Russian mafia member sentenced for tax fraud

The Audiencia Nacional high court in Madrid has sentenced a member of the Russian mafia to a fifteen-month sentence for tax fraud. Jurij Salikov was an associate of mafia boss Gennadios Petrov in Majorca. The case considered by the court had to do with a company set up by Petrov and Salikov, the sole asset of which was a property in Portals Vells.

Salikov had used this company, Sunstar S.L., to move around two and a half million euros in a series of transactions to increase the total value. The origin of these funds was unknown. Salikov maintained that they were loans by his father. The court didn't accept this explanation and therefore sentenced him for an offence against the Hacienda.

This was a distinct part of the main case that followed the major operation that the high court launched against Russian mafia activities in Majorca in 2008. This was finally closed some months ago. Petrov, who had fled to Russia, was acquitted along with twenty others. The court could not definitively prove that funds which had come into Majorca were the consequence of criminal activity in Russia.

The part of the case concerning tax fraud centred on Sunstar. This company was founded by Petrov and Salikov in 1998. Two years later, Petrov sold his share to Salikov, who was also acquitted on the main charges that had been brought.