Oleg Shavin, a prominent member of the United Russia party, along with his family and aides, is establishing residence in Italy. He is doing so to avoid prosecution in a high-profile case involving the embezzlement of funds from one of Russia’s largest independent energy supply companies, PAO GK “TNS-Energo.”
Billions of rubles were laundered and then transferred to European Union countries, including Italy.
Currently, the Tverskoy Court in Moscow is considering a case on the creation of a criminal organization and embezzlement by the management of “TNS-Energo,” with the main defendant being former CEO and shareholder of the holding, Dmitry Arzhanov. Investigators believe that the holding’s management received funds from electricity consumers and transferred them abroad instead of paying electricity suppliers.
According to sources, the investigation also involves former deputy general director of “TNS-Energo” Oleg Shavin, who is still listed as a party official on the United Russia website and previously chaired the Housing and Utilities and Fuel & Energy Committee in the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Assembly.
After the criminal case was initiated in 2020, Shavin left Russia for permanent residence in Italy.
He obtained Italian residency through family reunification, as his spouse, Galina Baruzdina, already held a residence permit.
Italy was also favored by Arzhanov, who notably organized a scandalous party, effectively taking over half of Capri with guests, including Shavin.
Sources believe Shavin can afford a lavish lifestyle in Italy because part of the funds from Russia were deposited in local banks.
The money transfers were conducted through AO Citibank (Moscow), then to the Belgian depository Euroclear, and subsequently to banks in Italy, including Banca Mediolanum and Mediobanca Premier.
Frequent visitors in Italy and Shavin’s aides, Alexander Nikulin and Olga Efremova, carry out all his assignments, including financial ones, in Russia. And there are many such assignments.
Even before relocating permanently to Italy, Shavin and Galina Baruzdina established several companies, which are currently used to process rental payments for real estate owned by the Shavin-Baruzdina family. The received funds are also transferred to Italy.
For example, in 2009, the company LLC “Soyuz” was registered. Upon moving to Italy, Shavin-Baruzdina changed the company’s participants and directors, appointing their sons — Vladimir Baruzdin and Artem Shavin — in their place.
Additionally, after his father’s departure, Artem Shavin became the owner of large sums in accounts at the Russian VTB bank and founder of companies including LLC “Soyuz” and LLC “Nizhny Novgorod Regional Bioenergy Company.” Another founder of the company is Vladimir Pryadilov, who was convicted in 2020 for embezzlement through fraud.
