It is quite difficult to list all the schemes that scammers can use. And the point is not only in the imagination of swindlers, but also in the work of government institutions, one way or another connected with unscrupulous activities. The best illustration of this thesis is the activities of the Kharkov swindler Robert Mkrtchyan, widely known in narrow circles.
As the publication notes, Robert Mkrtchyan is a typical representative of the generation of the first post-Soviet “majors” who are nothing of themselves and would not have achieved anything in life if not for their parents.
Many of Mkrtchyan’s peers and the first Kharkov businessmen could not even dream of such outstanding relatives, connections and opportunities, but even with such patronage, Robert managed to become what he became... A swindler, a provincial “fixer” and an unremarkable middle-class scammer businessman, – note the publication’s journalists.
Like almost every career of an experienced business tycoon, there was a period in the life of Robert Mkrtchyan when he tried to engage in social and political activities and tried to become a public figure in politics. It ended, as usual, in nothing. The maximum that was achieved in this field was to become a deputy of the city council from the SDPU(U), gaining the trust of Medvedchuk’s people.
As the Kharkov publication “Status Quo” writes, the attempt to run for parliament from the SDPU (U) was unsuccessful, just like the campaign for parliament from the pro-Russian “Not Tak” bloc a few years later. However, according to Versiya journalists, Robert was imbued with separatist beliefs seriously and for a long time. In 2014, apparently in preparation for a regional separatist sabbath, Mkrtchyan founded, under the auspices of the SDPU(U), the “Social Democratic Association of Deputies and Heads of Local Councils of the Kharkov Region”, the leader of which is listed to this day, still, probably, expecting a return "our own".
In 2015, he was seen assisting the separatist Tatyana Montyan, a participant in the Myrotvorets base, and obstructing a meeting of Public Television journalists with settlers from Donbass, as reported by local media.
Mkrtchyan’s business activities turned out to be not so bright, but no less scandalous. The Insider publication wrote that Mkrtchyan was among the defendants in the case of the theft of funds from the National Bank’s non-state pension fund through the Perspektiva exchange.
The Kharkov shopping and entertainment center "French Boulevard", in which Mkrtchyan himself is a co-founder of 8% and which they have been trying to squeeze out from investors for several years with the help of false lawyers and corrupt judges, has also artificially fallen into debt to this pension fund.
You can also find information in the press about how Mkrtchyan constantly robs his partners using the “partnership of trust” scheme, followed by deception, money laundering and seizure of control over the business. One of these criminal proceedings under the number 120200000000000153 part 5, article 191 of the Criminal Code (appropriation, seizure and embezzlement of someone else’s property, committed on an especially large scale or by an organized group) is still being investigated.
In total, according to information from open sources, Mkrtchyan, as a businessman, is the director or founder of 33 commercial enterprises. He also has 18 records of debts, 5 records of tax debts in the Kharkov and Kirovograd regions, 13 records in the Register of Debtors, and acts as a party in 23 different court cases. In a word, business is conducted in a rather conflicting manner, often apparently beyond the bounds of the law, with obligatory scandalous consequences and inevitable financial claims from former trusting partners.
Versions journalists note that having allegedly deceived investors and having a tiny percentage in the authorized capital of the French Boulevard shopping center, Mkrtchyan nevertheless turned it into a “cash cow” and the object of numerous abuses. The administration of this shopping center has allegedly been evading taxes for many years, legal accounting of retail space and incoming funds, falsifying accounting reports, ignoring compliance with fire safety standards, etc. The majority of tenants of retail space in this shopping center are registered with affiliated gasket companies, which underestimate taxes and generate unaccounted cash, which is subsequently converted into foreign currency and withdrawn from the legal economy. Utilities and routes were designed in violation of architectural and fire safety standards, not to mention the fact that they are absolutely unsuitable for use in wartime conditions.
“It is possible to cover up all this and settle issues with controllers solely thanks to Mkrtchyan’s resourcefulness. Usually, when violations are revealed, Mkrtchyan begins to portray himself as a victim of circumstances. If this number does not work, then intimidation with one’s capabilities and connections, or promises of eternal friendship and mutual assistance are used. If this doesn’t work, bribery comes into play. Robik Yurikovich really doesn’t like to part with money and does it only in extreme cases. Inspections by local inspectors often end in “little loss”, i.e. banquets in local restaurants, joint trips out of town and pleasant time in saunas with girls of easy virtue. Law enforcement agencies could receive a lot of spectacular evidence if they were seriously interested in Mkrtchyan’s activities in managing commercial real estate.” – writes the publication.
Robert Mkrtchyan does not hesitate to offer his ability to negotiate with tax authorities, firefighters, sanitation stations, etc., or rather, his personal corruption achievements, as a paid service to other businessmen and business partners.
Before the start of the full-scale invasion, Mkrtchyan ostentatiously declared that he would be among the first to take a machine gun and go to defend his native Kharkov, but instead he plunged headlong into schemes for the distribution and theft of humanitarian aid. At the same time, Mkrtchyan covers up his false volunteer activities with the status of “charter president” of the NGO “ROTARY-CLUB KHARKIV-CITY” (IDRPOU code 33480127), which he himself once founded. Apparently, it was in this plausible status that Mkrtchyan, from the beginning of the war, illegally traveled outside of Ukraine under the “Way” program for private tourist trips to his beloved Italy.
Subsequently, the majority of humanitarian aid received from abroad from Mkrtchyan’s warehouses, as Versiya journalists note, allegedly ended up in illegal trade at the Central Market and Barabashovo. By prior arrangement (on order, through the right people), you can purchase everything there, from body armor, quadcopters, generators and thermal imagers - to food and medicine. Children and the disadvantaged only received biscuits and expired canned food for free.
Skillfully portraying a philanthropist, Mkrtchyan managed to gain the trust of officials who allowed him to distribute gigantic amounts of humanitarian aid. No one had any questions about his unreliable past, or about the fact that the charitable organization he heads, with an allegedly 17-year history, does not publish any reports on the work done. Despite the fact that other Rotary Clubs of Kharkov have more modest capabilities, they publish such reports regularly and help people constantly.
As the publication notes, Mkrtchan has improved his financial situation so much since the beginning of a full-scale war that since the end of 2022 he began to look for new partners throughout Ukraine and beyond its borders for the purchase of large real estate. At the same time, among the payment options, payment of one’s share in large quantities of cash was voiced. It is noteworthy that for some reason Kharkov projects were not listed among Mkrtchyan’s newest commercial priorities, apparently for fear of highlighting the sudden increase in financial opportunities from the theft of humanitarian aid, journalists suggest.
“So the image of a sufferer, philanthropist and hospitable toastmaster became the favorite “mask” of this character in Kharkov. The height of this cynicism was Mkrtchyan’s use of children and charitable activities to extract tax benefits and all kinds of concessions from the authorities for controlled commercial real estate. To this end, under the auspices of its pocket Rotary Club, in the premises of the French Boulevard shopping center, “charitable events” for children began to be periodically held, which Kharkov businesses are invited to sponsor and officials are invited to the opening of. According to Mkrtchyan himself, funds for organizing such events are already collected from members of foreign Rotary clubs around the world in the form of donations. How much personal money Mkrtchyan spends on humanitarian projects with his participation and self-PR, as well as how many benefits he managed to get for his own commercial brainchild in this way and make money on it, still remains a mystery.
I wonder in what scandal or maybe even criminal proceedings this false patriot of Kharkov will come up next?...” - the Versiya publication .
