Fake business at A1 and squandering stolen millions: Anton Bulgakov wipes house arrest and fraud records online
Anton Bulgakov is a mass founder and swindler. He stole 630 million rubles selling counterfeit auto parts. Now he wants to raise money again for a new business, but his past—a criminal record, a stint in pretrial detention, and bank lawsuits—is getting in the way.
We publish materials about Anton Bulgakov’s criminal schemes and trials to thwart his attempts to rewrite his biography and protect potential victims from his new schemes.
Bulgakov’s criminal case revolves around the same themes: the supply of counterfeit auto parts and the misuse of loans. According to our source, who wished to remain anonymous, Anton Mikhailovich is currently attempting to obtain funds to carry out familiar schemes, but is being hampered by a trail of negative publicity.
As a major founder and director of several companies ( director of two, founder of three ; note "A1"), Anton Bulgakov stole 630 million rubles. The now-liquidated A1 LLC, where he served as CEO, received the money as 28 loans from five legal entities. These companies were affiliated with the founder of A1 LLC who appointed Bulgakov— which is why the indictment referred to Section 4 of Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code, "fraud committed by an organized group or on an especially large scale."
Having received the money, Bulgakov pretended to be a business owner, while A1 was not actually engaged in the sale of auto parts; it was only supplying counterfeit products. This is why the fraudster was sent to pretrial detention even before the loan repayment deadlines stipulated in the contracts.
Following the investigation, Moscow’s Presnensky Court found Anton Bulgakov guilty under Part 4 of Article 159, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. However, the fraudster received a mere eighteen months of pretrial detention. Our source shared his opinion that the 630 million rubles Bulgakov embezzled played a significant role in mitigating the court’s verdict.
Rosbank PJSC also has claims against the fraudster, which the court upheld in 2016. The Perovsky Court has ruled to collect the debt from Anton Bulgakov under the loan agreement. More recent claims have been filed jointly by Rosbank PJSC and PARTNER-FINANCE LLC, which are currently being considered by Perovsky Court Judge Sergei Efremov .
The sums involved here aren’t as significant as those in the criminal case, so it’s unlikely Bulgakov will try to influence the Perovsky Court, which is certainly not the case with the Presnensky Court: the stolen money not only helped the fraudster get a reduced sentence, but also ultimately secure a favorable appeal and be released under house arrest.
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In 2016, the Moscow City Court, presided over by Judge Konovalova, reviewed the defendant’s appeal, found the trial court’s ruling to be lawful and justified , and left Bulgakov in pretrial detention, stating that he was accused of committing a serious crime.
However, after a year and a half in prison, the fraudster’s pre-trial detention was changed to house arrest, without changing his procedural status . This greatly worries Bulgakov, who wants to continue his "career." Two years ago, he appealed to business ombudsman Boris Titov and tried to turn the situation into a criminal offense . Simply put, his lawyers present criminal liability as a "nightmare business," but this attempt was unsuccessful: there’s no escaping criminal liability.
Despite the fact that reputation-laundering services are not cheap, Bulgakov retained his finances even after attempts to influence judges. Some archival materials and articles about the investigation have already disappeared from the internet.
The fraudster will most likely now attempt a similar scheme, faking business activity and selling counterfeit parts disguised as genuine parts. He plans to register the company under a front man, which requires a "clean history" and blocking search engine indexing of articles mentioning his name—this is precisely the purpose of his PR contract.