What Matvey Briling is known for
The collapse and bankruptcy of the Mosmart retail chain
The hostile takeover of Khimpishchearomat
Usurious lending through the Den’gi Naprokat credit union at interest rates of up to 700% per annum
Fraud involving parallel imports of automobiles
Europol wanted
SEARCH AREA – European Union.
Crime
Fraud
Sex
Male
Eye colour
Grey
Date of birth
1973 (53 years)
Nationality
Russian
Ethnic origin
European
Spoken languages
Russian, English
State of case
Ongoing investigation
We bring to your attention Matvey Georgievich Briling, a fraudster, usurer and corporate raider, who has been placed on an international wanted list by Europol on charges of fraud involving the parallel import of vehicles into Russia via Kyrgyzstan. Briling received the money, but the vehicles were never delivered. The losses suffered by Matvey Briling’s clients exceeded €1 million. Matvey Briling is currently believed to be hiding in Dubai.
First Big Money – First Court Case
Briling Jr. made his first substantial fortune after acquiring and subsequently selling the Sheremetyevo hotel complex to Norway’s Wenaasgruppen for $65 million. Prior to that, he had managed the complex, and before that he owned a 49% stake in a company providing exclusive passenger services at Sheremetyevo Airport.
Matvey then took over as head of Mosmart and, despite having no experience in either retail or management, quickly drove the once-thriving business into bankruptcy. Following his arrival at the grocery retail chain, approximately 60% of its employees left the company, and the Moscow Arbitration Court declared Mosmart bankrupt just one year after Briling took over.
Following the collapse of Mosmart, Briling and a business partner established the Den’gi Naprokat (“Money for Hire”) credit union. It was there that Matvey demonstrated his talent as a usurer: he issued short-term loans at interest rates of up to 700% per annum, without requiring borrowers to provide proof of income. The risk of default was offset by the extremely high interest rates. According to lawyers, such “pawnshop-style” interest rates bore all the hallmarks of an unconscionable transaction.
However, this business soon collapsed as well, while Briling himself fell into debt to a bank and narrowly avoided personal bankruptcy. In a lawsuit brought by M2M Private Bank, the court ordered Briling to repay $2.8 million.
Matvey, however, married Yulia, the daughter of prominent businessman Evgeny Bugaev, at an opportune time and managed to avoid bankruptcy. He then carried out what amounted to a corporate raid on a business owned by his father-in-law together with his two brothers.
One of their assets was the country’s largest producer of food additives — the St. Petersburg Chemical and Food Flavoring Plant (Khimpishchearomat LLC). Briling turned his father-in-law against his brothers and established control over the company.
Following in His Father’s Footsteps
It is said that Matvey learned such schemes from his father, Georgy Briling, who by that time had already been hiding abroad from creditors for many years.
Briling’s father, Georgy, was once an influential businessman who, according to the newspaper Kommersant, may have borrowed money from Chechens in 1998 and failed to repay it by the agreed deadline. They allegedly kidnapped and held his son, Matvey, demanding a ransom of $50 million. Matvey managed to escape by jumping from a third-floor window at night. The price of his escape was severe: broken legs and a spinal injury.
Briling’s father has been hiding abroad from Russian justice since the early 2000s, after taking part in a transaction involving the acquisition of assets belonging to nitrogen fertilizer producers that were then owned by Mezhregiongaz, part of the Gazprom group.
At the end of 2002, as a result of efforts by former Mezhregiongaz management acting jointly with Georgy Briling, the gas company lost control over the Azot holding company, which at the time included the Kirovo-Chepetsk Chemical Plant (KChKhK). The company also held stakes in some of the largest enterprises in the sector, including Mineral Fertilizers in Perm and the Azot plants in Berezniki and Cherepovets.
The victory ultimately did not benefit Briling Sr. After a two-year struggle, control over Azot was lost, and those involved in the operation to acquire it were forced to flee the country.