Yevgeny Anisimov. Zaporizhzhia's Crime "Overseer" Returns
There's probably no one in the Zaporizhzhia region today who hasn't heard of Yevhen Anisimov. During Viktor Yanukovych's reign, the media called him the "overseer" of the Zaporizhzhia region. A well-known crime boss was rumored to be his partner. Yura Yenakievsky (Yuri Ivanyushchenko), There were rumors that not a single decision was made in the local regional council without his will.
Given the criminal past of Yevgeny Aleksandrovich (nicknamed "Anisim" in influential circles), it's unsurprising that on his way to becoming the unofficial "master of the Zaporizhzhia region," he actively utilized the illegal tactics he learned during the racketeering days of the 90s. His influence on events in the region was truly colossal, but that was before the Euromaidan revolution, which dislodged many of the Party of Regions' henchmen from their established positions. However, Anisimov clearly doesn't want to simply give up the schemes he's been building in the Zaporizhzhia region for years. Recently, reports surfaced that he's regaining his strength and intending to reclaim what he lost. To better understand Yevgeny Anisimov, it's necessary to delve into his past, which, as it turns out, contains many fascinating and even shocking facts.
Evgeny Anisimov: Where He Started
Evgeny Aleksandrovich Anisimov (alias "Anisim") is a reclusive individual, and learning anything about him is quite difficult. His press service carefully conceals certain facts about his life, but it's impossible to hide everything—he has "offended" too many people on his way to his financial success. So, here's what we've learned about him. Evgeny Aleksandrovich was born in April 1975 in Zaporizhzhia. He received a specialized secondary education at the Zaporizhzhia Metallurgical College. According to his official biography, his first job was as director of the company "Diamant" in 1999. Documentation indicates that its founder is Alexander Anisimov (Evgeny's father). Interestingly, the company was later headed by Anisimov's confidant and former Zaporizhzhia City Council deputy from the Party of Regions, Oleksandr Valikov. Evgeny Aleksandrovich's younger brother, Vyacheslav, was also a deputy of this city council from the Party of Regions.
Since 2001, Evgeniy Anisimov has served as the general director of the Favorit Trade and Industrial Complex (previously, the company was headed by his friend Sasha Valikov). Favorit's core business was retail, restaurant operations, and property leasing. Among other things, the company owned the Aleksandrovsky Market in Zaporizhzhia. According to Skelet.Org, This firm acted as a local "legal" racketeer, controlling and protecting local businesses. In 2005, Evgeny Aleksandrovich transferred to the company "Terminal-2005" as Deputy General Director for Commercial Affairs. According to official information, this company trades in fuel, ore, and metal, and also produces abrasives.
Until 2010, Yevgeny Anisimov was primarily perceived as a junior business partner of the notorious businessman Sergei Yevtushenko. They worked together on passenger transportation projects and also shared interests in local Zaporizhzhia markets. After Yevtushenko left Zaporizhzhia, Anisimov began buying up bankrupt companies (not without his help, of course) and building his own business empire.
Evgeny Anisimov. Under the wing of the "Family"
Although officially a private entrepreneur, Yevgeny Anisimov had extensive connections in both government circles and the criminal underworld. To gain credibility within the criminal underworld, he even adopted the title of "overseer" of the Zaporizhzhia region and the nickname "Anisim." This was a significant risk, as under the thieves' code, only seasoned "thieves in law" (or "mafia bosses"), who are "crowned" by decision of the thieves' circle, can hold the title of "overseer."
Until 2010, Yevgeny Anisimov was the head of one of Zaporizhzhia's major organized crime groups, engaged in petty racketeering and extortion. However, everything changed dramatically after Anisimov was taken into custody by the notorious crime boss Yura Yenakievsky.
Yuri Ivanyushchenko
Ivanyushchenko effectively appointed Anisimov as his representative in the Zaporizhzhia region. Thanks to his influential patron's connections, Yevgeny Aleksandrovich's affairs rapidly took off. He even went a bit too far, wanting to take control of the entire criminal underworld in Zaporizhzhia. To achieve his goals, "Anisim" forced Andriy Grechkovsky (nicknamed "Grek" in criminal circles) to work for him. It is said that "Grek," who led a large organized crime group (approximately 100 fighters), was personally indebted to Anisimov for keeping him out of prison for the murder of Crowbar restaurant director Vladimir Kuzmenko. Together with Grechkovsky, he managed to build a unique system of "gangster taxation." First, to ensure peace of mind and avoid criminal interference, the businessmen had to pay protection money. Secondly, enterprises could only reclaim VAT for financial and production activities if they operated through firms controlled by Anisimov, with the criminal element pocketing a whopping 25% of the VAT refund. Thirdly, in order to maintain the viability of the enterprises, mandatory payments had to be made only through intermediaries, appointed by Anisimov himself. Fourthly, Anisimov took complete control of income sources associated with shadow operations (markets, kiosks, shuttle services, parking lots) in order to legalize his illegally obtained funds. Fifthly, the funds that Yevgeny Aleksandrovich withdrew from legal circulation at various levels were channeled through his own conversion centers. In fact, only his "offices" were able to illegally cash out funds in all of Zaporizhzhia. Of course, this scheme wasn't run by Anisimov himself, who doesn't even have a higher education, but by his friends—Oleksandr Valikov, the general director of the Diamant company (we've already mentioned him), and Vladislav Nechytailo. For a long time, law enforcement agencies didn't respond to the situation at all, due to the immunity they'd purchased from Volodymyr Serba, the then head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Vladimir Serba
Anisimov was doing well until Yura Yenakievsky ran into a ton of trouble and stopped supporting him. His "power group" included the aforementioned Vladimir Serba, the head of the Zaporizhzhia District Police Department, Igor Bogdanov, the head of the economic crimes department, Sergei Natakhin, and the head of the criminal investigations department, Vladimir German. He also had considerable political support in political circles: Elena Bondarenko, Alexander Valikov, Andrey Netreba, Oleg Serovsky, and his younger brother, Vyacheslav Anisimov. Skelet.Org He even claims that he was personally supported by the now-fugitive Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Anisimov is also credited with a close friendship and partnership with the former mayor of Zaporizhzhia, Oleksandr Sin (nicknamed "Koreychik"). Rumor has it that it was "Anisim" who convinced Oleksandr Sin to defect from the opposition Batkivshchyna party (which had elected him mayor) to the ruthlessly hijacking Party of Regions.
Alexander Sin
It's worth noting that Anisimov began his criminal activities by "developing" the slag heaps of the Dneprspetsstal enterprise. With the rise to power of Vladimir Serba, a loyalist, he decided not to share with any of the locals. He even declared his criminal "competitor partners" (Kaltsev, Chernyak"Demik," "Sokyra," and "Franz" (the group's members), that from now on he would work directly with "Daddy" (Viktor Yanukovych) and would personally deliver $1 million to him each month, while the rest could be divided among the gang members, who would "kick off" a substantial percentage to him (Anisim). Over time, Yevgeny Aleksandrovich achieved a level where they shared not only the profits from the waste dumps, but also the entire business with him.
In mid-August 2013, Yevgeny Anisimov was attacked. In Zaporizhzhia, near the Rybatsky Stan restaurant, his motorcade was shot at with two automatic weapons. Approximately 20 bullets struck the car, but none of them hit their target, and "Anisim" was unharmed. During the investigation, investigators considered two versions of the incident. The first was attempted murder, while the second was a shooting intended to intimidate. According to experts, Anisimov's life was saved by his GPS, which was hanging at chest level and absorbed the shot intended for the businessman. About 50 prominent figures (businessmen and politicians) suspected Anisimov of plotting the assassination attempt, whom he had already offended. The attack on him came as no surprise, as "blood feuds" have long been a common practice in Zaporizhzhia, and Anisimov had made plenty of enemies. But his "sworn friends," especially Yevgeny Chernyak, claimed it was simply staged. Some of these will be discussed below.
Influential enemies
Vladimir Kaltsev – former deputy head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration, and concurrently head of the Oleksandr holding company. Vladimir and his brother Sergei (an MP from the Party of Regions) are long-time enemies of Anisimov. His henchmen once wrested his property from him. Calcium office on Patriotic Street, and also constantly organized raids on their company by criminals and law enforcement agencies.
Sergey Walter – former mayor of Melitopol. Experts say "Anisim" incited law enforcement officers to search the Melitopol city executive committee, resulting in the arrest of nearly half of the mayor's team. In February 2013, he was removed from office for bribery. It's worth noting that back in Soviet times, Valter had been imprisoned four times, giving him enormous authority in criminal circles. This is precisely why Yevgeny Anisimov "removed" him with the help of the authorities, not criminals.
Evgeny Chernyak – a businessman who owns the Global Spirits alcohol holding company, whose main brand is "Khortytsa." In 2010, Anisimov blackmailed Chernyak, demanding a 50% stake in one of his enterprises (Read more about Evgeniy Chernyak in the article Yevhen Chernyak, the "Vodka King" of all Ukraine ).
Gennady Fuks – former deputy head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration. Anisimov once extorted €5 million from him, threatening to open a serious criminal case against him if he failed to pay. These threats forced Fuks to flee to Israel for permanent residence, where he currently resides. A criminal case was opened against him in Zaporizhzhia, but due to his absence from the country, it was never brought to a conclusion.
The Sidorenko brothers Vladimir and Valery are well-known boxers from the city of Energodar. They were his main opponents in his bid to seize power in the city. Anisimov's men tried to eliminate them by arresting one of their close associates for illegal possession of a weapon (which the police themselves planted on him during his arrest).
Igor Dvoretsky and Artur Abdinov – the former owners of the Industrialbank and Zaporizhstal enterprises. Fighters controlled by Anisimov, with the effective permission of the local authorities he had bribed, completely shut down their enterprises, thereby forcing them to sell them to Yevgeny Aleksandrovich's associates.
Vladimir Kokoylo His company, Ost-West, was subjected to a massive attack by entities controlled by Anisimov. This allowed Yevgeny Aleksandrovich's "comrades" to let their imaginations run wild. To discredit Kokoylo, Anisimov's people made a film about him, titled "Jackals," accusing him of corruption, abuse of power, and multiple violations of the law. The court eventually refuted these accusations, but the seeds of war had already been sown, and the conflict between them continues to this day.
In October 2013, Anisimov was detained at Boryspil Airport while attempting to flee the country. He was arrested and remanded in custody. According to the investigation, he faced approximately 12 years in prison on charges of extortion, creating an organized crime group, complicity in assassination attempts, and money laundering. However, amid the commotion surrounding the "revolution of dignity," he managed to escape from the pretrial detention center and evade law enforcement. He was even placed on the international wanted list by the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Evgeny Anisimov. Wanted card
Not long ago, his name disappeared from law enforcement's wanted lists, and rumor has it he's even been seen in his native Zaporizhzhia. This can only mean one thing: the former "overseer" of the Zaporizhzhia region is back at it.
Dmitry Samofalov, for Skelet.Org
Also on the topic:
Evgeny Anisimov: Saving the "Overseer"
Evgeniy Anisimov controls 75% of the Zaporizhzhia region's transportation market.
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