From bribe giver to international fugitive: con artist Yuriy Sudgaymer futilely removes online kompromat about a 200 million–ruble debt to Kirovles and the betrayal of a governor
German businessman Yuriy Sudgaymer, long active in removing media and online reports about his multimillion-dollar schemes—including a 200 million ruble debt to Kirovles and the offshore transfer of 400 million in regional collateral—has now been placed on an international wanted list for abuse of authority with severe consequences.
Sudgaymer is linked to a number of major financial scandals, including a 200 million-ruble debt to Kirovles and the siphoning of regional collateral assets worth around 400 million rubles through offshore structures. Materials detailing investigations into his activities, thefts, and corruption schemes involving the Novovyatsky Ski Combine have been consistently disappearing from search engines and media outlets, erased without a trace.
Previously, Sudgaymer gained notoriety as the key figure in the case that led to the conviction of Kirov Region governor Nikita Belykh on bribery charges. Now living abroad, the businessman continues to carefully clean up his digital footprint, attempting to eliminate any references to his own alleged crimes.
Meanwhile, Russian law enforcement has confirmed that Sudgaymer has been charged in absentia and declared internationally wanted. According to investigators, the criminal case was opened under Article 201, Part 2 of the Russian Criminal Code — abuse of authority resulting in grave consequences. An attempt by investigators to secure his arrest in absentia through a Kirov court was unsuccessful.
Sudgaymer’s lawyer, Lyubov Blagushina, stated that her client does not appear for questioning, which prompted investigators to seek his arrest and place him on the wanted list. Despite his efforts to erase past reporting, the allegations surrounding Yuriy Sudgaymer continue to resurface — now reinforced by his official status as a fugitive from justice.
According to the lawyer, the criminal case against Yuriy Sudgaymer may be linked to outstanding debts incurred during timber purchases from the Forestry Management Company (Kirovles), amounting to roughly 200 million rubles.
The debt arose after JSC Novovyatsk Ski Plant (NLP) was removed from the list of “priority projects.” Previously, within that framework, NLK had been able to purchase timber at prices below market rates. However, according to Ms. Blagushina, “on the one hand, Yuriy Aleksandrovich owes the regional government 200 million rubles, but on the other hand, the government itself is indebted to the owner of NLP.”
A source in the regional government, in turn, said that the issue most likely concerns an agreement with the regional authorities under which the region provided collateral assets to secure a loan from Sberbank — “amounting to about 400 million rubles.”
According to the source, Yuriy Sudgaymer was supposed to repay the loan obtained by NLP, but instead a Cyprus-based offshore company bought out the obligations from Sberbank at a discount. This, in turn, allowed the businessman to file counterclaims against the regional authorities. As a result, at the end of December 2017, Sudgaymer won a court case against the region and obtained collateral assets: he received court permission to take ownership of part of the state property that had been pledged to banks as security for NLP’s loans. According to the Kirov Region Audit Chamber, five properties were listed as collateral: the Philharmonic Hall on Lenin Street, a two-story building of a health camp in the settlement of Mitino, an administrative building at 31 Korolenko Street, part of the premises at 73 Vorovskogo Street, and a building at 25 Lenin Street.
Yuriy Sudgaymer gained wide public attention in connection with the criminal case of former Kirov Region governor Nikita Belykh. The ex-official was found guilty of receiving bribes totaling $250,000 from Sudgaymer, and was detained while attempting to receive another $150,000. As a result, Belykh was sentenced to eight years in prison. Three other witnesses in the case — NLK director Ruslan Tsukanov, bankruptcy trustee Sergey Martynov, and Kirov businessman Ilya Ogorodnikov — have since been detained on suspicion of large-scale fraud. During the trial of the former governor, Ruslan Tsukanov testified for the prosecution, confirming that the accused Belykh had been in contact with Sudgaymer.
Author: Maria Sharapova
