A Moscow Museum art historian convicted of smuggling is trying to whitewash criminal and drug kingpin Mekhti Mamedov in the media

20:41, 27.06.2022

Поделиться:

909   0

A Moscow Museum art historian convicted of smuggling is trying to whitewash criminal and drug kingpin Mekhti Mamedov in the media

A veteran drug kingpin, blackmailer, extortionist, and child kidnapper... What is known about the hardened criminal Mekhti Bahadurovich Mamedov, who controls the transit of Afghan narcotics into Russia while also running one of the most powerful corruption networks in Kazakhstan?

We will also examine how a forensic expert, who is himself one step away from prison, produces expert opinions praising the reputation of the hardened criminal Mamedov for the media. Read our investigation to learn more.

It should be noted from the outset that Mekhti Mamedov is an extremely non-public figure. Understandably so. With a record like his, remaining in the shadows is essential, and this representative of the criminal world has successfully managed to do exactly that, staying afloat for decades.

An ethnic Azerbaijani holding Kazakh citizenship, Mamedov has controlled the transit of Afghan narcotics into Russia for more than forty years. He has built a powerful corruption network in Kazakhstan as well as in several neighboring countries. According to media reports, Mamedov has recently developed close ties with the Nazarbayev family. He also maintains close relationships with various mafia figures, prosecutors, operatives, and others.

Mekhti is an avid collector of compromising material—a true "collector of dirt." His criminal record includes bribery, blackmail, extortion, corporate raiding, drug trafficking, and even child kidnapping. Such is Mekhti B. Mamedov.

But let us begin from the beginning.

The expert opinion refuting media reports about Mamedov was prepared by a forensic expert who himself received a three-year suspended sentence for... bribery

Let us start with the most striking episode—the attempts by Mamedov last year to whitewash his "honest" name on the internet.

Mamedov rarely emerges from the shadows of the information space. It can be assumed that such appearances in the public sphere cost him a considerable amount of money. For example, last year a publication appeared claiming to refute what it described as defamatory media reports, specifically an article published by an online outlet regarding Mekhti’s crimes. Notably, the article in question dated back to 2013. Why did he wait so long? Did things finally become too uncomfortable? Or did the dirt begin to surface almost ten years later? Given his record, that would hardly be surprising.

Another highly noteworthy detail concerns the website that published the so-called rebuttal. In reality, it is nothing more than a basic one-page website. In other words, it is a single-page site containing just one article, hastily put together specifically for Mamedov. It is paradoxical, crude, and almost laughable—but it is a fact.

Meanwhile, they came up with a fashionable name for it — "Law and Justice." The irony is obvious: Mekhti Mamedov and law and justice have nothing in common.

There is another noteworthy detail regarding this so-called "retraction." The expert opinion was prepared by private independent expert Tatyana Aleksandrovna Troitskaya.

We searched for this expert and found her profile. It is listed on the website of the Bureau of Forensic Examinations. No photograph is provided.

Did you notice her extensive experience, expertise, and honors degrees in the field of art history and related expert examinations?

Now, pay attention. This is the very same woman who became embroiled in a high-profile scandal after issuing an expert opinion regarding paintings featured in the television series Sex and the City. The case attracted significant criticism. It later emerged that T.A. Troitskaya had received a three-year suspended sentence for preparing an expert assessment whose findings enabled the removal of two valuable Buddha statuettes from the Museum of Oriental Art.

Here are some of the reviews of this expert.

In 2017, Troitskaya worked at the Museum of Moscow as an expert in the department responsible for controlling the import and export of cultural valuables. The court ruling states that she received a bribe and helped facilitate the illegal import into Russia of two 19th-century sculptures from Mongolia. For this, Tatyana Troitskaya was sentenced to three years probation.

And here we have an “expert” who is already one foot behind bars, yet still provides conclusions in defense of the reputation of drug lord and hardened criminal Mekhti Mamedov for the media.

Well, let’s move on.

Mekhti Bakhadurovich Mamedov: what is known about him

As we have already written above, Bakhadurovich is a non-public figure, and the Russian public knows very little about him. And that is understandable. He has plenty to hide.

Mamedov – a criminal and corrupt official

Mamedov has been part of the criminal underworld for a very long time. Back in Uzbekistan, he ran a large restaurant and later supplied vehicles from AvtoVAZ. During those turbulent times, achieving such success in business without criminal connections was simply impossible. Another fact confirming the criminal nature of Mekhti’s business activities was the murder of his business partner in 2004. After the murder, the businessman left Uzbekistan for Kazakhstan, where he illegally obtained citizenship. Two years later, an investigation was launched into the legality of the citizenship he had obtained, but Mamedov settled the matter and reached agreements with prosecutors. When it comes to one thing, he certainly knows how to give bribes.

In Kazakhstan, Mamedov gained control over Vladimir Nakisbayev, the head of the National Security Committee (KNB) Department in the South Kazakhstan region, through expensive and extremely valuable gifts.

In fact, it was he who “helped” Mekhti obtain a Kazakh passport and later assisted him in resolving important personnel matters.

Mamedov – a specialist in corporate raiding

With the necessary connections and influence, Mamedov truly made a name for himself in corporate raids. He began his raiding activities by targeting the owners of the “Mereke” hypermarket located in Shymkent. After taking over the shopping center, Mekhti began supplying the heads of prosecutor’s offices, courts, and the financial police with free food and expensive alcohol.

Later, after establishing corrupt ties with law enforcement agencies, Mamedov turned raiding into a systematic business. The scheme was simple and worked effectively. First, he approached business owners using threats and blackmail, and if that did not work, he threatened them with criminal prosecution. And yes, criminal cases were fabricated, company assets were seized, and so on. But today we will not go into details.

Mamedov – a veteran drug lord

Mekhti has been in control of the transit of Afghan narcotics to Russia for more than forty years. His connections with Kazakhstan’s Minister of Internal Affairs Marat Akhmetzhanov helped him achieve this.

It was Marat Muratovich who, using his status and position, pushed through all the necessary cases within law enforcement structures at various levels of jurisdiction. In addition to Muratovich, Mamedov’s list of accomplices includes a whole range of other figures. These include Almaty city prosecutor A. Yestayev, deputy prosecutor T. Suleimenov, head of the Almaty city court T. Barpibayev, head of the Almaty Department for Combating Economic and Corruption Crime M. Duisenov, and many others. The list could go on for a very long time.

Mamedov is one of the main drug lords involved in the transit of narcotic substances across the territories of former Soviet countries. This topic could also be explored in much greater detail. There are plenty of documented facts of numerous crimes.

Mamedov – a child kidnapper

This is the case when a criminal crossed the line of humanity. M. Mamedov, using the services of unidentified individuals, kidnapped the son of M. Amangaliyeva. For what purpose? Mekhti demanded that she hand over documentation related to the subsoil use rights for the “Kardai Square” gold deposit, as well as the “Taldy-Ashchesayskoye” aluminum deposit. The total value of these deposits at the time amounted to 3 million dollars. When the woman contacted the police, the kidnapping of her son and the large-scale extortion were not recorded. Why? Connections, that’s why... Mamedov has had everything under control for many years ahead.

There is even more to this kidnapping story... Mamedov filed a counterclaim, allegedly accusing her of defamation... As for the alleged defamation regarding Mamedov — we have already written about that above. By the way, this is also a very revealing detail...

To be continued.