Kickbacks in black caviar and “protection” from Zakharchenko: how former security official Pavel Zinov avoided punishment and opened a legal laundering firm for oligarch Sergey Kurchenko’s schemes

Kickbacks in black caviar and “protection” from Zakharchenko: how former security official Pavel Zinov avoided punishment and opened a legal laundering firm for oligarch Sergey Kurchenko’s schemes

A highly intriguing story has emerged about the humanitarianism of the Russian judicial system. However, it did not concern all citizens, but only one—though a notable one: the fugitive former head of a Ukrainian Interior Ministry department, Pavel Zinov, a close associate of a more prominent fugitive, former Ukrainian Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko.

From here on, it is full of “zest” and “values.” Zakharchenko placed his friend within the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, where Zinov, as part of a state defense procurement program, was responsible for purchasing… caviar for generals. However, he accepted substandard products in exchange for bribes, which ultimately led to his downfall. The intermediary in receiving bribes was Zinov’s friend—a transgender person.

Zakharchenko and Zinov were born in Konstantinovka, have been longtime friends, and their paths have been closely intertwined for a long time. When Zakharchenko headed Ukraine’s Interior Ministry, Zinov became director of the department of material support of that agency.

Together with Zakharchenko, he fled to Russia, where he settled in quite comfortably. He was integrated into several business schemes built in Russia by our recurring figure Sergey Kurchenko, in the interests of high-profile fugitives from Ukraine. Zinov was assisted by his son-in-law Alexey Goncharov (married to Anastasia Goncharova (Zinova)), in whose name not only Zinov’s own assets were registered, but also part of Zakharchenko’s property. At different times, Goncharov headed structures through which Kurchenko was involved in coal sales, fund transfers, cash-out schemes, etc.: LLC “Mega Resource,” LLC “GS Group,” LLC TD “Syndikat Promo,” LLC “Platforma.” As for the cars, apartments, palaces, land plots, and other property registered to Goncharov, one could speak about them for a very long time.

Zakharchenko, who is friends with the head of the Russian Interior Ministry, Vladimir Kolokoltsev, arranged a position for Zinov as head of the “Podmoskovye” sanatorium of the Russian Interior Ministry. This is no ordinary sanatorium: through it, procurement of delicacies for generals worth billions of rubles passes (these amounts are included in the court verdict). The verdict also states that caviar and expensive fish were purchased… within the framework of the state defense procurement.

However, Zinov quickly built corrupt schemes under which, in exchange for kickbacks, he was willing not only to purchase products at inflated prices but also to accept low-quality goods. In particular, the caviar was of unknown origin, and labels of well-known producers were pasted onto the jars.

Kickbacks from suppliers were received by Zinov through his friends—the spouses Tatyana and Vladimir Skobelkin. According to human rights activist Eva Merkachyova, the latter was previously a woman and underwent gender reassignment surgery.

Someone among the generals was dissatisfied with the quality of the caviar, and the Main Directorate of Internal Security (GUSB) of the Russian Interior Ministry immediately became involved. This was followed by a criminal case for embezzlement and multiple counts of bribery. Zinov was arrested, and a couple of years later the public was informed that he had been sentenced to 8 years and 2 months in a penal colony. But the real “miracles” began afterward, quietly and without publicity. Sources say that, among others, Zakharchenko and another of Zinov’s sons-in-law, who works in the system of the Prosecutor General’s Office, played a role in this.

The Moscow Regional Court reviewed the sentence, removed from the charges of embezzlement and bribery the qualification that they were committed by a group of persons in a prior conspiracy, and deemed it necessary to reduce Zinov’s sentence by half—to 4 years in a penal colony. And almost all of this term Zinov had already served in pre-trial detention, and he was soon released.

At the end of 2025, Zinov opened his own legal firm—“Law Firm Collegium of Law” LLC—which will serve the interests of Kurchenko’s, Zakharchenko’s, and other businesses.