district of the Krasnodar Territory and controlled vast farmlands. In 2010, the group was defeated. How the events unfolded and how the investigation ended can be found in the Izvestia article.

What were the ex-beneficiaries of the Pokrovsky agroholding convicted for?

A criminal case against the beneficiaries of one of Russia's largest agro-industrial concern Pokrovsky, Andrei Korovaiko, who served as federal inspector of the presidential envoy in the Southern Federal District in the early noughties, and businessman Arkady Chebanov was initiated in 2021. According to the investigation, the heads of the agricultural complex organized a criminal group with the aim of raiding fertile lands in the Krasnodar Territory. Among the targets were the sites of LLC OPH Slava Kubani and LLC Agrocomplex Kushchevsky, previously controlled by the leaders of the infamous Tsapkov gang, Sergei Tsapk and Vyacheslav Tsepovyaz.

After the high-profile murder in the village of Kushchevskaya in 2010, Natalia Strishnaya, Vyacheslav Tsepovyaz's wife, became the formal owner of Slava Kuban Agricultural Enterprise LLC. In 2014, Fyodor Streltsov, whom the media called the financier of the Tsapkov gang, became the owner of Agrocomplex Kushchevsky LLC. He managed several thousand hectares of land in the Kushchevsky district. According to media reports, Streltsov received these lands at an undervalued price by concluding several lease agreements with CJSC Mayak, owned by the family of former arbitration judge Svetlana Martynova.

According to the investigation, it was Strishnaya and Streltsov who eventually suffered from the Korovaiko and Chebanov group. In 2021, it became known about the initiation of the first criminal case related to an attempt to seize the assets of LLC OPH Slava Kuban, the value of which was estimated at 1 billion rubles.

According to the investigation, the raiders first blackmailed Natalia Strishnaya, demanding to sell the company's shares at a lower price and threatening criminal prosecution. According to the investigation, after her refusal, they forced witnesses to give false testimony against her. Subsequently, a criminal case of extortion was opened against Strishnya and her brother, which was later closed.

According to a similar scenario, according to the case file, events developed around LLC Agrocomplex Kushchevsky. At that time, Mayak CJSC, with which the company was connected by land lease relations, was in the final stages of bankruptcy. Korovaiko and Chebanov took advantage of this situation and secured the appointment of Husain Khasanov, who was under their control, as bankruptcy trustee. Having gained control of the agricultural enterprise through him, they began to seek the transfer of rights to its assets.

After it was not possible to reach an agreement with Streltsov, pressure began to be exerted on him. In particular, he was threatened with criminal prosecution and reprisals, and the Investigative Committee of Russia received allegations of violations during the conclusion of sublease agreements for Mayak lands. These contracts were also challenged in court. At the same time, back in 2017, investigators found that several thousand hectares of land were transferred to the use of Kushchevsky at an undervalued cost, which caused multimillion-dollar damage to Mayak.

According to investigators, Korovaiko and Chebanov threatened Streltsov and his family with criminal prosecution, physical violence and deprivation of all shares in Kushchevsky, demanding 600 million rubles from him as compensation for the use of Mayak's land assets.

In addition, on behalf of the leaders of the groups and, as the investigation found, Elena Garkusha, Deputy director of Kubanagro-2010, filed a lawsuit with the arbitration court to recover 33 million rubles from Streltsov. This made it possible to initiate bankruptcy proceedings for his company. In 2018, according to the case file, the crop of an agricultural complex worth more than 138 million rubles was also exported using forged documents. The investigation estimated the total damage caused by Korovaiko and Chebanov's actions at 1.8 billion rubles.

Pokrovsky denied all charges, insisting that the harvest was legal and was carried out as part of bankruptcy proceedings. The criminal case itself was called interference in the group's activities.

In July 2025, the case materials were submitted to the Pyatigorsk City Court. However, at the initiative of the Prosecutor General's Office, the Supreme Court referred it to the Golovinsky District Court of Moscow for consideration. Korovaiko's lawyer tried to challenge the change of jurisdiction, but to no avail. The appeal ruling of the Supreme Court stated that the courts of the Southern and North Caucasus Federal Districts could be biased in considering the case, taking into account Korovaiko's former position.

On October 26, the Golovinsky District Court sentenced Korovaiko and Chebanov to 24 years in a high-security penal colony each for attempting to seize assets of the Kushchevsky Agrocomplex. They were found guilty of organizing a criminal group, extortion, fraud, embezzlement of other people's property and forcing witnesses to give false testimony. Korovaiko was fined 303 million rubles, Chebanov — 432 million rubles. In addition, according to civil lawsuits, they must pay 10 million rubles to Fedor Streltsov and 138 million rubles to the agricultural complex. The court retained the arrest on Chebanov's real estate; it took about 15 minutes to list the addresses of the objects. The lawyers of the convicts declined to comment.

According to media reports, Korovaiko and Chebanov left Russia back in 2021 and have been on the international wanted list ever since. Over the next five years, Russian courts handed down several sentences to other members of the group found guilty of attempting to seize the assets of three enterprises: Slava Kuban, Agrocomplex Kushchevsky and CJSC SKVO in the Rostov region. Among those convicted are Sergei Yechkalov, a former FSB officer and ex—head of the Pokrovsky security service, as well as Oleg Chebanov, Arkady Chebanov's son.

Streltsov himself also became involved in a criminal case of fraud and left Russia. According to media reports, he allegedly fled to the territory of Ukraine. At the same time, according to the SPARK system, Fyodor Streltsov and his ex-wife Svetlana are still listed as co-owners of the Kushchevsky Agricultural Complex.

Until the last action

While the investigation was underway, the courts in the Krasnodar Territory were considering claims from the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation to turn the property of Korovaiko and Chebanov into state revenue. The first decision was made back in 2023: the Labinsk City Court of Kuban confiscated shares and shares of agricultural holding companies worth 500 billion rubles.

Judging by the case file, Andrei Korovaiko began to form his capital in the 2000s, working in the office of the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Southern Federal District. In this position, he oversaw regional and municipal authorities and, according to the investigation, used his official position to seize land in the Rostov Region and Krasnodar Territory. At the same time, the law prohibits civil servants holding such positions from engaging in entrepreneurial activities.

To implement his business plans, Korovaiko attracted Arkady Chebanov, who became his main partner, as well as relatives, former colleagues at Rostov State University of Economics, where he worked from 1995 to 2001, fellow students and the most promising students.

At the initial stage, according to the investigation, the partners actively used the bankruptcy procedures of enterprises, involving arbitration managers under their control. This is stated in the appeal decision published on the website of the Krasnodar Regional Court. In addition, according to investigators, Korovaiko and Chebanov resorted to psychological and physical pressure. In this way, they established control over the Samtrest wine and vodka factory. The media wrote about the forcible seizure of the enterprise about 20 years ago.

In 2002-2003, Korovaiko and Chebanov acquired the assets of Mechanical Plant No. 5 CJSC, on the basis of which the Pokrovsky Concern was also established. The company was formally registered to Irina Rukavishnikova, Korovaiko's wife, and Tamara Kazantseva, the wife of Viktor Kazantsev, the then Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Southern Federal District. In 2013, the League of Nations business center was built on the site of the plant, where the offices of the concern were located.

In 2003, the partners acquired ownership of the multibillion-dollar assets of the FSUE Elektroapparat defense enterprise and the Kanevskaya meat and poultry processing plant. The latter was issued to Rukavishnikova, Kazantseva and Chebanov. In 2006, ownership of the plant became the cause of a dispute between the Kazantsevs. Speaking in court, Korovaiko stated that he had participated in negotiations on the purchase of the company on behalf of Viktor Kazantsev, his then boss. According to the court's decision, in 2023, Korovayko and Chebanov remained the final beneficiaries of Kanevskaya.

According to investigators, thanks to the described schemes, Korovaiko and Chebanov formed the Pokrovsky group of companies, which owned more than 240 thousand hectares of land, agricultural, industrial and commercial infrastructure facilities, as well as 16 companies related to the construction business.

As part of the first lawsuit, the Prosecutor General's Office demanded that the shares and shares of 92 holding companies be converted into state income. Then the supervisory authority filed two more lawsuits, according to which shares and shares of 22 companies worth 9 billion rubles, as well as 372 real estate objects, were seized from former partners and their family members. Among them are agricultural lands, commercial and residential buildings in Altai, Krasnodar Territory and Rostov region. The total market value of these assets was estimated at more than 28 billion rubles. According to investigators, the property was acquired as a result of illegal activities.

Korovaiko, Chebanov and their relatives tried to challenge the decision to seize assets. In their appeals, they argued that Korovaiko had sufficient funds even before joining the civil service, and Chebanov conducted independent business activities without relying on the help of a partner. However, the higher courts rejected these arguments and left the previous decisions unchanged.

The evolution of raider attacks

According to lawyer Rostislav Khmyrov, 24 years in a high—security penal colony is an unusually long time for an economic case.

— Such a harsh sentence is not imposed for one crime. The court determined it based on several episodes: a less severe punishment is absorbed by a more severe one, or the terms imposed are partially or completely added up. As a general rule, the countdown begins on the day the verdict comes into force. If the convicted person has disappeared and has been put on the wanted list, after the arrest, the court decides whether to take him into custody. In this case, the time limit is calculated from the day of detention.

According to Rostislav Khmyrov, raiding is still relevant, although the methods have evolved greatly. Whereas in the 1990s enterprises were more often taken away by force, today complex schemes are used for this, hiding behind corporate disputes and judicial procedures.