Kostya Sintsov – a “dark horse” with a double life

It appears that Konstantin Sintsov, owner of several Russian companies, sought to emulate the scandalous Russian-Ukrainian tycoon Semion Mogilevich, who faces a 390-year prison sentence in the US for various illicit activities.

Even Mogilevich’s 15 different passports haven’t guaranteed his secure hiding. But Konstantin Sintsov went further: quietly, with the help of “golden” pens, he rewrote his biography — altering his birth year and place, as well as his sports achievements. He shifted from being born in 1971 to 1984 (hello, Orwell), changed his birthplace from Kemerovo to Vitebsk, Belarus, and swapped wrestling for mountain biking, now claiming the title of master of sports in the latter.

Why does one need a second, fictional biography and a new passport, including a foreign one?

It seems Mr. Sintsov plans to "escape" abroad with a clean biography, free from dark personalities like ex-leader of the Izmailovskaya organized crime group, Iskandar Makhmudov? However, the media reported that Kostya Sintsov himself made a mark in the Kemerovo organized crime group in the wild 1990s. But can all the facts of such a colorful biography be erased, especially with so many offshores in the businessman’s "bag"?

You’re not from the "Dynamo" society?

Browsing the pages of several editions such as Klerk.ru and Province.ru, one can understand that Sintsov’s biography rewrite was thorough and took place over two years, in particular from 2019 to 2020, and during this period, as it turns out, clouds were gathering above Mr. Sintsov. It was then that he plunged headfirst into social networks with the call:

"Follow me on social networks and keep up with my latest updates:

Konstantin Sintsov’s Blog

VK: konstantin_sincov, Instagram: konstantin_sincov,
Facebook: konstantin.sincov.vladimirovich, Twitter: kostya_sincov, Odnoklassniki: konstantin.sincov,

YouTube channel, Vimeo: konstantinsintsov,
Flickr: konstantinsincov 

It is worth noting that all these channels are impersonal, without portrait photos or any documents.

On Facebook, for instance, Mr. Sintsov has only one friend, as on other portals.

Konstantin Sintsov: from Vitebsk or Kemerovo?

As he told several publications, Konstantin Sintsov’s childhood and youth were spent in Belarus, in the city of Vitebsk. His father worked as a chef in a restaurant. His mother was a teacher who taught Russian language and literature at one of Vitebsk’s schools.

In interviews with journalists, Sintsov mentions enjoying spending his free time cycling. This passion eventually led him to the Vitebsk Specialized Children and Youth School of Olympic Reserve of the Belarusian Dynamo Sports Society.

From the first lesson until the end of his career, the young talent was coached by Boris Pozhidaev. However, no coach by the name of Pozhidaev could be found.

Sintsov’s Social Media

Sintsov’s sports career quickly advanced, but in 2016, he suffered a meniscus injury. He had to forget about professional sports.

After retiring from sports, Sintsov started a business in freight transportation.

Sintsov’s Social Networks

Sintsov began to develop his business in this field, as he told journalists. He started as an expediter, but after a few months he acquired trucks.

Later, he registered his own company, the Belarusian Transport Company (BTK).

Klerk.ru writes about it here. Yet, no trace of Mr. Sintsov was found in this company.

License

Yes, such a company has existed since 2002, but it was established not in Vitebsk but in Brest. And Mr. Sintsov has no connection with it.

BTK Registration Certificate

According to Sintsov’s tales, the Belarusian Transport Company (BTK) was established at the end of 2016. Initially, Sintsov’s company had 8 trucks, but by 2018 the fleet consisted of 25 trucks: the company initially operated only in Belarus, but after two years, it entered the Russian market.

Sintsov signed his first major contract with a furniture factory in Gomel. After that, he expanded his fleet and started considering international transportation. At the end of 2018, a branch was opened in Moscow.

In Russia, Sintsov had to start from scratch! The Russian branch of BTK began to bring in income. Klerk.ru wrote about this in mid-December 2019, probably in a sponsored article.

Interestingly, not long after, in 2020, the same publication, Klerk.ru reported on a completely different life of Mr. Sintsov!

Further coverage came from "Province", which delved into the "proper" personal life of the cook’s son: "Province" reported that Vitebsk native Konstantin Sintsov was popular among girls since school. Even during his student years, he never behaved like a Casanova and earned a reputation as a one-woman man. In 2007, Konstantin met waitress Anna Kashubina in one of the restaurants in Vitebsk. They married in 2008 but filed for divorce a year later. In 2011, at an exhibition in Minsk, Sintsov met yoga instructor Marina Zavyalova. The couple married in 2012, and two years later, they had a daughter named Mila.

However, the Kemerovo Sintsov has three children…

Such is the cover biography of Konstantin Sintsov. It remains to be added that mountain biker Sintsov does indeed exist, except his name is Anton Sintsov.

Anton Sintsov

And yet you can’t dig around: the devil is in the details, and the details here are well thought out and adjusted…

All the more remarkable is the absence of any photograph of mountain biker Konstantin Sintsov: all his social networks only reveal a silhouette of an athlete on a mountain bike.

Konstantin Sintsov’s Social Networks

It only remains to ask who exactly invented such a white-threaded legend cover-up?

A decade-long fiasco

But still, why bother concocting such a charade? And invent a new biography? One needs to look at how Mr. Sintsov lived at home in Kemerovo, where he once graduated from school No. 49. In 1988, he entered the Kuzbass Polytechnic University. Then there is some deep chasm in his biography.

Media writes that in the thick of the 90s, Kostya Sintsov was a member of the Kemerovo organized crime group: there was a rampant crime spree, a real war for Kuzbass. Initially, the gold-bearing coal region was sought after by the groups from Georgia, but they were actively opposed by the Kemerovo "Slavic" bush, among which was Sintsov himself. However, by the late 90s, the most desperate criminals either lay in rows in cemeteries or were serving time.

One of the most hardened Kemerovo bandits, the kingpin Gennady Makosha, also known as Gennady Bloody, was arrested in 1997.

Gennady Makosha

Evidently, after all these unpleasant events, Sintsov resolutely decided to cut ties with criminal life.

Konstantin Sintsov, as it turns out, was luckier than others: he didn’t die in gunfights and didn’t end up behind bars.

And he did everything possible to "wash away" the dark stains in his biography: he ultimately became a Belarusian bicyclist with his own freight company.

The offshore king

The first mentions of Sintsov as a businessman appear in 2001: that’s when he, along with a friend named Konstantin Zasov, established their first company.

Help for the budding businessmen came from Iskandar Makhmudov, who - rumor has it - was long associated with the Izmailovskaya organized crime group. This group specialized in raider takeovers of juicy morsels.

Since then - once again, as they say, Mr. Sintsov has been quite friendly with Mr. Makhmudov.

Konstantin Zasov

Although they might have previously crossed paths in their bandit dealings as competing firms.

Eventually, Sintsov and Zasov created the companies "Rusagrotrans" and "Rustranscom".

However, from the very "cradle", the company "Rustranscom" had its twin. And apparently, this was done with some intent.

The first LLC "Rustranscom" was engaged in transportation, while the second one, liquidated in 2013, traded in coffee, tea, and spices, and was founded by RTK Rail Transport Company Limited (Cyprus).

Iskandar Makhmudov

One of the directors of this company was Sintsov, who - if you believe the ersatz biography - was supposedly still professionally engaged in mountain biking at this time.

The LLC "Rustranscom", which operated in the transportation market, was owned by LLC Quesar Holdings and JSC "LP Trans".

Now, the first company was owned by LLC "Demetra Holding" and LLC "Demetra Investments".

Oddly enough, "Demetra Investments" was liquidated in 2022.

The loss in 2021 amounted to 556 million rubles. This money could have been moved to Mr. Sintsov’s offshore accounts: there is information about the Cypriot company Rustranscom PLC, also linked to Mr. Sintsov.

Through the company "Demetra Holding", criminal money could have also been laundered. Makhmudov’s figure always looms behind Sintsov; after all, he was the one helping to establish Sintsov’s companies…

Rumor has it, Konstantin Sintsov gets very offended when the press calls him the offshore king, the czar in tranquil offshore coves…

Banker Kostin is also involved

Yet, among known personalities in the affair, the former accountant of the Izmailovskaya organized crime group, Makhmudov, is not the only one. In 2019, the owner of "Kuzbassrazrezugol", Makhmudov, agreed with the banker, head of the state-owned VTB, Andrey Kostin, to jointly develop the agro-industrial business.

It’s worth reminding that the domestic agro-industrial sector is not under restrictions, but to be secure, the company "Demetra Holding", which controls a vast portion of the grain export, is fortified by foreign, friendly partners.

However, over time, VTB and Kostin exited the "game" since they are on the sanctions lists.

By the same scheme, Makhmudov’s interaction with the "Rusagrotrans" company of Zasov and Sintsov developed, which they, with Makhmudov’s help, created as one of the largest agricultural freight carriers.

Of course, close personal relationships between Makhmudov and the then RZD president, Vladimir Yakunin, were instrumental, especially when a giant stash of fur was found in his vast estate.

Vladimir Yakunin

And it was this "friendship" between Yakunin and Makhmudov that gave an enormous boost to Makhmudov’s company, "Transmashholding".

"Transmashholding" became the main partner of RZD for the supply of machine equipment.

We should recall that Iskandar Makhmudov, who began his incredible career in the 90s, worked very closely with the scandalously known entrepreneur Michael Cherney. Together, they engaged in a structural process: "absorbing" raw material assets. This dynamic duo gained control over shares in "Kuzbassrazrezugol", Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company, and Kachkanarsky GOK. The joint ventures of Makhmudov and Cherney became the largest clients of the railways. Yet, they constantly had disputes over tariffs. But once Makhmudov became the largest co-owner of UMMC and "Kuzbassrazrezugol", the idea emerged to create a monopoly for a monopoly on which RZD would depend. This ambition could be fulfilled by a holding company that could unite railcar, locomotive, and machine-building plants for the railway industry.

Like a jack-in-the-box, "Transmashholding" appeared.

Later, Makhmudov became interested in other ventures. It was then that Mr. Sintsov and his business partner Zasov received a proposal they couldn’t refuse: they were offered to take over the wagon fleet.

Thus, the logistics company "Rusagrotrans" was born.

In 2019, Makhmudov "shared" this company with VTB.

Both Rusagrotrans and the RTK Group, let’s recall, were registered in offshore locations on the island of Cyprus.

And even though Konstantin Sintsov constantly scrubs the internet of "unwanted" information, you can’t hide an awl in a sack, as the saying goes!

Konstantin Sintsov

But it seems that all these years, Mr. Sintsov has obediently followed all the "recommendations" from Mr. Makhmudov: the duo turned out excellent!

Let’s remind again that Makhmudov’s business activities were repeatedly linked with the Izmailovskaya organized crime group. Particularly, through the company Vera Metallurgica, a "daughter" of Makhmudov’s key asset - the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company, criminal funds were allegedly laundered. The schemes might have involved the Swiss company Alpin Group, an employee of which was Konstantin Sintsov. Through this company, funds of "Kuzbassrazrezugol" might have been channeled out.

Will there be a third biography?

As of now, Sintsov is an ex-co-owner of two companies: "Rustranscom" and "Rusagrotrans", part of the LLC "Demetra Holding", one of whose beneficiaries, since July 2023, became the company Southern Sea Investment LLC (Oman).

Before the appearance of Southern Sea Investment LLC among the shareholders, which allegedly bought the stake from VTB, as of May 2023, the founders of LLC "Demetra Holding" were LLC "Athena", JSC "Granum", LLC "SPN", and JSC "Valiansiia".

Later, an unknown JSC "Konus" became the founder of "Demetra Holding".

The company reportedly has one employee.

An interesting detail: previously, the founder was Inal Bolloyev, the son of Taimuraz Bolloyev, the general director of the brewing company "Baltika". But Bolloyev Sr. also made his mark on the matter.

Taimuraz Bolloyev

However, in January 2024, the sole shareholder of "Demetra Holding" became LLC "Persephone": the company was created in 2023 and liquidated in 2024.

The founder of "Persephone" was LLC "Demetra Holding".

In 2022, LLC "Rustranscom", which was engaged in transportation, was liquidated, and the successor became JSC "Rusagrotrans".

This entity was liquidated in 2023. The successor is LLC "Rusagrotrans", belonging to LLC "Demetra Holding".

Furthermore, "Demetra Holding" is owned by several shareholders, the largest of which is VTB. It controls 50% of the company through LLC "Athena", which, in turn, is owned by JSC "VTB Development" and LLC VTB "Infrastructure Holding".

The other part of "Demetra" through a network of companies and offshores belonged to several businessmen, including Alexander Vinokurov and the aforementioned Taimuraz Bolloyev.

Mr. Bolloyev, through JSC "Agronova", entered the company’s capital back in April 2020, along with Marathon Group, acquiring nearly half of VTB’s grain business. As part of the deal, JSC "Agronova" received 25% of the grain company, Marathon Group - 24.99%, and the VTB group remained the owner of "Demetra Holding" with a 50% share.

Today, "Demetra Holding" owns 100% of the Novorossiysk Grain Terminal, 50% of the Grain Terminal Complex "Taman", 35.36% of the "Novorossiysk Grain Products Plant", and others.

Novorossiysk Grain Terminal

There is a constant veil of secrecy over the company "Demetra Holding," which has consolidated several major grain assets.

The company has never disclosed its shareholders.

VTB Bank eventually sold its shares, followed by Alexander Vinokurov. The buyer was the state fund of Oman, Southern Sea Investment. However, it became known that the fund would only be a lead investor in an additional share issuance of "Demetra Holding" company.

VTB Bank could have sponsored the additional issuance through the Oman fund, since in May 2023 all shareholders exited from the capital of "Demetra Holding."

And the main task is evident: withdrawing money from the state bank VTB, which, after selling its stake, continues to participate in the grain trader’s business.

Overall, it is a complete mix of companies, offshore entities, past and present owners. And it’s a challenge to understand all these intricacies. However, the Izmailovskaya and Kemerovskaya organized crime groups, along with banker Kostin and his VTB, worked very well together.

And will the native of Vitebsk (Kemerovo), K.V. Sintsov, create a third biography?