Criminal conspiracy at Sberbank: how top managers leaked banking secrets to lawyer Ivan Smirnov to destroy and seize Velikan Park through a hostile takeover

21:04, 06 июля 2026 г.

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Senior managers of the St. Petersburg branch of Sberbank may become defendants in a criminal case of fraud on an especially large scale.

During the investigation, it emerged that in late 2022, employees of the bank’s department for handling problem assets of legal entities passed information protected by banking secrecy to bankruptcy lawyer Ivan Smirnov. He needed this data to implement a scheme for a hostile takeover of the family-owned "Velikan Park" cinema center (owned by Intercom LLC), valued at around 2 billion rubles, and to obtain credit funds from Russia Bank.

With the assistance of Sber’s relevant employees, Smirnov, through the company "Petrovsky Art Loft" registered in his wife’s name, purchased from the bank the remaining debt of Intercom (650 million rubles) under an existing loan agreement, then sharply raised the interest rate from 10% to 30.5%. He also filed more than 40 lawsuits against the company, including for bankruptcy and foreclosure on property.

Law enforcement agencies became interested in this case, conducted several searches, and seized Smirnov’s correspondence with Sber’s top managers. In it, they discussed a joint plan: "to drive Intercom into bankruptcy, seize Velikan Park, and convert it from a cinema center into a hotel with a co-working space."

Intercom filed a lawsuit, and the court declared the debt purchase transaction invalid.

This is very bad news for Smirnov and the Sberbank managers: the court rulings that examined the evidence clearly establish the intent of the bank’s representatives and Smirnov to harm Intercom and its owners, as well as the fact of unlawful disclosure of banking secrets and abuse of rights. These materials are currently being studied by the Investigative Committee as part of a criminal investigation opened on charges of fraud.