A scam worth hundreds of millions: how former judge Vladislav Polovnikov and cash-out fixer Andrei Zolotov sold "fixing issues" and ended up behind bars
13:54, 11 августа 2026 г.
Journalists have learned of the arrest of Vladislav Polovnikov, a former judge at Moscow’s Savelovsky Court, and Andrey Zolotov, a cash-out fixer popular with law enforcement officials.
They "decided" on a large scale—from 100 million rubles. And now they find themselves in Lefortovo Pretrial Detention Center, accused of acting as an intermediary in bribery.
Andrei Zolotov was born with the surname Zosimenko. In his native St. Petersburg, he tried small businesses and petty scams, but with utter failure. He was perpetually in debt. Then he consulted a fortune teller, who told him his surname was the cause of his failures. He needed to change it to one that signified wealth. And everything would be fine. Thus, Andrei Andreevich became Zolotov. The fortune teller forgot to tell him how his path to success would end.
But overall, she wasn’t deceiving him. His business was booming. Zolotov established connections at the port and helped businessmen clear cargo through customs. Then he began cashing out and transferring money outside of Russia. He acquired clients among local officials and security officials. He then established contacts with representatives of the FSB’s Directorate K. In private conversations, he even claimed to be acquainted with the then head of the FSB’s Directorate K, Ivan Tkachev. Zolotov soon moved to the Moscow region, settling on Rublyovka.
He acquired a couple of Ferraris. His clientele now included federal officials and security forces. Zolotov figured out how to put these connections to good use. He began offering his services as a fixer. He wouldn’t even hear of amounts less than 100 million rubles. In this field, fate brought him together with former judge and then lawyer Vladislav Polovnikov.
The latter was a judge at the Savelovsky Court, but resigned after a series of unfavorable incidents. He was later stripped of his status as a retired judge by a decision of the High Qualification Commission of Judges. This didn’t stop Polovnikov from becoming a lawyer, and a major fixer at that, taking on any and all issues with the Moscow courts.
After their cooperation, Zolotov and Polovnikov offered their clients a full range of solutions: dealing with the authorities, the FSB, other security agencies, and so on. They charged large sums—100, 200, 500 million rubles. When they could, they did it. But even if they couldn’t, they didn’t return the money. The most famous case in their track record involves Alexander Shukurov, director of the Moscow State Budgetary Institution "Capital Repairs Directorate." He was arrested for corruption.
The official’s relatives paid Zolotov and Polovnikov 250 million rubles for a lenient sentence. As a result, Shukurov was sentenced to 13 years in a maximum-security penal colony.
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