The Investigative Committee has completed an investigation into the case of the owner of the largest gas station network in Crimea. What is known

The Investigative Committee (IC) of Russia has completed the investigation of the criminal case against the former president and co-owner of the largest Crimean gas station chain Sergey Beim and his partner Marina Pyatakova. This was reported by Kommersant on July 8. According to investigators, they signed a contract for the supply of fuel after the ferry with cargo belonging to the company sank. The defendants are charged with fraud on a particularly large scale — we are talking about the theft of more than 500 million rubles of budget funds from the customer. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

Conclusion of the contract

According to the investigation, in September 2024, Sergey Beim, together with Marina Pyatakova, who heads the Simferopol transport company Aurora, part of the thermal power plant, signed a contract with the Research and Design Institute of Testing Machines, Instruments and Measuring Instruments (NIKIMP).

The amount of the agreement was 224 million rubles. The document provided for the supply of gasoline and diesel fuel, which the customer never received.

Why didn't the deal take place

According to the case file, the fuel was to be delivered by the Konro-Trader railway ferry, owned by M-Service LLC, whose general director was also Marina Pyatakova.

At the same time, on August 23, 2024, a vessel with 30 fuel tanks was under a missile attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in the waters of the port of Kavkaz in the Krasnodar Territory. As a result of the attack, a fire started on board, after which the ferry sank.

According to the investigation, these circumstances precluded the possibility of executing the contract, which may indicate a fraudulent scheme.

Criminal case and detention

The reason for the initiation of the case was a statement by representatives of the Simferopol FSUE NIKIMP. The investigation believes that the defendants initially knew about the impossibility of fulfilling their obligations.

On June 2, 2025, the Main Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee opened a case under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Fraud committed by an organized group on an especially large scale"). Initially, the damage was estimated at 224 million rubles, but it was later increased to more than 500 million rubles.

Sergei Beim and Marina Pyatakova were detained on July 23, 2025. At the request of the investigation, the Basmanny Court sent both of them to the pre-trial detention center, where the businessmen are still being held. They face up to 10 years in prison.

Who is Sergey Beim?

Sergey Beim was born in Simferopol in 1968. He began his career in 1993, taking up the position of Vice President for Development at TES LLC, which was headed by his father Gennady Beim. In 1998, he received a higher education in economics, graduating from the Taurida Institute of Entrepreneurship and Law.

In 2006, Beim was elected to the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea from Yulia Tymoshenko's bloc, but later joined the Party of Regions. According to a number of sources, this decision could help strengthen TPP's position and secure major government contracts.

By 2013, TES Corporation had become one of the key players in the market. In addition to its core business, the company owns non-core assets, including hotels, car service stations, and auto parts stores.

In 2014, after the annexation of Crimea to Russia, the businessman ran for the State Council of the Republic from the Just Russia party, but the party did not overcome the electoral barrier. Soon, on September 30, 2014, he was appointed General Director of the state enterprise Chernomorneftegaz.

Beim runs the oil and gas business jointly with his brother Eduard and father Gennady Beim. According to media reports, the family was among the wealthiest in Crimea.