Zabelin Sergei Aleksandrovich

Biography

2025: Tougher sentence for embezzlement of ₽1,7 billion

The Moscow City Court toughened the punishment for former top managers of the Krasnodar LLC KB Novopokrovsky, who were found guilty of embezzlement of more than ₽1,7 billion. Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Bank Sergei Zabelin, Director of the Moscow Branch Olga Bogomolova, Director of the Lending Department Alexei Tsibizov, as well as their accomplice Ivan Pozharsky were sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 5.5 to 7.5 years and fines from ₽700 thousand to ₽900 thousand. This was reported by the press service of the Deposit Insurance Agency in May 2025.

According to RBC, the arrest of Tsibizov's property has been preserved pending consideration of a civil lawsuit. In December 2023, the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow appointed the defendants from 4.5 to 7 years in prison. Former bank executives denied their guilt.

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Фото: Freepik

The investigation established that in the period from July 2016 to November 2017, a member and chairman of the board of directors of Novopokrovsky Design Bureau LLC Alexei Demyanov, chairman of the bank's board Zabelin, heads of departments of the credit institution Tsibizov and other accomplices appropriated bank funds totaling over ₽1 billion by issuing deliberately bad loans to fictitious borrowers.

About ₽700 million more were stolen by transferring funds to controlled legal entities. The organizer of the criminal scheme, the investigation recognized the founder and chairman of the board of directors of Novopokrovsky Design Bureau LLC Alexei Demyanov, who pleaded guilty and in 2021 was sentenced in a special order to four and a half years in prison.

In 2017, the Bank of Russia revoked the license from Novopokrovsky Bank and appointed a temporary administration in the company. According to the regulator, the business model of the credit institution was focused on aggressive attraction of funds of the population and their placement in assets of unsatisfactory quality.^[1]

2023: Sentence - 7 years general regime for misappropriation

Former top managers of Novopokrovsky Bank received from 4.5 to 7 years in prison for embezzlement of 1 billion rubles. The corresponding decision of the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow on December 12, 2023 was announced by the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation.

As established by the investigation and the court, in the period from July 2016 to November 2017, the chairman of the board of directors of Novopokrovsky Design Bureau Alexei Demyanov, the chairman of the bank's board Zabelin, heads of departments of the credit institution Tsibizov and Frolenkov and other accomplices, appropriated the bank's funds totaling over 1 billion rubles by issuing deliberately bad loans to fictitious borrowers.

Former top managers of Novopokrovsky Bank received from 4.5 to 7 years in prison for embezzlement of 1 billion rubles

In addition, from December 2016 to July 2017, Zabelin, Tsibizov, Frolenkov, manager of the Moscow branch of Bogomolova Bank, Pozharsky and other accomplices appropriated funds from a commercial bank totaling 694 million rubles through transfer to controlled legal entities.

The accomplices stole the funds received, disposing of them at their discretion. Zabelin, Bogomolova, Pozharsky, Frolenkov and Tsibizov did not admit their guilt in the crime.

The court sentenced Zabelin, Tsibizov and Frolenkov to 7 years in prison each with serving a sentence in a general regime correctional colony. Bogomolova and Pozharsky were sentenced to 5 years and 4 years and 6 months in prison with a sentence in a general regime correctional colony.

In December 2017, the Central Bank revoked Novopokrovsky's license due to unfair behavior of the management and owners. According to the Central Bank, the business model of the credit institution was focused on aggressive attraction of funds of the population and their placement in assets of unsatisfactory quality.^[2]

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