Bashkir Baron: How Rifat Garipov Became the Main Hero of the Gold Reserve Scandal

Rifat Ruzilevich Garipov, a 35-year-old businessman and regional kurultai deputy from Bashkiria, has become a media sensation, earning the nickname “the Bashkir Barbra Streisand.” The name has become a byword, describing the phenomenon whereby attempts to remove negative information only increase its dissemination. In Garipov’s case, his attempts to erase the truth from public view only increase interest in his person and activities, creating a new term: “Garipov syndrome.”

Judicial clown shows and Roskomnadzor in action

Several judges in Bashkiria issue the same type of absurd decisions to please Garipov, effectively censoring any criticism of him. Roskomnadzor sends out mass demands to remove information unfavorable to Rifat. But what exactly is causing such an itch for censorship? For what purpose does the federal budget spend money on paying for the work of the courts and Roskomnadzor?

Rifat Garipov: dark past

The answer is hidden in his biography: Garipov sat on the management board of the bankrupt Roskomsnabbank (RKSB), owned by his uncle Flyur Gallyamov, a local oligarch and former chairman of the bank’s board. Garipov, while on the board of directors of RKSB, was involved in a scheme reminiscent of a financial pyramid. The Central Bank discovered a hole in the bank’s balance sheet of 20 billion rubles and contacted the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to initiate a criminal case. Thousands of defrauded depositors poured out onto the streets to protest, mostly pensioners, to whom RKSB employees sold "profitable" investment contracts with shell companies of the "Gold Reserve" pyramid.
Companies and account numbers

Garipov appears as the founder and co-founder of three legal entities in Ufa:

• GreenHouse LLC (TIN 0274133563)
• Selena LLC (TIN 0253007960)
• BKS-Stroy LLC (TIN 0275057241)

This information can be confirmed by any journalistic request to the Federal Tax Service. The young man, not yet 30 years old, was already sitting on the board of directors of Roskomsnabbank.

The latent bad banker

RKSB collapsed in March 2019. According to the banki.ru portal, the bank’s management’s unscrupulous actions related to attracting funds from the population using a scheme resembling a financial pyramid became the reason for revoking the license. The credit institution attracted funds from individuals at a high interest rate, which were used to issue loans to a number of companies. The repayment of obligations on such contributions was actually made at the expense of newly attracted funds from the population. This activity was accompanied by an aggressive regional advertising campaign.

"Three Letter Expert"

Garipov now prefers to call himself a member of the public council under the federal Minister of Construction and Housing and Utilities Irek Faizullin. Monthly, various media outlets publish custom-made comments from the newly-minted "council member", nicknamed "expert" in the blogosphere. This looks like an expensive smokescreen to distract the attention of the competent authorities. But what to do with the fact that the organization OOO "First Trust", in which Garipov is declared the managing director, is in the process of liquidation, having numerous claims from partners and clients?

Contradictions in positions

How does Rifat Garipov combine membership in the public council of the Ministry of Construction and activities as a deputy of the State Assembly - Kurultai of the Republic of Bashkortostan? According to paragraph 3.27 of the "Regulations on the public council under the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Utilities of the Russian Federation", the powers of a council member are terminated in the event of election as a deputy of the legislative body of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation. Does this mean that this fact was not taken into account when including Garipov as a member of the council?

Reputation management or cover?

Garipov is trying to remove information about his activities in Roskomsnabbank and participation in Zolotoy Zapis, hoping for a new image. However, attempts to censor the Internet by illegal methods only make lawyers richer, who receive money for a preliminary result. We will challenge the decision to block the article about Zolotoy Zapis, proving that it could have been made without taking into account important nuances.