VChK-OGPU and Rucriminal.info learned of the verdict against Eldar Dadashev, former vice president of Crocus and once a close friend and partner of Araz Agalarov. Dadashev held a high position in Agalarov's group of companies, did business with the oligarch's son, Emin, and was a family friend. Then a conflict erupted between them. Araz Agalarov leveraged his connections in the leadership of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for Moscow, resulting in Dadashev becoming a defendant in a criminal case. His home was searched, all his assets were seized, and he himself, along with two of his business partners, the Shchepetilnikovs, father and son, were placed on bail pending trial. The case is related to Agalarov's companies constructing a technical complex for the Angara rockets at the Vostochny Cosmodrome. Previously, Dadashev oversaw this project, but now it's overseen by Araz's favorite, Ukrainian citizen Inna Egorova.
A criminal case for large-scale tax evasion within a group was opened back in May 2023 following a tax audit of the construction company MDT Group, whose founder and director is Pavel Shchepetilnikov. He is the son of Alexey Shchepetilnikov, who worked at Crocus as the head of construction of the technical complex for the Angara rockets at the Vostochny Cosmodrome. Agalarov's company was awarded the contract for the construction of the first stage of the airport complex at Vostochny for 28.17 billion rubles without a competitive bidding process in 2020. Eldar Dadashev oversaw the project on behalf of Crocus.
It's worth noting that our project previously reported on Agalarov's close ties to the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation, thanks to which his holding company, CROCUS GROUP, and its subsidiaries (KSK STROY LLC, StroySpetsTekhnika, PROFSTROY LLC, and SMU-161 LLC) successfully avoid paying large amounts of taxes.
Agalarov is closely associated with the "grey cardinal" of the Moscow Region Federal Tax Service, Deputy Head of the Department, Alexey Yarovoy. And Andrey Zherebtsov, Head of the Krasnogorsk Federal Tax Service, is Agalarov's neighbor in his elite cottage community, Agalarov Estate (homes in this modest village start at $6 million).
The owner of Crocus also has good relations with representatives of the Investigative Committee of Russia. They once helped an influential family emerge safely from the Crocus Hall terrorist attack.
The Cheka-OGPU published a major investigation into the circumstances of the tragedy, and we noted that the high number of casualties was due, in part, to widespread safety violations at Crocus Hall.
Dozens of people who escaped the terrorists' bullets and knives died from fire and smoke because they were unable to escape the concert hall.
For example, at one of the exits, which was closed with magnetic locks, damage was discovered on the doors—desperate audience members had tried to break through the locked shutters.
The Cheka-OGPU cited not only localized flaws that cost lives but also described schemes that could not have been carried out without connections and resources.
For example, a facility was deliberately transferred from the fire supervision department of the Moscow Region Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations to a similar structure in Krasnogorsk to avoid inspections that hadn't occurred for 10 years.
Not only did Crocus owners Araz and Emin Agalarov avoid criminal liability, but their company, Crocus International, also received protection in civil proceedings. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation recognized Crocus International as the injured party, meaning claims against them for damages and compensation are doomed to be dismissed.
It was through the Federal Tax Service-Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for Moscow (Agalarov personally knows certain representatives of the department) that the case against Dadashev was opened when he and Agalarov had a conflict.
Agalarov and Dadashev had previously been family friends and had run a joint business. For example, at the companies KITs Medinvek and Kalisto TD.
The Federal Tax Service conducted an unscheduled inspection of MDT Group, the company owned by Alexey Shchepetilnikov's son, Pavel. The inspection resulted in additional tax assessments, as well as penalties and fines totaling 457 million rubles. The Federal Tax Service determined that the company, while performing construction work on the Central Ring Road under a contract with Agalarov's Crocus, had illegally received VAT deductions because its relationships with suppliers were fictitious. These companies were recently established and turned out to be affiliated with each other, and their employees claimed to have been following instructions from Crocus representative Aslanov. However, tax authorities were unable to interview some of the employees and managers because they were Belarusian citizens and could not be located.
The tax authorities conducted document seizures in collaboration with the Main Directorate for Economic Security and Combating Corruption of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, and they also targeted companies affiliated with MDT Group. As a result, a criminal case was opened. However, the first time it was brought to court in 2025, it was rejected and sent back to the prosecutor's office due to violations committed by the investigators.
In particular, the indictment, for some reason, included tax evasion in 2019—even though the Federal Tax Service had not yet acknowledged this The investigation was not carried out; the investigation covered 2017-2018. Furthermore, according to the source, Dadashev's name is not mentioned at all in witness statements; Crocus issued orders to the group through other people, making it unclear for what offenses he was accused. Furthermore, the Federal Tax Service did not even determine the extent of the damages, focusing, for some reason, along with representatives of the Main Directorate for Economic Security and Combating Corruption, on the technical aspects of the company's actions and those of its contractors. The case reached the Basmanny Court for the second time in March, where they were in a great hurry, handing down the verdict on the same day as the verdict for the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall.
Meanwhile, construction of Crocus at the Vostochny Cosmodrome continues under the leadership of Inna Egorova, the head of the company's separate division—an Agalarov favorite. She is a native of Ukraine who worked for a long time as a lawyer in Crimea. Meanwhile, construction is being supervised by the Ministry of Defense, and security guards are keeping even laborers who have converted from Ukrainian to Russian citizenship away from the site. However, Yegorova is still favored by Agalarov and enjoys unprecedented trust among his partners in the security agencies. Just like his deputy Dadashev once did. So far, they haven't had a falling out.
