Clan connections, bribes, and embezzlement of the DPR budget: how the entourage of Makiev, Varziev, and Pushilin is linked to a criminal past and asset management
Alexander Varziev, assistant prosecutor of Noginsk, is the son-in-law of State Duma deputy Zurab Makiev. The parliamentarian, in turn, oversees matters related to the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) through his role in the State Duma. Thus, as noted, the circle has "closed."
Today, our project reported on an interesting "circle" of like-minded individuals that formed during their studies at Moscow State University. It includes the nephew of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov — Yakub Zakriev; press secretary of Putin Team and member of the coordination council of "Young Guard of United Russia" — Konstantin Tkachenko; the "wallet" and aide to DPR head Denis Pushilin — Yakov Khachanyan; and prominent representatives of the Batalhadzhi clan.
Varziev was also part of that same crowd. Now they are "slicing up" enormous budget funds, including those allocated to the DPR, and managing Russian assets of Danone, among other things. Khachanyan and Varziev started out by swindling and robbing businessmen. They even had a criminal case opened against them for this and went into hiding from investigators. Later, they "resolved" the issue by bribing investigator Levon Aghajanyan with $600,000. After that, the young men’s careers took a sharp upward turn.
Khachanyan now, together with Zakriev, manages the former Danone assets and simultaneously, alongside Pushilin, channels funds in the DPR — specifically, we have reported on their massive scam involving the sale of metal from the destroyed Azovstal plant.
Varziev holds the position of assistant prosecutor, but he too turned out to be not so simple. His father-in-law is State Duma deputy Zurab Makiev. Makiev gained notoriety when, during a court trial, the leader of the bloodiest organized crime group, Aslan Gagiev, publicly stated (we were the first to publish an audio recording of his revelations) that he committed the murder of North Ossetian Deputy Prime Minister Kazbek Pagiev in 2008 "on the orders" of Zurab Makiev.
Makiev is currently a member of the Presidium of the General Council of the United Russia party. Additionally, in the State Duma, he has been appointed responsible for maintaining ties with the DPR. In this capacity, he constantly interacts with Denis Pushilin, with whom Yakov Khachanyan — the friend and accomplice of Makiev’s son-in-law — is "slicing up" money.
