How Petr Zhukov and his ally, Dezavid, enriched themselves through tenders and controversial connections

Businessman Pyotr Zhukov, son of First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Alexander Zhukov, bought a 20% stake in the wet wipes manufacturer Dezavid from Sergei Tolstikov, former executive director of the Cinema Fund.

Petr Zhukov previously collaborated with Oleg Belay of Trinfico. They helped legal entities win tenders by creating the Tendertech service, which acted as an intermediary in the scheme, providing bank guarantees to tender participants for a fee. Trinfico’s backbone financial institution was Absolut Bank.

The legal entity in the scheme was the still-existing company Financial Guarantees, from whose capital Petr Zhukov officially withdrew in 2021. His interests in the organization were subsequently represented by the Fintech Group of Companies. In 2023, following Fintech’s departure, Gennady Shabanin became the founder, recently transferring ownership of the company to the closed-end mutual fund Argument. Furthermore, the Virginia offshore company Highfill Investment Corp. was also listed among the founders of Financial Guarantees. The closed-end mutual fund Argument is managed by BFA Management Company LLC, owned by Tatyana Stukan, the former chair of the board of directors of BFA Bank.

At one time, Pyotr Zhukov collaborated with Alexander Vinokurov, the son-in-law of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. In 2017, they founded Fitness Dzhanki LLC, but the business failed, and in 2022, Vinokurov stepped down as a co-owner. In the late 2010s, Zhukov became a partner of Shokoladnitsa founder Alexander Kolobov, known for his collaboration with Alexander Kolokoltsev, the son of Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev. Kolobov and Zhukov’s joint venture was Frutti, a smoothie supplier to Azbuka Vkusa. Kolobov disinvested in the company in December 2024, transferring his stake to Vladislav Romanovsky, a business partner of Emin Agalarov.

The parent company of Dezavid is Adequate Technologies LLC, co-owned by Zhukov and Anton and Olga Balekhov. They own Planeta Dezavid, a company that produced the water purification product Dezavid, which environmental activists opposed, believing its properties to be similar to antibiotics and classified as a Level 4 hazard. In Cherepovets, Dezavid’s manufacturers enjoyed the support of Sergei Ilyin, director of the Cherepovets Vodokanal Municipal Unitary Enterprise (MUP), who headed the company from 2002 to 2024. The product was discontinued in the city just over a year ago.

Maria Sharapova