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Geneva prosecutors demand $5.4 million bail for Chagaev's release
PARIS, January 28 – RIA Novosti. Geneva prosecutors are demanding a bail of 5 million Swiss francs ($5.4 million) for the release from custody of the owner of the bankrupt Swiss football club Xamax, Russian businessman Bulat Chagaev, the Swiss Telegraph Agency (ATS) reports.
link: http://www.ria.ru/world/ 20120128/550740882.html
The owner of Xamax, Chagaev, will remain in custody until the end of February.
PARIS, January 28 – RIA Novosti. The owner of the bankrupt Swiss football club Xamax, Russian businessman Bulat Chagaev will be in pre-trial detention until February 27, Swiss media report.
link: http://www.ria.ru/world/ 20120128/550768181.html
The owner of the Xamax club Bulat Chagaev was detained in Geneva
The owner of the Swiss football club “Xamax”, former vice-president of the Grozny “Terek” Bulat Chagaev was detained in Geneva, the Associated Press reported on Thursday evening.
According to the prosecutor's office, Chagaev was detained to prevent financial violations. The decision to take the Chechen businessman into custody was made by the prosecutor of the canton of Geneva, Yves Bertossa, following a court hearing. The next meeting on the situation at Xamax is due to take place on Friday, adds Agence France-Presse.
link: http://lenta.ru/news/2012/01/26/xamax/
Geneva: businessman from Chechnya Chagaev left in prison
The owner of the bankrupt Swiss football club Xamax, Chechen businessman Bulat Chagaev, will remain in prison until February 27. This decision was made by a court in Geneva, according to the website of the Swiss newspaper Le Matin.
Authorities in the canton of Geneva detained Bulat Chagaev on Thursday a few hours after the bankruptcy of his Xamax football club was announced. The Geneva prosecutor believes that there may be talk of dishonest management of the club's finances.
link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/russian/ sport/2012/01/120128_chagaev_ remains_in_custody.shtml
"One Franc" by Bulat Chagaev
Switzerland is wondering: what kind of business is Bulat Chagaev engaged in in the country? An oligarch of Chechen origin acquired the local football club Xamax, declaring that he had so much money that he could not count it. In the 90s, Bulat Chagaev was interrogated in Russia as part of a criminal case about “Chechen advice notes.”
Bulat Chagaev announced his intention to acquire the Swiss football club Xamax from the city of Neuchâtel at the end of April. After short negotiations, the former owner of the club, Silvio Bernasconi, sold his shares to him. For what amount is not known. Chagaev himself, in an interview with the Swiss television channel TSR, said that he “does not remember” how much his fortune is valued, and that he bought the club “for one franc.” On May 12, an extraordinary meeting of shareholders was held, at which Chagaev was approved as the director of the club.
link: http://www.compromat.ru/page_ 30808.htm
Swiss city declared war on Chechen billionaire
Residents of Neuchâtel have been in uproar since Chechen billionaire Bulat Chagaev acquired the Xamax football club in early May. The club changes players, coaches and presidents on the fly. After the defeat in the match, Bulat Chagaev himself entered the locker room and intimidated the players and other club employees. In addition, he threatened to take Xamax out of the country. In the city of Neuchâtel, where everyone loves Xamax, Chagaev’s behavior is not at all positive. Sabina Gorje.
link: http://inotv.rt.com/2011-09-14/SHvejcarskij-gorod-obyavil-vojnu-chechenskomu
Russian businessman Bulat Chagaev was detained in Geneva the day before
Local law enforcement officers had questions about him after the bankruptcy of the Swiss football club Xamax. Chagaev became its owner in May last year. In mid-January, the club was deprived of the right to compete in the Swiss championship due to debts. Chagaev was previously vice-president of the Grozny Terek. According to some reports, he was fired by the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, due to non-compliance with financial obligations.
link: http://www.echo.msk.ru/news/852765-echo.html
Chechen businessman Bulat Chagaev, detained in Switzerland, denies all charges
Yesterday he announced this, appearing before the prosecutor, RIA agency reports. Chagaev owns the bankrupt football club Xamax. The authorities suspect the businessman of dishonest conduct of business. He has been in custody since Thursday. Efforts by lawyers to achieve his release have so far been unsuccessful.
According to press reports, Bulat Chagaev is closely connected with the leadership of the Chechen Republic.
link: http://echo.msk.ru/news/853168-echo.html
Football news: Bulat Chagaev arrested
Chechen businessman, owner of the Neuchatel-Xamax football club Bulat Chagaev was taken into custody in Switzerland. The country's judicial authorities opened a case against him for mismanagement of the club and money laundering several months ago. The football club owned by Chagaev has been declared bankrupt.
On the website of the mayor's office of the city of Neuchatel in Switzerland, a communiqué was published under the heading: “Sadness, but at the same time relief and hope”:
“The municipal council of the city of Neuchatel has adopted a bankruptcy act for JSC Neuchâtel Xamax. Although saddened by the disappearance of the century-old club, he declares relief that the abscess has finally burst and welcomes the fact that the many famous people who are working behind the scenes to revive high-level football in Neuchatel will finally be able to act openly "
link: http://www.svobodanews.ru/content/article/24465346.html
Bulat Chagaev met with Xamax players
Xamax owner Bulat Chagaev met with the team players at a 5-star hotel in the center of Geneva, Le Matin reports. According to the publication, during the meeting issues related to the repayment of debts to the players, as well as the possibility of returning the team to professional status were discussed.
link: http://www.sports.ru/football/ 135316351.html
“One day Chagaev will kill us all”
Chechen businessman Bulat Chagaev is threatening the players of the Swiss Xamax, which he owns, with violence, according to 20 Minuten Online. The club's players, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that they receive threats from their superiors after almost every match.
The owner of the Xamax football club, Bulat Chagaev, spoke in a harsh manner with the players of his team in the locker room after the seventh round match of the Swiss championship with Lausanne (2:2). Surrounded by bodyguards, Chagaev hurled threats against the football players. The first group of players took the risk of going home only after looking around the surroundings, reports the Swiss resource 20 Minuten Online.
link: http://www.compromat.ru/page_ 31189.htm
Switzerland opened a criminal case against the owner of FC Xamax
Swiss law enforcement agencies have opened two criminal cases against Chechen businessman Bulat Chagaev, owner of the Swiss football club Xamax (Neuchâtel), The Local Switzerland reports. He is accused of falsifying Bank of America financial documents and attempted fraud during the trial.
A day earlier, in Geneva, the offices of three companies owned by a Chechen businessman were searched and documents were seized.
It turned out that Chagaev provided false documents confirming the presence of $35 million in this bank intended for the development of the team, and Xamax allegedly did not face bankruptcy. The papers, written in poor English, bear forged signatures and bank stamps. Bank of America management plans to conduct an internal investigation and sue Chagaev for forgery.
link: http://www.compromat.ru/page_ 31438.htm
The owner of Xamax, Bulat Chagaev, was detained in connection with the club's bankruptcy case.
Businessman of Russian origin Bulat Chagaev, who owns the Swiss football club Xamax from Neuchâtel, was detained on Thursday in Geneva by decision of the prosecutor. The club's management filed for bankruptcy against Xamax after it failed to return its license to participate in the Swiss Championship. Xamax was punished on January 18 by the Swiss Football League (SFL) disciplinary committee for serious breaches of its obligations.
link: http://www.gazeta.ru/photo/ sport/ksamaksu
Bulat Chagaev: “They wanted a Bentley and two watches from me for withdrawing the lawsuit”
In May of this year, Bulat Baudinovich Chagaev, who has been living in Switzerland for 24 years, acquired the Xamax club from Neuchâtel from Silvio Bernasconi, which was fighting for survival until the last round. Since the summer, scandalous publications have become an integral part of the life of both Chagaev himself and his team. It should be noted that the businessman does not have Swiss citizenship and is not seeking to obtain it.
As soon as the opportunity arose to interview the owner of Xamax, I carefully researched the press online. What is written in Russian is a retelling of Swiss newspapers. There is practically no direct speech directly from Chagaev. Mostly short quotes without indicating the source. There is a noticeable bias. For example, one journalist says that he wanted to talk to Chagaev, but his office phone was switched to fax. Hint – Chagaev is hiding from the public. Personally, I got through on the phone the first time and already in Geneva I saw that there were always two secretaries in the Dagmara Trading reception.
link: http://www.sportsdaily.ru/ forums/active/threads/275980
Owner of FC "Xamax" Bulat Chagaev: "Xamax is not an airplane or a car - you can’t take it with you"
In May of this year, Russian businessman Bulat Chagaev, living in Geneva, purchased Xamax from Neuchâtel. Since then, scandalous publications and trials have become an integral part of his life.
The local press portrays Chagaev as a tyrant who changes coaches like gloves. But no one wrote about a significant improvement in results under new coach Victor Munoz. The Geneva prosecutor's office accuses Chagaev of providing a false bank guarantee, they want to declare the club bankrupt, the league deducts 4 points from Xamax - allegedly for debts to the players. For the first time in the Russian media, Chagaev sets out his position.
link: http://www.sportsdaily.ru/articles/vladelets
Conspiracy against Xamax?
Swiss Xamax, according to a statement from the local football federation, has been excluded from the national championship. Yesterday, Sport correspondent Nelson Poghosyan contacted the club owner, Russian businessman Bulat Chagaev, to get first-hand information.
“With their decision, officials violated all possible and impossible laws,” says Chagaev. - In any civilized state, any organization and person has its own account. But Xamax has not had such an account for four months now. No bank opens! The league is not helping with this. No matter how many times we contact. I tell them: Let’s transfer this money to you. Zero reaction! This is a violation of all laws and regulations. But I know why this is being done.”
link:
Bulat Chagaev comes from an influential family - his parents were party functionaries. Chagaev graduated from the Grozny University of Oil and Gas. Then he became the son-in-law of a party functionary, the Minister of Agriculture of Checheno-Ingushetia, the first secretary of the Republican Committee of the CPSU of the republic, and then the President of Chechnya (1995) - Doku Zavgaev.
At the beginning of 1996, Izvestia devoted an article to “attempts to redistribute the oil business of Chechnya”:
“After the new Moscow envoy Doku Zavgaev arrived in Grozny to take charge, a new stage of struggle began around the Southern Oil Company, created under the auspices of the Russian Ministry of Fuel and Energy and subordinate to the ministry as a state-owned enterprise of federal significance. Rumors arose that Zavgaev would try to put him in the presidency company of his man, the name of one of his relatives was given,” writes Izvestia.
However, in response to the question whether it is true that “your son-in-law Bulat Chagaev” is vying for one of the leading positions in the oil complex, Zavgaev said: “I would be glad, but, unfortunately, this will not happen. I will never allow a clan power structure was formed here.”
In 1996, Bulat Chagaev himself became a member of the Chechen parliament in exile, writes the Polit.Ru website. By this time, Chagaev was already listed as the head of the mysterious company Sovamericantrade, registered in Grozny and engaged in foreign trade.
Literally two months later, Grozny is captured by separatists. The parliament members who remained in the Chechen capital are leaving: for Moscow, abroad. The only mention of Chagaev’s business from this period was found on the Chechenpress website, and only in connection with Doku Zavgaev, who was sent as ambassador to Tanzania in 1996: “it is known that Zavgaev’s son-in-law is a successful Moscow businessman.”
“After leaving Chechnya in 1993, Chagaev opened his first accounts in Moscow in the branch of Bank Suisse (now USB). He is helped by a banker who in 2002 will be sentenced to a fine for money laundering in the Mabetex case,” write the Swiss journalists Agathe Duparc and Yves Stener on the website of the TSR television channel.
In 1997, Bulat Chagaev came to the attention of Russian law enforcement agencies in connection with a case of false advice notes (fake payment documents, fraud with which was widespread in the early 90s - RS). Criminal cases of theft of money using false advice notes were opened in Yekaterinburg and Tver back in 1993, writes journalist Olga Kazanskaya in the Profile magazine in November 1997. In January 1997, the cases were combined into one and transferred to a new investigative group led by Rashid Bulatov. Senior investigator of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for particularly important cases, Rashid Bulatov, told Profile that a certain amount of “money received through advice notes migrated to the accounts of commercial companies belonging to Doku Zavgaev’s son-in-law Bulat Chagaev,” the publication continues.
One of the initiators of fraudulent transactions, according to investigators, turned out to be an employee of Bulat Chagaev's company Sovamericantrade. The entire company came under suspicion.
According to Profile, Ali Ibragimov, a former party worker in Grozny, attracted other people to the joint “business”. “Bulat Chagaev was repeatedly interrogated in the case. Chagaev is the president of the international concern Sovamericantrade registered in Grozny, and Ibragimov is the director of its Moscow representative office. Stolen money was also “laundered” through the accounts of this company,” investigator Rashid Bulatov told a “Profile” correspondent. Some of the stolen money was laundered, according to the investigator, through real estate transactions.
According to the then press of Yekaterinburg, in 1992 - 1994, 485 false advice notes worth 1 trillion rubles were received from nine banks in Chechnya. The Investigative Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs revealed the activities of the group, which included Khusein Chekuev, Shaman Zelimkhanov and Ali Ibragimov. 250 criminal cases were initiated and 2.5 thousand false advice notes worth more than 270 billion rubles were identified.
Bulat Chagaev’s role in the case of false advice notes was no longer reported; the media did not mention his name until 2010.
In response to a question about money laundering, Bulat Chagaev said in an interview with Swiss television that he does not know what “dirty money” is: “What about your money? Well, let the Swiss authorities tell me that my money is dirty. But they can do it, because they don’t know where I got the money from,” added Bulat Chagaev.
Swiss journalists were unable to determine what real estate belongs to Bulat Chagaev in the country. “I am a guest here and do not have a residence permit,” Chagaev himself said.
The businessman is right: the villa in Switzerland in the city of Saint-Sulpice on Leman Street is registered to the businessman’s wife, Irina Chagaeva. The Moscow telephone directory says that Irina Dokovna Chagaeva has two households registered on Rublevsky Shosse, as well as one non-residential premises.
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In May of this year, Bulat Baudinovich Chagaev, who has been living in Switzerland for 24 years, acquired the Xamax club from Neuchâtel from Silvio Bernasconi, which was fighting for survival until the last round. Since the summer, scandalous publications have become an integral part of the life of both Chagaev himself and his team. It should be noted that the businessman does not have Swiss citizenship and is not seeking to obtain it.
As soon as the opportunity arose to interview the owner of Xamax, I carefully researched the press online. What is written in Russian is a retelling of Swiss newspapers. There is practically no direct speech directly from Chagaev. Mostly short quotes without indicating the source. There is a noticeable bias. For example, one journalist says that he wanted to talk to Chagaev, but his office phone was switched to fax. Hint - Chagaev is hiding from the public. Personally, I got through on the phone the first time and already in Geneva I saw that there were always two secretaries in the Dagmara Trading reception.
The press presented Chagaev as a tyrant who changed coaches like gloves. But no one wrote about improved results after layoffs. Both relative to the beginning of the season and relative to the previous season. During the first five matches the team could not score at all. And with new coach Victor Muñoz, Xamax had a five-game point streak with three straight wins. In their last home game, the Neuchâtel team tied with Basel, a participant in the Champions League playoffs! And in general, in Neuchâtel, Xamax has not lost in seven matches in a row. Good numbers for a former outsider.
Everyone is free to decide for themselves whether Chagaev is right or wrong in the conflict with representatives of the local elite. It is important that for the first time in the Russian media he has the opportunity to clearly and in detail present his position.
— Purpose of buying the club?
- There was no goal. The president of Xamax came to see me twice. He found contact with me through friends. He said: “The club is in a difficult situation. Already ten years. Please, for God’s sake, take it - you won’t regret it.” I don't know what prompted me. I wanted to do something in football. Once in 1989 it didn’t work out with Terek. I'll tell you more about this later. That's why I agreed to buy the club.
— So you bought Xamax not as a businessman, but simply as a football fan - for fun?
— What kind of business can there be in football? Especially here in Switzerland. Everything is unprofitable for the owner. Initially I understood this.
— Is it true that you wanted to rename the club “Xamax-Vines”? (“Vainakh” in Chechen means our people. - S.)
— (Laughs.) When they asked me this question here, I answered them this way... Imagine, you come to Russia, take an out-sider club and rename it “Basel”. It turns out that you are disgracing the name that is dear to you. If you were assigned to Barcelona, then this would be a plus for Vainakh. But here is a club that has been relegated from the elite twice. And he gained fame in the world due to the fact that a Chechen bought him. This is exactly what everyone was discussing. If the team was in the lead and it was I who made it so strong, then maybe I would want to... The story was invented by the local press. Provocation. It's coming from people who want me to quit Xamax.
— Recently, the Swiss voted against the construction of minarets in a referendum. And during the break in Xamax matches, Chechen music plays, and a Chechen ornament appears on the emblem. Did the locals take this as a challenge?
— In Switzerland there is a “law of silence.” It came out about thirty years ago. After ten o'clock in the evening it is forbidden to disturb the peace or make noise. The call to prayer sounds loudly from the minaret. Mosques are not banned here! And Chechen music will be played at the stadium during breaks. For now I'm the boss. There's not even music, but dancing. And quite a bit - just a few minutes. To show what culture I come from. To join her. So that people can see that we are not crazy - we don’t rush onto a trolleybus with pitchforks. How are they showing us? Overgrown with beards, dirty, with machine guns. If I pay millions for a team, then I probably have the right to two minutes to show our traditions.
— Did you immediately feel opposition?
“The majority of people here are tolerant. If you and I go to Neuchâtel, it’s good if we walk two hundred meters in an hour. If local residents and fans don’t stop me to take pictures. Because I know how they treat me. But there is another category that wants to bankrupt Xamax and write off last year’s money to a Chechen. And then say: “See what bastards they are!” Although it all started not because I am a Chechen who came from Russia, but because initially there was theft in the club. The first people who wanted to meet with me after the deal were sponsors. But I didn’t want to communicate with them, because I had my own information about them. If you are a sponsor and have a contract with you, then fulfill your obligations under it, come to the stadium, cheer - that’s all. But in the end I still met with a big sponsor who gave the team about seven and a half million francs a year. He immediately said that he was a representative of all sponsors, that he had previously worked in Russia and that he had conditions that were in place before I joined the club. And he asked, will we comply with them? I deliberately did not let them be voiced. Why didn't you give it? Because I don't need money. He tells me right away - then we leave. And I tell him - you don’t leave, I’m kicking you out. And don’t refer to Russia - I don’t know who you worked with there - we are in Switzerland, and you are Swiss.
— So, even before his arrival, you had information about the shady schemes practiced in the club?
- Certainly.
— Is it true that Banque Cantonale Neuchâteloise and Credit Suisse refused sponsorship?
— Banks as such were not sponsors. We have two clubs - “Les Amie” and “Club 200”, which sold season tickets. I spend about 118 thousand francs on a match. These are the police, internal security, VIP boxes with refreshments for guests. Costs are reimbursed through subscriptions. And these two clubs owe me four million. When the first round was completed, I sent a letter demanding payment. They responded - due to the fact that they are speaking badly about you, we will wait for the official reaction. I remarked to them about this - because they talk and write about me, the guests don’t drink or eat less. And he terminated the contract. The president of these clubs is a banker. A chain reaction began - a refusal to service Xamax. I'm in the league. I say: Credit Suisse is a sponsor of the championship, Raiffeisen will become one next year, and only one team does not have an account. The league to me is not our issue. And then I find out that she is also in cahoots. I arrive at the meeting, where I was promised that there would be a translator. I speak English, but everything there is in French and German. But I took with me a friend who spoke German. There was no package of documents for me - they had run out. They wanted to discuss the Xamax claims with me one on one. And I tell them - stop! No one will talk to me one on one. Create a commission, and let it come to us and officially investigate what I’m doing wrong. And I'm ready to pay if I violated something. No one ever arrived, although fines are sent regularly. But despite the bank boycott, I pay the players’ salaries. Nobody interviews them. Let one of them say that they did not receive their money. In this case, the league deducts four points from us. Allegedly for debts to football players.
— What’s the story with you intimidating the players in the locker room?
“Everything was presented so vilely!” On May 29 we played in the Cup final against Sion. I receive an SMS from a boy who suffered from a malignant tumor - now he is no longer alive. He was a Xamax fan. The boy asked: “Fight for the Cup, and I will fight for my life.” I gathered the football players and wrote an SMS in capital letters. I explained that if we win the Cup, it is not mine, but theirs and their former president’s. Whether we win or lose, everything is in the hands of God. But we can still extend this boy’s life if we show that we want to win. And earlier we received an offer to give the Cup. In exchange for a championship match. “Xamax” played just with “Zion” when they were fighting for survival. A friend from France called me and told me about this. But there is no such person who could buy me. Then the same friend calls before the final and claims that Xamax will lose 0:2. And in the first five minutes this is exactly the score. That's how the match ended. I entered the locker room and said in English: “You are killing this boy.” And they took my words and rephrased them. Now they are trying to explain our good results by saying that I got them from the players by force. But you can’t do anything with force in football!
— Why didn’t you try to notify the league, UEFA? Are they now strictly fighting against influencing the results of matches?
— This happened at the very beginning of my work. And I didn’t believe that everything was being done against me personally. I thought it was a misunderstanding. When I took the team, it had nothing. I even had to look for a coach. I called Sony Anderson, who worked with the strikers at Lille. He has a name, although everyone understands that he is not a coach. But the Swiss respect big names and status. I hoped that the team would rally around him. I asked if he had a license. He answered yes. I signed the contract. It turned out that there was no license after all. We lost two matches - I kicked him out. Ho-dit-ku-rit during training. This is unacceptable. Capares was free. The match was lost and drawn once. I call him - and seven other assistants worked with him - and ask them. How can a morning workout last 45 minutes, and in the evening an hour and thirty hours of physical training? I am an athlete, and I know what it’s like to put in loads at night in the gym. In the morning you are nothing. What style is this? He is my system. Then I asked him to tell me how many points the team would have by the New Year and what place it would be in. He didn't want to promise anything. Despite the fact that one player he brought to the team is a fraud due to his age. The other one is injured. I told him: “Xamax will cost me 9.5 million euros before the New Year, and you can’t guarantee anything, although I have to count on you.” He decided to leave. I've already received an advance. And the team is in last place. Munoz had just freed himself from commentating activities and invited him. And immediately the result! With the same team. But now in the winter we will strengthen the squad.
— Did the Spanish Almeria pay a million dollars for the transfer of Kalo Uche?
- No. I didn’t know about this amount, since coach Capares and sports director Mulan agreed on the transfer. It wasn’t even his agent who brought Uche to us. There was such a mess going on here. Almeria, by the way, no matter what they write here, did not contact FIFA. I asked the Spaniards to send the transfer paper, since our club did not have it. They will receive this money before the New Year.
— Are you going to appeal the deduction of four points?
- We have already submitted. Both in FIFA and UEFA. The fact is that in Switzerland you need to hire an audit company that will prepare reports. I paid her 118 thousand francs, but they did not submit a report by August 1. They demanded an ultimatum for another 36 thousand, otherwise, they say, we are leaving. It turned out that by law only one company, the one initially hired, can complete the report. I asked the league for a company they trust. And they tell me - it’s none of our business. Because of all this, four points were deducted.
— What kind of conflict with fired employees?
— When I took over the club, it had 34 cars on lease. The same honorary chairman Fachinetti. We paid 132 thousand francs a month. I take quotes. They are overestimated by about 80 %. I'm starting to find out. One BMW is for the CEO, the other is for his wife. And the players have only four cars. For three months I collected cars all over Switzerland. The police refused to look for them. Then - 23 apartments, for which Xamax pays. On average three thousand francs a month. In Neuf-châtel 800 francs is normal housing. I am also breaking this contract. And as a result, I am forced to buy everything for the team not on lease, but at 100% of the cost. 12 cars for players and eight buses for children's teams. And when I kicked out all these managers, they organized such a pogrom in my office that I had never seen anything like this in Chechnya after the bombings. Even the hard drives were broken. The former financier only gave me the key to the accounts on July 12. It turned out that Xamax has 18 accounts! Why so much? I asked to buy tickets for three matches for fans so that they could come to the game for free. So they wrote to me that they were receiving 10 thousand. Do they think I’m an idiot - there were three thousand there. I sent all the documents showing abuses to the local newspapers, but nothing was published, because they, these managers, are Swiss.
— What if you sue the former management?
- I'm serving. But my personal lawyer let me down. Imagine, he calls me and says: “If you give them your Bentley and two watches, they will drop the lawsuit.” I tell him: “Are you a broker or my lawyer?”
— Who should give the Bentley?
— To those who filed for bankruptcy of Xamax. Scammers! Isenegger. He introduced himself as an agent. It was Ize-negger who played out, for example, the sale of Morgan from Xamax through Sochaux to Dynamo Kiev. For 10 million. And they don't pay us anything. I found a document sent backdated by the previous management, where they indicate where to transfer the money for it. When all this became clear, they immediately began to bankrupt the club. They filed a lawsuit in Neuchâtel. The judge sorted it out and, since there were no debts, canceled the bankruptcy. I am filing a lawsuit against Isenegger in the Geneva court on September 27th. November 7 Isenegger on me. And according to local laws, the earlier claim is considered first. I'm having a search. The lawyer does not answer the call. They take my papers and don’t give me an inventory. The Geneva prosecutor later told me that my claim was lost and was found later. Shamelessness! It was a conspiracy of everyone and everything. They hoped that I would run away. But neither I nor my family left, although they wrote about it. It’s good that my new lawyer Barillon got involved in time and informed the prosecutor that I was ready to meet.
— Did Walter Gagg really make you an offer to buy the club?
- It's getting ridiculous. A new league president was elected. On Friday. And on Saturday he gives an interview that in a maximum of two weeks, Xamax will be bought and Chagaev will be finished. He says this on the second day without knowing the situation. Almost every day they write here that Gagg, the former CEO of FIFA, is buying a club from me.
— He is also a friend of Joseph Blatter...
- This Gagg is from Neuchâtel himself. As soon as I became the owner of Xamax, he called and asked me to take his son to work. I said I don't know who is on the other end of the line. Gagg replied that he was the director general of FIFA. I say: “The cleaning lady also works at FIFA - she can call and introduce herself as the general director. If you have a question, write. Or come. Or invite. I'm younger than you - I'll come. But I don’t recognize this phone sex.” As a result, a man comes to me, introducing himself as vice-pres-zi-den-tom and “Blatter’s right hand.” This is verbatim. I told him: “Yesterday I saw Blatter on TV - he has both hands in place.” He told me: “Chagaev, don’t be ironic, I came to you with a specific proposal - you need to install a Swiss as president of Xamax.” And I responded: “No, I’m not going to get involved in politics, I’m going to get involved in football.” He warned me: “If you don’t place the Swiss, you won’t be able to defend yourself.” I answered: “If I lose, then no one will be able to protect me - not even the UN Secretary General, and if I win, then I don’t care who my president is. And you can even put golden boots on the football players, but if there is no game, then all my activities are zero.”
— How many trials are currently in total in which you are involved? Against you and where you are the plaintiff.
— 65 ships. As my new lawyer got up to speed, I learned about many lawsuits that I was previously unaware of.
— What about the proportions?
- 70 percent to me, 30 percent from me. Let me give you an example... We produced 15 thousand flags with the inscription “Xamax”. As I understand it, everything was processed retroactively. I ask the person who made them to show these flags and name the person who ordered them. Please show me the document showing who accepted this order from him. And there is nothing - no flags, no act. I have half of these cases. Utility bills are still being discovered in January, when I was not the owner. And there are 68 folders of similar documents. 100-200 francs per bill.
— It seems that you entered the football business without understanding all the nuances. There was no advisor who could tell us about the pitfalls.
- Certainly. But these are not pitfalls. This is meanness! I immediately cut off the agents from the club. We have contracts with four players that we pay, but I don't know where they are. I filed a complaint with FIFA. I want to make a normal club. We have 10 youth teams that had nothing. They bought them a uniform. Because the technical sponsor did not provide anything, but referred to the previous management. I had to change mold supplier.
— How much have you already spent on the club?
- 12 million euros.
— How long will the trials take?
“I think they will all be over by spring.”
— Isn’t it better to sell the club to relieve this headache?
- Someone else will come from Russia to Switzerland, and they will reproach him - we had one here... I don’t want that. I want to see this through to the end. They can't admit that Xamax is doing well. They condemn him, leave us in the minority, remove us. If I leave the team now, it will turn out like in the story with Amundsen. He told the sailor when their ship was frozen in the ice: “If you and I stay here, then we will be considered cowards, and if we go further, then we will be fools.” It’s the same with me... If I give up everything, it will seem to confirm what they write about me in the newspapers. They can't say I stole the money. They say - laundered. I ask them: “Tell me, how can you launder money through a football club without sponsors, when you are absolutely alone? How?" And there is no and cannot be an answer to this question. When they called the prosecutor, they asked: “Do you know Mikhailov?” I didn't even understand who they were talking about. It turns out it's about Mijas. I don't understand who they want to classify me with. I say: “You apologized to Mikhailov, which means you have no complaints against him. Then why do you want to involve me in incomprehensible structures?”
— How did the fake Bank of America bank guarantee for $35 million that you allegedly submitted as a surety to the league come about?
— I saw her on TV. Moreover, on a day off, so that I could not contact anyone about this for two days. It was like this... The League asked me for a guarantee. I told the sports director that there are different types of guarantees. Show the options and ask which one is suitable. Why should I give something from Bank of America when I have my own money. I did not include the name of my bank in the samples so that they would not start calling there and trying to convince me to refuse to cooperate with me.
—Who do you blame for this falsification?
- Isenegger.
— The Swiss do not know the source of your wealth. Maybe this is why they are against you?
— For 24 years there were no complaints against me in Switzerland. Last year, in Geneva, I organized a fireworks display in honor of the 65th anniversary of our Victory in the Great Patriotic War. They remind me of this now too - they say, he arranged a fireworks show with dirty money. I respect the local culture, I pay taxes, but the main thing is that you are useful. Prince Mikhail Vorontsov, when the Russian units were leaving Paris, paid the French all the debts of his officers. Almost went broke because of this. I, of course, do not pretend to have such a role, but I want to show that if you undertake it, then bring the matter to a successful conclusion. And I’ll tell you the following about my business... In the 90s, he created Sov-Amerikentreid, and also began the construction of a plant that made suits using Italian equipment. And he made a furniture factory. He sold spring water from sources in Chechnya to Saudi Arabia. Then, after the war, he began investing money in land and construction. Then he registered on the New York Stock Exchange, South Korea and Hong Kong. This is what I'm doing now. But I also invest in construction. In Dubai, in particular, when there was massive construction going on there before the crisis.
— Football brought you extraordinary popularity, but at the same time made life difficult. What would you change in the spring if you knew things would turn out this way?
“I probably wouldn’t go ahead and buy the club.” I don’t need this fame - popularity is something else - I don’t need it. I never had a desire to shine in public.
— You mentioned that you were involved in sports. Which one?
— Freestyle wrestling, like everyone else in the Caucasus. And boxing. And football.
- For a long time?
- Since first grade. And while studying at the institute, I participated in many tournaments.
— At the very beginning of the interview, you said that in the early 90s you invested money in Terek...
— At the end of 1989, I was in Paris, and the then owner of Olympic, Bernard Tapie, gave me the charter of a professional club. Lawyers helped and rewrote the charter to fit Soviet laws. And I bought Terek. He was then in dire straits, like the whole country. On my part it was a purely personal act. And then, after 1991, after well-known events, so that the guys would not be left without football, I sent them to Uzbekistan. They performed as FC Bulat. We were in second place. And then local authorities began to draft players into the army in order to break up the team. And in 1993 I dissolved it.
— That is, your first football experience was unsuccessful... But do you have any supporters now?
- All of Neuchâtel. People are grateful for the way the team plays, for the new events, service, and programs that we hold at the stadium. They write on the Internet that nothing like this has happened in the last 10 years. After all, 26 points were scored after 18 matches (this does not take into account those withdrawn. - S.). Fifth place. Previously, a maximum of 32 points was scored for the entire championship.
— What about the protest group? Are there 30-40 people there?
— I met with them several times. Their complaints are mainly about the dismissal of Capares. But I explained to them that if there is no game, then I will not keep the coach. If you, the Swiss, are ready to forgive the lack of results for a whole decade, then they will not forgive me. Because I'm a foreigner. And I'm investing the money, not you. I am responsible for the sports component. And this fan club, which initially opposed me, has already disbanded. But in general, I have a lot of supporters, because I believe: a supporter is someone who at least does not interfere. And I'm glad for them. And there are a lot of grateful people around.
— I saw the plotSwiss TV, which showed banners directed against you.
— Regarding this, I say to the head of the league: “Is it normal that visiting fans write Chagaev go home? And you are not taking any disciplinary action. Will you answer - is this your culture or is it a manifestation of nationalism?” And no reaction to my words. If I leave, they will think that I am a coward. But no, you’ll have to listen to something like here in Geneva, at the match with Servette. They chanted all sorts of nasty things. I need to bring the championship to the end and show that a Chechen, Russian, Uzbek - no matter what their nationality - can also do something here.
— What will you do if the team performs successfully and exceeds the result of last season?
— The next season is the centenary of Xamax. Events are being prepared. We are looking for football players to strengthen. After the anniversary, I want to tell the fans: “These are my achievements. Either I stay, or, if bias towards me remains, I leave, leaving the club to you. This is not a plane or a car - you can’t take it with you. And I don’t need the money back.”
Bulat Baudinovich Chagaev is a truly more than dubious figure. The owner of several companies, among which the longest existing company with the name “Sovamerikentreid”, typical of the turbulent 80s, regularly had problems with the law. He served as a witness in a case involving fake Chechen advice notes, but managed to convince everyone that he was the victim of malicious actions by his subordinates who used blank sheets of paper signed by him (!). In 1999, he was heard in a Swiss court in the case of a certain Spiridon Aspiotis, who obtained loans for the purchase of petroleum products. The supplier of raw materials was the company Sovamerikentreid, which was engaged, among other things, in the export of Chechen spring water to Saudi Arabia. At the end of 2010, Chagaev promised to provide “colossal support” to the Chechen club Terek, for which he was even made vice-president of the club. Vice President Khaidar Alkhanov, who found himself on the sidelines, publicly stated: “I received very serious guarantees... And we don’t have any framework - the sponsor assured that any funds would be allocated for the sake of quality reinforcement. If Chagaev fulfills at least half of what he promised, then we will still make Terek a super club. Another thing is that I am convinced that Bulat will fully keep his words.”
He did not hold back, although through his other structure - the company Dagmara Trading SA registered in Switzerland with an authorized capital of 100 thousand local francs - he invited several football celebrities to a friendly match with the Caucasus national team, which took place in May last year. By that time, the details of the purchase of the debt-ridden Xamax club had already been agreed upon. But no one could have foreseen that in a few months the amount of debt would increase several times, reaching by the end of the year a considerable amount by Swiss standards of 8 million francs.
Deeds, deeds and more deeds!
In his simplicity, Chagaev is magnificent. “How much did I buy the club for? Well, consider it for one franc,” the businessman told a journalist from the local TSR television channel. - If I want to buy bread and I don’t have a franc, then this bread is expensive. And if I have the opportunity to buy this bread, then no matter how much it costs, if I’m hungry, I’ll buy it. It’s the same with Xamax: I wanted to buy it and bought it. How much does it cost, ask the person who sold it. I don't remember".
In the same spirit, he explained the story of the financial guarantees that the Swiss authorities, concerned about what was happening at Xamax, requested. They were presented with a text written in poor English, sealed with forged Bank of America seals, which stated that the client had $32.5 million. True, the account number was blurred out. Chagaev placed all the blame on the sports director, who took the wrong document from the office.
Did he want to rename the club “Vines”? No, these are fabrications of the press. Why is the team in debt? This is a consequence of the negligence of the former thieving leaders. Why didn't he sue the abuses of his previous bosses? I submitted it, but the lawyer demanded a bribe - a brand new Bentley. Why did he break off relations with sponsors? And without them there was enough money. Why was the football league against him? Because of the biased attitude of its management. Did he threaten the players in the locker room? His words were twisted.
More than 40 cases have now been brought against Chagaev in Swiss courts, with a variety of people as plaintiffs: merchants, agents, service providers. After the head of Xamax terminated the contract with the company that printed the tickets, fans for some time went to matches at the Stade de la Maladie with scraps of paper with the price written by hand. The coaches changed as if in a kaleidoscope; the Spaniard Victor Muñoz stayed the longest, having worked for some time at Terek. They signed a contract with one of the mentors, Brazilian Sonny Anderson, without checking whether he had a coaching license. When her absence was discovered, he was made sports director, but only to be kicked out after a while.
Xamax became a laughing stock throughout Switzerland; news about what was happening in the team was selling like hotcakes. Local football leaders responded incredibly quickly to reports of delays in paying salaries to players and club employees, as well as untimely transfers of social benefits. Twice the team was deducted points for this, and then the question of early termination of the license arose. As a result, Xamax was deprived of its professional status and sent to the amateur division. The club is currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, albeit in the absence of its owner. Detained by the Swiss prosecutor's office, Chagaev is serving pre-trial detention, having refused to pay bail in the amount of 5 million euros: this amount, according to him, will be needed for settlements with the club's employees. Well, all of Switzerland is tensely awaiting the end of this soap opera, which still does not come to its logical end. Recently, for example, the newspaper Le Matin told readers that Chagaev allegedly does not have a residence permit in this quiet Alpine state and is, in fact, an illegal immigrant.
Why is this necessary?
Attempts by Russian businessmen to invest in Western football clubs have recently become a common occurrence. True, sometimes they end unsuccessfully. Vladimir Antonov, who bought English Portsmouth last summer, was arrested in London at the end of November at the request of the Lithuanian prosecutor’s office, which was unraveling the story of the theft of money from the accounts of Snoras Bank. The businessman was eventually released on bail, but he resigned from his duties as president of the club.
The former mayor of Khimki, Yuri Korablin, decided not to attract much attention to himself and acquired the modest Venezia, hanging out in the fourth tier of Italian football. Co-owner of Zenit Bank Maxim Demin bought Bournemouth. But Dmitry Rybolovlev, who recently sold a controlling stake in Uralkali, became the majority shareholder of the sinking club with the big name Monaco. The 2004 Champions League finalist has now relegated to the second division, where they are third from bottom. It is assumed that Russian capital will allow the principality’s team to regain lost positions. By the way, the title sponsor of Monaco for more than ten years has been the Fedcominvest company of Russian Alexey Fedorychev, who also made a fortune in the sale of fertilizers. With him, the club knew the joy of victory and fully drank the bitterness of defeat. However, Fedorychev's attempt to establish control over Monaco was met with severe rebuff, since his company was perceived by local authorities as a legal showcase of Eastern European organized crime. In the case of Rybolovlev, who was well acquainted with Prince Rainier, no such doubts arose.
In the context of the financial crisis that has hit Europe, the interest of Russian capital in investing in local football is understandable. Many are ready to sacrifice tens and hundreds of millions of euros in order to create a favorable image in their places of residence and gain recognition from the local elite. Some people love football wholeheartedly, while others need basic cover for less plausible operations. This usually becomes known later. At first, the Swiss authorities also had no special complaints about Bulat Chagaev...
The amazing story of the relationship between Chechen businessman Bulat Chagaev and the Swiss Xamax he bought six months ago, after a series of local scandals, has grown into a story of international proportions. It’s worth figuring out what happened in quiet Neuchâtel – and most importantly, why.
A character named Bulat Chagaev appeared on the football scene seemingly out of nowhere - but immediately with ambitious plans in his pocket. He made it clear to the surprised domestic public that he was very rich; that Terek will sponsor it, and even in such volumes that even the subordinates of the by no means poor Ramzan Kadyrov clapped their hands joyfully; which will acquire for the Grozny residents one of the ten best players in the world playing in the Premier League. It was, of course, hard to believe in the appearance of someone like Wayne Rooney in the Terek squad, but no one really doubted Chagaev’s ability to fulfill the promise “at least half” - as Khaidar Alkhanov had already made a reservation just in case. Fortunately, world football has seen plenty of wealthy eastern men willing to fork out big bucks for the sake of their image over the last ten years.
Soon after his arrival at Terek, Chagaev acquired a controlling stake in the Xamax club from Neuchâtel, in Switzerland, where, again, no one had heard of him before. As soon as he took over as owner in mid-May, he promised the club, which was fighting for survival in the top division, the Champions League next season. Among the possible newcomers to Xamax were the names of David Trezeguet, Djibril Cissé and Gabriel Heinze.
True, we never saw the retired stars in Switzerland - but we witnessed a revolution in a quiet local paradise. At the same time, it seemed that Chagaev was checking the list of “What the new owner of a football club should not do,” consistently violating every conceivable prohibition.
First of all, the coaches got it: Didier Ollet-Nicolas was fired by the Russian owner the day after his official arrival at the club, Bernard Challan was kicked out two weeks later due to defeat in the final of the National Cup, Lyon legend Sonny Anderson was transferred to the position of sporting director after two games, and by the end of June he fired “for lack of diligence” the next coach, Bernard Ciccolini, along with Sonny Anderson, the entire administrative staff and a couple of players. Chagaev, judging by their own anonymous complaints in the Swiss press, did not stand on ceremony with the latter either: during the break of an unsuccessful match (and Xamax had plenty of them) he could burst into the locker room, threatening the players with violence. And the formation of the team turned out to be nervous and impulsive: goalkeeper Galatto, discharged from Brazil, had to take the field in an official match less than a day after arriving in Neuchâtel. Having not yet fully realized where he was and who he was playing with, the Brazilian predictably failed the game - for which he was fired immediately after the match.
Another signature feature of Chagaev, which made me want to immediately believe in his authoritarian inclinations and problems with a sense of tact, was his attempts to give Xamax a Chechen flavor. Either missing his native land, or being glad that he now had his own club, Chagaev decided to rename it “Xamax-Vainakh”. (Given that the Xamax is already named after a man nicknamed "Xam" and named Max, this would be a great pun.) Unfortunately for the new owner, an application for such things in the Swiss championship must be submitted in advance, so the question has been delayed for at least a year. But no one was able to stop him from adding the Chechen national ornament to the club coat of arms. To complete the picture, Chechen folk music began to play during breaks at the Maladier home stadium, and videos of Chechen dances began to play on the screen.
It is not surprising that Xamax fans and the entire football community of the country quickly turned against Chagaev. His passport details and the fact that almost nothing is known about the origin of his money was enough to create suspicion and coolness. Chagaev himself was also in no hurry to shed light on it; in response, he either attacked critics with accusations of bias, or made mysterious and quite provocative statements like “there is no such thing as dirty money.” All that was found out in the end was that Chagaev owns four companies registered in Geneva under the names Dagmara and Envergure. True, what exactly they do is not really known. In addition to them, Chagaev apparently owns the SovAmerican Trade company, registered in Grozny and no less mysterious.
Actually, his own biography is covered rather poorly: according to some sources, he settled in Switzerland back in 1987, according to others, no more than three years ago, and before that he lived in Moscow, was either a businessman, or one of Pavel Borodin’s assistants , and, apparently, was involved in the “case of false advice notes.” What is more or less reliably known is that he is the son-in-law of the ex-president of Chechnya, Doku Zavgaev.
One way or another, regular eccentric antics quickly transferred Chagaev in the eyes of Swiss fans from the category of suspicious types who should be feared, into the category of evil madmen who are more appropriate to hate. In addition, the main successes of Xamax - sports - still did not begin. The club still languished at the bottom of the standings, the fifth coach, the eminent Spaniard Joaquin Caparros, was fired after four victories, and his place was taken by Victor Muñoz, who did not agree with Terek. Not wanting to spoil his image, almost all the sponsors abandoned the club one after another, and Credit Suisse bank asked him to transfer his money to some other place by the end of the month. Fans regularly held protests, driving Chagaev to the point of offended reasoning that it would be nice to move Xamax to a larger and more loyal city.
Chagaev’s affairs at Terek had already ended by that time - simultaneously with the dismissal of his protégé Rud Gullit. For those who did not understand what was behind Khaidar Alkhanov’s formulation “our former sponsor Bulat Chagaev took Gullit and flew to Switzerland,” two months later, in August, Terek published a short but completely official statement that the promised money Chagaev never gave it to the club. It again went virtually unnoticed, especially since the Swiss businessman continued to emphasize his closeness to Kadyrov and call him friend and brother. In the end, in October, the Chechen leader’s patience ran out, and he authorized Khaidar Alkhanov to give the L’illustre newspaper an interview in the style of “you are not my brother, ... (hereinafter in the text).” In particular, the vice-president of Terek said that Chagaev let down, deceived and robbed Kadyrov, and he is not his friend or brother, and the Swiss, they say, will also soon understand that he is an adventurer and a fraudster.
Meanwhile, Chagaev’s situation in Switzerland was at least no better than in Russia. Information has leaked to the press that salaries at Xamax have been delayed for months, players are threatening to go on strike, and the debt left over from the previous owner, construction magnate Silvio Bernasconi, has grown to 2.6 million euros. Concerned by this, the football authorities decided to check whether Chagaev actually had money. The problem was that Bernasconi received a license for Xamax to participate in the championship, but three days later he sold the club to Chagaev. Thus, the solvency of Xamax was confirmed by the money of the former owner, but no one still knew for sure whether the new owner had money.
It turned out that their doubts were not in vain. Chagaev suddenly had difficulties providing official documents; The officials never received a complete package indicating the sources from which the club will live, and issued a fine of 16.5 thousand euros to Xamax. Then the creditors went to court: one of the agents demanded that the club be declared bankrupt because it refused to pay the 400 thousand euros owed to it for organized transfers. A week ago, the bankruptcy claim was rejected - the money seemed to have been found. Chagaev himself claimed that he does not have and never had any financial problems, and the only thing is that Swiss banks blocked his accounts due to groundless suspicions of dishonesty.
And then the straw that was supposed to save Chagaev suddenly turned into a hook that began to drown him. The paper he provided with a guarantee from Bank of America, confirming that the Russian had $35 million in his account, turned out to be very suspicious. A journalistic investigation found that the bank does not know whose signature and what kind of seal are under the document, which also contains grammatical errors in the English text, an outdated address of the bank and Chagaev’s address for some reason in French.
The criminal case was not long in coming - in two cantons at once and on suspicion of five types of crimes at once, including money laundering, fraud and forgery. On Monday, Chagaev’s offices were already searched and “certain documents” were seized. At the same time, the president of Xamax was also left without a lawyer: Francois Canonica, who worked for him, said that he would quit if he did not receive confirmation from his client that he did not draw a document from Bank of America on his knee at home - and yesterday he fulfilled his promise . It turned out quite eloquently.
Yesterday Bulat Chagaev disappeared from the view of the Swiss media. No one knows where he is; it is possible that he is already outside the country. Apparently, the final role of the protagonist of this story will soon become clear: an honest millionaire who became a victim of the prejudices of conservative Europe, or a tyrant adventurer who decided, as in the classic joke, to marry Rockefeller’s daughter to a simple Siberian guy.
It’s just a pity for Xamax - apparently, it will remain the losing side in any outcome.
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