Sergei Neverov, the State Duma deputy speaker from United Russia, has very sad eyes. And that is hardly surprising.
He is apparently living a truly terrible life, and that has been proven in court.
As you of course know, Sergei Neverov “won” a “court case” against me. The claims concerned this publication, specifically the phrases “received in-kind income from businessman Shustenko” and “owns undeclared real estate.”
That raises a question: how exactly did Neverov win this case if we have 100% proof, photographs, and all the documents?
http://dacha.fbk.info/#neverov
I will not resort to the usual lines about there being no justice, or that Neverov simply brought the ruling with him on a flash drive.
It seems to me that this time, looking at the suffering and embarrassed Neverov, the judge understood that his life was truly awful, believed him, and officially established that in her ruling.
So, here are two facts about the life of United Russia member Sergei Neverov, officially established by Moscow’s Lyublinsky District Court:
This is the very plot of land on the bank of the Istra River (satellite view), enclosed by a fence. A house, a swimming pool, and various other things are being finished there. The plot covers 2 hectares.
Here is a photograph taken later from the air:
If we look at the cadastral records, we can see that the following land plots lie behind the shared fence:
Immediately after the information about Neverov’s dacha was published, he said: "I see nothing shameful in the fact that our large family decided to live together. If someone does not like that, then that is a question of their own values and priorities in life." He even promised to declare the house.
But in court, his testimony changed sharply. He stated that he uses only plots 3 and 4. He has literally never set foot on the others and does not do so now. They do not interest him, and he does not even know anything about those plots. The court believed him.
There must have been times when Sergei Neverov waited for days for his mother-in-law to arrive at the dacha so he could ask permission to retrieve a badminton shuttlecock that had landed on her land. And when kebabs are being grilled by the pool, Deputy Neverov merely walks around licking his lips, but does not take a single step across the imaginary boundary between his plot and his mother-in-law’s. He receives his kebab from relatives something like this.
As for the "receipt of in-kind income from businessman Shustenko," the legendary document was finally produced in court — a land lease agreement (plot no. 6 on the diagram) with businessman Nikolai Shustenko. Neverov had been using his land since 2012, but did not include it in his disclosure. In his view, a disclosure only has to include what you use under a contract, not what you use in practice — which is, of course, completely false.
When the Anti-Corruption Foundation caught United Russia members using land owned by businessman Shustenko — who wins Moscow city contracts worth billions of rubles and works in urban improvement and landscaping — they claimed that a lease agreement did exist, but that it had only been signed at the beginning of the year, which is why the plots did not appear in the disclosure.
I do not use anyone’s land for free, Neverov said. My wife has to lease the land and pay for it with our hard-earned money. At that moment, the judge once again felt very sorry for Neverov.
Here is an excerpt from the agreement he presented:
The document was drawn up hastily: in one place the sublessee is listed as Neverov’s wife, in another as Neverov himself, while the signature is his wife’s in any case. On that basis alone, the document could be deemed invalid.
Neverov’s lease price was 30,000 rubles per year for 21.5 sotkas (about 0.215 hectares)
Let us read that again and take it in: United Russia deputy Neverov somehow managed to lease prime land right on the bank of the Moscow River from “businessman” Shustenko at a rate of 1,400 rubles per sotka (100 square meters) per year. Something tells me that after this deal, land at that price in the Istra district was no longer available.
To my bewilderment and my remark — "Aaaaaah... Eeeeh... Mmmmmm... well, you do understand how far below market price this is? It is simply ridiculous, and no one will believe it" — Sergei Neverov gave a very accurate reply: The main thing is that the court believes me.
The court believed him and established that Neverov’s lease of land at a price dozens of times below market rate is not in-kind income. That is apparently fine — United Russia is allowed to do that.
By the way, the secret of “businessman” Shustenko’s success is not just that he provides free land to United Russia members. He is also the son-in-law of Nikolai Ashlapov, another member of the Sosny cooperative, a United Russia politician who oversaw preparations for the APEC summit.
That is how Neverov won this case. He defended, so to speak, his honor and dignity.
So if you ever happen to talk about Neverov with someone, just say it plainly: a very honest and good man. He leases 21 sotkas (about 0.21 hectares) in an elite area outside Moscow for 30,000 rubles a year.
Everyone will appreciate it: from grandmothers with dachas to those forced to rent a shabby room near the MKAD (Moscow Ring Road) at a price 12 times higher.
And finally, I would like to state officially: we regard this astonishing “lease” of land by Deputy Neverov from businessman Shustenko, in light of the terms of the deal that have now come to light, not as undeclared income but as a possible bribe that Neverov is receiving from Shustenko.
From borzoi puppies to land plots at astonishingly low prices.
The Anti-Corruption Foundation will file a crime report with the Investigative Committee, the Prosecutor’s Office, and other law enforcement agencies.