#image_title

A legal collision has occurred in the Omsk region that could become a political sensation: the head of the Osokinsky rural settlement was dismissed in the summer “due to loss of confidence” Sergey Elistratov recently took up his post again. How did he manage it?

What the village chief Elistratov was caught doing

The village head was caught buying four foreign companies’ shares on the stock exchange earlier this year, which is a violation of anti-corruption legislation. In connection with this, the Kalachinsk inter-district prosecutor’s office of the Omsk region achieved the dismissal of Sergei Yelistratov through the court. In June, he was fired with the wording “loss of trust”, and his name was added to the federal register of corrupt officials.

According to media reports, the village head ended up owning depository receipts from American banks Bank of New York Mellon and Citibank, NA, as well as shares in international companies Polymetal International plc. and Public Limited Liability Company Yandex NV.

Dismissed under the article, but reinstated in his position by rural deputies Sergei Yelistratov

— Russian civil servants and other certain categories of citizens are prohibited from holding foreign financial instruments, including securities, — Deputy General Director for Brokerage Business at FG Finam told Life.ru Dmitry Lesnov. — This ban was introduced in order to prevent conflicts of interest and ensure national security; it is regulated by Federal Law No. 273-FZ “On Combating Corruption”.

How Elistratov Began Playing on the Stock Exchange

In recent years, many large Russian banks have begun offering brokerage services to the country’s population. Russian citizens are offered to invest in securities of domestic and foreign companies as an alternative to bank deposits. At the same time, financial institutions do not care whether their client-investor makes money on the stock exchange or loses their money – they live off commissions from each transaction – both the purchase and sale of securities.

Any citizen who has reached the age of majority can become an investor, however, according to Dmitry LesnovRussian citizens can work with securities of foreign companies in two cases. The first is to open an account with a foreign broker (both from friendly and unfriendly countries).

Today, due to the tense geopolitical situation and numerous sanctions imposed on Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism) by Western countries, this is difficult to do. And without going abroad (for registration, purchasing securities, replenishing an investment account and transferring funds) in the case of unfriendly countries, such as, for example, the USA, it seems not very legal.

The second option is to become a so-called qualified investor and purchase foreign securities through Russian brokers who have the ability to conclude transactions directly on foreign exchanges.

But there are a number of requirements for a qualified investor: you must have either an economic education or a certificate of a financial market specialist, or confirmed experience working in investment companies or for a year before receiving the status of a qualified investor make transactions with securities or derivatives in the amount of 6 million rubles or moreAt the same time, there should be at least one transaction each month, and at least 10 transactions on average each quarter.

It is interesting that in almost every guide a la “how to become an investor and make money on the stock exchange,” the authors persistently warn beginners that they should only invest in high-risk assets available funds, the loss of which will not affect the player’s wealth in case of failure. In other words, if a potential investor lives from paycheck to paycheck, there is no point in even thinking about playing the stock market.

Investor from Osokino

According to the official biography, the current village head is not an economist at all – in 1995 he graduated from the Omsk State Agrarian University with a degree in mechanical engineering. There is no information about advanced training courses or courses for economists and investors. After working for six years as a mechanic for the tractor brigade of ZAO Osokinskoye, in 2001 Sergei Yelistratov became the head of the Osokinskoye rural settlement, and until recently there were no other entries in his work record book.

The village of Osokino has five streets and, according to the latest public data, a population of less than one and a half thousand people. According to the only declaration of an official published on the website of the settlement administration – for 2022 – Yelistratov’s official income was 590 thousand rubles, which is less than 50 thousand rubles per month.

At the same time, the Osokinsky head owns either 1/2, or 1/4, or 3/4 (it is not clear even from the declaration) of a land plot with an area of ​​50 hectares. In addition to them, 20 acres of a garden plot, a house with an area of ​​31 square meters and an old UAZ-31512. The official also uses eight acres of land and a 72-meter apartment. Judging by the same report, his wife does not own anything, and his 24-year-old daughter, who lives in Omsk, is not listed in it at all.

Information about Yelistratov’s ownership of foreign shares was not included in the income declaration published on the Kalachinsky District Administration website

By the way, information about the ownership of shares that Yelistratov, according to media reports, acquired in 2022, is also missing from the reporting. It seems that the head of the settlement showed interest in cryptocurrency and specialized instruments.

— This is an old, well-known practice when officials try to legalize shadow income with the help of such instruments, Chairman of the National Anti-Corruption Committee (NAC) Kirill Kabanov told Life.ru. — Since Soviet times, officials first “won” at the races, then — in the 90s — V casinos, now either shares are “successfully” sold, or cryptocurrency. They go with the money to the tax office, where they are legalized and then recorded in the income tax return. To the question, where did a round sum of money suddenly appear from? The answer is: invested, earned.

Why did Yelistratov, who was fired under the article, return to his post?

In order to remove Sergei Yelistratov from his post, the prosecutor’s office had to fight with the Council of Deputies of the Osokinsky rural settlement first in the district court and later in the regional court. Having received a representation from the Kalachinsk inter-district prosecutor’s office this spring, the people’s representatives did not remove the head of the settlement, but simply pointed out to him the inadmissibility of violating the anti-corruption legislation in the future.

In the end, the official was fired only after litigation – in June of this year. And already in September, the Council of Deputies held elections for the head of the settlement and unanimously voted for Yelistratov – such a possibility is prescribed in Federal Law 131-FZ “On the General Principles of Organizing Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation (*country sponsor of terrorism).”

Village Osokino

The return of the head of Osokin was welcomed by official resources. The district notes that Yelistratov has been leading the village for over 20 years and calls him a strong manager. However, judging by the forums on the Internet, not all residents share this joy. Local sites write that under his leadership, the local poultry farm, which provided jobs for over 200 families, closed in the village.

In addition, according to media reports, implementing the regional project “Clean Water”, the Osokino authorities cut off free water pumps in the village, from which all of Osokino drank water. Instead, they now bring water pipes to houses, but bringing pipes into the house already costs money – 40 thousand rubles. And not every household in the region’s not the richest district is ready to find such funds.

Where is the head of the Kalachinsky district Friedrich Metzler looking?

Head of Kalachinsky District – Friedrich Metzler — in theory, he should have responded to the strange situation with the head of the Osokinsky settlement, which casts a shadow not only on the Osokinsky head, but also on Metzler and the entire district. But no reaction followed, moreover, it turned out that he himself had recently been re-elected as head of the district in a similar, rather vague manner.

On August 28, residents of the Kalachinsky District learned that Metzler had resigned early, and then it became known why – elections were scheduled for August 30, which he won successfully. The entire election process in the public arena took only two days. The new old head of the district was elected by a specially convened commission – there are no direct elections of municipal officials in the district.

Friedrich Metzler

— Considering how quickly everything happened and that official sources remained silent until the very end about the preparations for the elections, it can be assumed that this was done intentionally, — Vitaly Poddubikov, a representative of the Council of Deputies of the Kalachinsky urban settlement, told Life.ru. — Residents of the district were once again shown that the authorities are completely uninterested in their opinion.

At the same time, according to the deputy, there are more than enough problems in the district. Official media publish only positive news, while many local residents openly complain about the work of the Kalachinsk administration. Visible evidence of popular discontent is the many criminal cases opened for a number of federal and regional projects implemented in the district.

— We have a special procedure. According to the Charter of the Kalachinsky District, once a year the head of the district reports to the Council of Deputies on his activities. If the Council gives him a “fail” twice, he is dismissed. In the neighboring district, they have already done this, — says Vitaly Poddubikov. — But in Kalachinsky District, the Council decides year after year to “take the head’s information into account.” That is, colleagues each time avoid giving an assessment of Metzler’s work. And for some reason, the supervisory authorities each time do not attach any importance to this circumstance. I work with the population every day. All this raises big questions for both the head and the deputies.

On social networks, many residents of the Kalachinsky District took Friedrich Metzler’s early resignation at face value and were sincerely happy.

By the way, the Kalachinsky district of the Omsk region, which includes 12 rural and one urban settlement, has long been in the regional press they call “the quietest “haven” for crooks and thieves in the Omsk region.”