The Tverskoy Court in Moscow has granted civil lawsuits totaling nearly 15 billion rubles against the former head of power supplier TNS Energo, Dmitry Arzhanov, and his accomplices following their criminal sentencing, the press service of the city courts of general jurisdiction told Lenta.ru.
The court awarded 12.8 billion rubles to PJSC Rosseti Centre and Volga Region and more than 2.1 billion rubles to PJSC Rosseti Centre, recognizing both energy companies as victims in the fraud scheme.
Judges also ordered the confiscation of property belonging to the convicted individuals to benefit the state. The seized assets include movable and real estate property, bank account funds, and equity stakes in commercial organizations.
Electricity payment scheme
Investigators established that the group diverted funds collected from electricity consumers into the bank accounts of dummy companies instead of paying energy suppliers. The fraudulent scheme resulted in an unpaid debt exceeding 14 billion rubles to regional power grid operators.
Arzhanov was put on trial alongside three senior executives from the holding company. The co-defendants include former general director Sergey Afanasyev, executive director Boris Shchurov, and Afanasyev's wife, Sofya Afanasyeva, who served as deputy general director of the energy group.
Court findings revealed that the defendants funnelled consumer payments into third-party commercial projects. They also siphoned substantial portions of the funds out of Russia through offshore channels in Cyprus.
Corporate background
TNS Energo is one of Russia's largest independent electricity supply companies, managing power distribution across several regional markets. The plaintiffs, Rosseti Centre and Rosseti Centre and Volga Region, are major state-controlled regional utility operators responsible for maintaining electricity transmission networks across central Russia.
Cyprus has long served as a key international financial center for Russian business holdings seeking offshore corporate structures. Moscow's Tverskoy District Court handles major civil litigation and financial crime prosecutions originating in the capital.
