Russian Partners Blame German Sterligov In Building Financial Pyramid

21.09.2009 — News

THE SVERDLOVSK OBLAST.

The Kirovski District Court in Ekaterinburg will start the hearing of the "Zaikov against Sterligov" suit on 24 September 2009, the sum mentioned is 10.5 million roubles. This suit may become a finale of the business career of the entrepreneur German Sterligov, who once ran for Presidency in Russia.

In the autumn 2008 German Sterligov, after many years of farming, had appeared in society again with the idea of saving the Russian business. At the time of the world financial crisis he suggested returning to bartering chains when companies exchange commodities through a joint database, thus ensuring sales of their products.

The blanket advertising of the Anticrisis Settlement & Commodity Centre (ASCENT) was built around Sterligov's recognisable image; he travelled around large Russian cities and some CIS and other countries. The avalanche of news articles and adverts had only one goal of attracting investors into the system. German Sterligov offered anyone who wanted it a position of a representative in a Russian region or a foreign country. In order to be connected to the clearing system the regional representatives had to pay between 30 and 200 thousand Euro depending on the rank of a particular centre. The most expensive entrance fee was for foreigners.

In February 2009 Dmitri Zaikov, a Ekaterinburg businessman, chose for himself the Tyumen Oblast and the Republic of Kazakhstan. Having signed a contract with OJSC Anticrisis Settlement & Commodity Centre, he paid 230 thousand Euro and began to wait for the admittance to the settlement & commodity centres system. In the three following months Mr. Zaikov had not received services promised by Mr. Sterligov. In the end of May he demanded the termination of the contract and reimbursement of the money. Mr. Sterligov refused to fulfil this demand voluntarily.

Dmitri Zaikov told RusBusinessNews that Sterligov's project is reminiscent of a financial pyramid. The system is based on the money received for the connection to a nonexistent clearing system. Businessmen who believed in the project paid 51.6 million roubles to Mr. Sterligov for the opening of 29 regional centres in Russia and four centres in the CIS countries and China. They did not get anything in return.

When some of the entrepreneurs tried to get their investments back they found out that the account of OJSC Anticrisis Settlement & Commodity Centre is practically empty. Only 44 thousand had been arrested to provide for Mr. Zaikov's claim. Sterligov's progeny, as well as his idea, has to be declared bankrupt. Having spent 38.5 million roubles on advertising (not counting the spending on advertising of regional partners) the businessman has not created anything. No deal went through the system as it was dead. RusBusinessNews has financial documents confirming that 30 odd million roubles had been spend on the upkeep of the central office of ASCENT.

Mr. Sterligov invariably claims that he has spent 15 to 18 million Euro he borrowed from friends and associates on the establishment of the anti crisis settlement and commodity system. Most likely this claim is unfounded. Same as the businessman's words that there are foreign centres opened in London, Hong-Kong, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. Sterligov's partner who opened the centre in China died in a car crash after demanding the return of 350 thousand Euro. The ASCENT American centre's curator has also died under extremely suspicious circumstances.

Dmitri Zaikov is not the only person to have filed a suit against Sterligov's company. Arbitration courts are considering claims of businessmen who opened the Centre's representations in three Russian regions, Ukraine, and Estonia. The total amount of money claimed from Sterligov already exceeds 520 thousand Euro.

Former Sterligov's partners are convinced that now he is trying to build a "golden pyramid" in London, where the golden standard idea has been presented. It is quite likely that the businessman needs a way into the world's finance capital in order to pump the money out of foreign entrepreneurs. Trust in him in Russia will disappear after the empty ASCENT while abroad the bearded Russian will still be able to attract profit hunters who don't know him.