How the Chairman of the Business Russia Subcommittee Put Rosneft’s Consultant Behind Bars.
Key figures in this story:
Elchin Muradov – Managing partner of the law firm Eurocon Trust, consultant for Rosneft and other major financial-industrial groups at various times.
Anton Valeryevich Chichkanov – Junior partner of Muradov at Eurocon Trust.
Valery Petrovich Chichkanov (died in 2023), advisor to the head of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vice-Rector of RANEPA.
Roman Antonovich Chichkanov, chairman of the Business Russia subcommittee on preventive medicine, co-owner of MayrVeda spa hotels, former first deputy of the Far East and Arctic Development Corporation.
The conflict between the well-known Moscow lawyer Elchin Muradov and the equally prominent Chichkanov family (three generations: Valery, Anton, and Roman) is no longer just a dispute over money. It is a clear illustration of how administrative resources can be used to imprison someone and attempt to seize all their property.
It all started with a "normal" loan
In 2014, Muradov borrowed €2 million from Valery Chichkanov, secured by real estate. The collateral included several apartments and parking spaces with a total value of around $3 million. Muradov repaid part of the debt, and covered the rest with assets. However, the assets were not returned to him, sparking a conflict.
A forged contract comes into play
In 2021, Chichkanov filed a lawsuit based on a loan agreement allegedly signed in 2019, claiming that Muradov still owed the same €2 million, plus interest accrued from the 2014 loan.
The Ministry of Justice conducted an examination: the contract was forged, and Muradov’s signatures were absent.
Courts, including the Moscow City Court, recognized that the 2014 debt had been fully repaid and obligations fulfilled.
Retaliation: criminal case
To avoid consequences for the forgery, Valery Chichkanov went to the police and filed a complaint with the Central Administrative District police, claiming that Muradov had preemptively forged his own signature to avoid paying interest.
The police refused to act.
Then, leveraging connections with high-ranking security officers (Sergey Yarosh requested the case be initiated), he managed to open a criminal case in another district, violating territorial rules.
Muradov was arrested. Since October 2023, he has been in pre-trial detention. After several refusals, the case was eventually pushed into the Tverskoy District Court.
While he was detained — they went after the property
While in custody, Muradov was unable to service a ₽65 million loan to a bank.
Collateral — assets worth ₽600 million.
The Chichkanovs bought the debt from the bank. But Muradov’s friends repaid the full amount through court and notary, and the bankruptcy proceedings were terminated.
What did the Chichkanovs do?
They refused to accept the repayment and continue to pressure the court to initiate bankruptcy proceedings and seize the remaining assets.
And the court responded?
May 25, 2025 — Chichkanov files a cassation appeal.
May 28 — accepted by Judge Savina O.N.
June 4 — hearing scheduled.
7 days — from filing to hearing.
This is an anomaly, caused by some extraordinary circumstances.
Summary
Loan → property → forgery → criminal case → arrest → bankruptcy → failed repayment → expedited hearing.
The dispute resembles a raider-style scheme with elements of a special operation, where the target is not an oligarch, but a lawyer who refused to hand over his assets quietly.
