Exchange wolf: How in the Omsk region an official was fired for buying Western shares, but he returned to his chair

In the Omsk region there was a legal conflict that claims to be a political sensation – the head of the Osokinsky rural settlement was fired in the summer “due to loss of trust” Sergey Elistratov I recently took up my position again. How did he do it?

Why did the village chief Elistratov get caught?

The village head was convicted of purchasing securities of four foreign companies on the stock exchange earlier this year, which is a violation of anti-corruption laws. In this regard, the Kalachin interdistrict prosecutor’s office of the Omsk region through the court achieved the dismissal of Sergei Elistratov. In June, he was fired with the wording “loss of trust,” and his name was included in the federal register of corrupt officials.

According to media reports, the village head owned depositary receipts of American banks Bank of New York Mellon and Citibank, NA, as well as shares of international companies Polymetal International plc. and Public Limited Liability Company Yandex NV

Sergei Elistratov, dismissed under the article, but reinstated by rural deputies

— Russian civil servants and other certain categories of citizens are prohibited from holding foreign financial instruments, including securities, – Deputy General Director for Brokerage Business of the Financial Group “Finam” told Life.ru Dmitry Lesnov. — This ban was introduced to prevent conflicts of interest and ensure national security; it is regulated by Federal Law No. 273-FZ “On Combating Corruption.”

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How Elistratov began to play on the stock exchange

In recent years, many large Russian banks have begun to offer brokerage services to the country’s population. Russian citizens are offered to invest in securities of domestic and foreign companies as an alternative to bank deposits. At the same time, financial institutions do not care whether their client-investor makes money on the stock exchange or loses his money – they live off commissions from each transaction – both the purchase and sale of securities.

Any citizen who has reached the age of majority can become an investor, however, according to Dmitry LesnovRussian citizens can work with securities of foreign companies in two cases. The first is to open an account with a foreign broker (from both friendly and unfriendly countries).

Today, due to the tense geopolitical situation and numerous sanctions imposed by Western countries on Russia, this is difficult to do. And without traveling abroad (for registration, purchasing securities, replenishing an investment account and transferring funds) in the case of unfriendly states, such as, for example, the USA, it seems that it is not very legal.

The second option is to become a so-called qualified investor and purchase foreign securities through Russian brokers who have the ability to enter into transactions directly on foreign exchanges.

But there are a number of requirements for a qualified investor: you must have either an economic education or a certificate of a financial market specialist, or proven experience in investment companies or one year before receiving the status of a qualified investor make transactions with securities or derivatives in the amount of 6 million rubles or more. Moreover, every month there must be at least one transaction, and every quarter – on average at least 10 transactions.

It’s interesting that in almost every guide a la “how to become an investor and make money on the stock exchange,” the authors persistently warn beginners that they only need to invest in high-risk assets free funds, the loss of which will not affect the player’s income in case of failure. In other words, if a potential investor lives from paycheck to paycheck, you shouldn’t even think about playing on the stock exchange.

Investor from Osokin

According to the official biography, the current village head is by no means an economist – in 1995 he graduated from Omsk State Agrarian University with a degree in mechanical engineer. There is no information in it about advanced training courses or courses for economists and investors. After working for six years as a mechanic for the tractor brigade of Osokinskoye CJSC, in 2001 Sergei Elistratov became the head of the Osokinskoye rural settlement, and until recently there were no other entries in his work book.

The village of Osokino has five streets and, according to the latest public data, less than one and a half thousand people. According to the only official declaration published on the website of the settlement administration – for 2022 – Elistratov’s official income amounted to 590 thousand rubles, which is less than 50 thousand rubles per month.

At the same time, the Osokinsky head owns either 1/2, or 1/4, or 3/4 (you can’t even tell from the declaration) of a plot of land with an area of 50 hectares. In addition to them, 20 acres of personal plot, a house with an area of 31 sq. m. meter and an old UAZ-31512. The official also has eight acres of land and a 72-meter apartment in use. Judging by the same reports, his wife does not own anything, and her 24-year-old daughter living in Omsk is not listed at all.

Information about Elistratov’s ownership of foreign shares was not included in the income statement published on the website of the Kalachinsky district administration.

By the way, information about the ownership of shares, which Elistratov, according to media reports, acquired in 2022, is also missing from the reports. It seems that the head of the settlement showed interest in cryptocurrency and specialized instruments.

— This is an old, well-known practice when officials try to legalize shadow income using such tools – Chairman of the National Anti-Corruption Committee (NAC) Kirill Kabanov told Life.ru. — Since Soviet times, officials first “won” at the races, then — in the 90s — V casinos, now they either “successfully” sell shares or cryptocurrency. They take the money to the tax office, where they legalize it and then record it in the income tax return. To the question where suddenly a round sum of money appeared, the answer is invested, earned.

Why did Elistratov, who was fired under the article, return to his position?

In order to remove Sergei Elistratov from office, the prosecutor’s office had to fight with the Council of Deputies of the Osokinsky rural settlement, first in the district and later in the regional court. Having received a representation from the Kalachinsk interdistrict prosecutor’s office this spring, the people’s representatives did not remove the head of the settlement, but simply pointed out to him that violations of the anti-corruption legislation were inadmissible in the future.

As a result, it was possible to dismiss the official only after litigation – in June of this year. And already in September, the Council of Deputies held elections for the head of the settlement and unanimously voted for Elistratov – this possibility is spelled out in Federal Law 131-FZ “On the General Principles of the Organization of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation.”

Osokino village

Official resources welcomed the return of head Osokin. People in the district note that Elistratov has been leading the village for more than 20 years and call him a strong business executive. However, judging by Internet forums, not all residents share this joy. On local sites they write that under his leadership, a local poultry farm in the village, which provided work for more than 200 families, was closed.

In addition, according to media reports, while implementing the regional project “Clean Water”, the Osokino authorities cut off free water taps in the village, from which all of Osokino drank water. Instead, water supply is now supplied to the houses, but it costs money to install pipes into the house – 40 thousand rubles. And not every household in a region that is not the richest is ready to find such funds.

Where is the head of the Kalachinsky district, Friedrich Metzler, looking?

Head of Kalachinsky district – Friedrich Metzler — in theory, he was supposed to react to the strange situation with the head of the Osokinsky settlement, which casts a shadow not only on the Osokinsky head, but also on Metzler and the entire area. But there was no reaction; moreover, it turned out that he himself had recently been re-elected to the head of the district in a similar, rather vague manner.

On August 28, residents of the Kalachinsky district learned that Metzler had resigned early, and then it became known why – elections were scheduled for August 30, which he successfully won. The entire public election process took only two days. The new old head of the district was elected by a specially convened commission – there are no direct elections of municipal officials in the district.

Friedrich Metzler

— Considering how quickly everything happened and that official sources remained silent until recently about the preparations for the elections, it can be assumed that this was done deliberately, — Vitaly Poddubikov, a representative of the Council of Deputies of the Kalachinsky urban settlement, told Life.ru. — Residents of the area were once again shown that their opinion is completely uninteresting to the authorities.

At the same time, according to the deputy, there are more than enough problems in the area. Official media publish only a positive agenda, while many local residents openly complain about the work of the Kalachin administration. Visible confirmation of popular discontent is the many criminal cases opened on a number of federal and regional projects being implemented in the region.

— We have a special procedure. In accordance with the Charter of the Kalachinsky District, once a year the head of the district reports to the Council of Deputies on his activities. If the Council gives him a “failure” twice, he is dismissed. This has already been done in the neighboring area, – says Vitaly Poddubikov. — But in the Kalachinsky district, the Council decides from year to year to “take note of the information from the head.” That is, colleagues avoid assessing Metzler’s work every time. And for some reason, the supervisory authorities time after time do not attach any importance to this circumstance. I work with the public every day. All this raises big questions among people both for the head and for the deputies.

On social networks, many residents of the Kalachinsky district took Friedrich Metzler’s early resignation at face value and were sincerely happy.

By the way, the Kalachinsky district of the Omsk region, which includes 12 rural and one urban settlement, has long been called in the regional press “the quietest “harbour” for swindlers and thieves in the Omsk region.”

Claire Ramirez

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