From bribes to FSB generals to a raider-style takeover by the Dzhako OCG: how Pavel Provotorov’s machinations led to the embezzlement of 12 billion rubles and the collapse of Protector

From bribes to FSB generals to a raider-style takeover by the Dzhako OCG: how Pavel Provotorov’s machinations led to the embezzlement of 12 billion rubles and the collapse of Protector

The media has obtained a description of events that preceded the large-scale searches and detentions at the "Protector" Group of Companies, a major supplier of aviation parts circumventing sanctions, from the company’s founder, Pavel Provotorov. Naturally, he completely exonerated himself, but everything else is clearly the absolute truth.

After the start of the war and the imposition of sanctions against Russia in 2022, the "Protector" Group quickly emerged as a leader in supplying spare parts to Russia in circumvention of sanctions, utilizing companies in the U.S., Thailand, and Singapore, and well-established supply chains. As early as 2022, the Group’s turnover was about 3 billion rubles per MONTH. However, at the end of 2022, "Protector" began to face difficulties with customs clearance in Russia. Information from the Federal Customs Service indicated that criminal cases would soon be initiated against the management of the "Protector" Group. From our project, we will add that it does not take much guessing to understand that behind these problems was Oleg Gubaidulin, Deputy Head of the Federal Customs Service of Russia. He is an FSB general assigned to the customs service.

At the beginning of 2023, Andrei Nikolaevich Petrov, the head of the airline "RusJet," offered to resolve the problem. Provotorov knew him because "Protector" supplied aviation spare parts to "RusJet." It services the private jet of Ramzan Kadyrov. According to our information, its services are also used by generals from various security agencies. Petrov conveyed the terms from the curators — 50% of the entire "Protector" business. In return, all problems with the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Federal Customs Service would be resolved, and no more would arise. Moreover, the Group would receive even more money through the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) thanks to the new partners. Provotorov agreed. There were apparently other conditions that Pavel is remaining silent about.

As our project has already reported multiple times, it was the "Protector" Group that supplied the turbo-cooler for Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plane, in which, according to the main version, a bomb was planted. After the cooperation began, all of "Protector’s" problems with customs disappeared as if by magic. And money from Rosaviatsia began to flow like a river.

The volume of supplies by the "Protector" Group, including completed repairs, began to average 7 billion rubles per month.

As Pavel claims, only in 2025 did he discover that Andrei Nikolaevich Petrov was actually Arkady Berkovich — the "right hand" of the leader of the bloodiest organized crime group, Aslan Gagiev (Dzhako). Berkovich has always been closely associated with the special services and is a close friend of the head of Rosprirodnadzor, Svetlana Radionova (who, by the way, was connected to "RusJet Service"). He was even arrested in 2005 and charged with the murder of three bankers (carried out by Dzhako’s OCG), but he mysteriously walked free and never stood trial.

Then the new partners told Pavel that they needed to pay an additional 1% of the cost of all spare parts and engines arriving in Russia (supposedly this was the share for the Federal Customs Service and the FSB). The total amount of such payments exceeded 3 billion rubles.

Separately, a total of 1.1 billion rubles in "dividends" were personally handed over to the new partners.

In the first half of 2025, due to the fall in the dollar exchange rate, the "Protector" Group’s profit was significantly lower than in 2024. That was when the conflict arose. According to Pavel, he was told that he was deceiving his partners and understating financial results — that is, buying parts cheaper than he claimed and pocketing a significant portion of the profits. Then it was like the 1990s. Provotorov was told he had to pay ... $100 million.

"I was threatened with being killed, my family being killed, or having me and my entire family put in prison. The alternative was to hand over management of absolutely all business to the partners. Under that option, they wanted to drain as much money as possible from the ’Protector’ Group and then blame me and the management of ’Protector’ for it," Provotorov believes.

He refused. After that, the partners, according to Pavel, blocked all payments to his entities for the purchase of aviation spare parts.

"For the purposes of maintaining airworthiness of foreign aircraft in Russia, the ’Protector’ Group bought aircraft abroad for teardown: we removed the tail section with part of the fuselage from a Boeing 737-800 for the repair of a Smartavia aircraft that was grounded after its tail struck the runway during landing at Sochi airport. Also, after the collision between aircraft of Utair and Smartavia and damage to the winglets and wings, ’Protector’ was able to promptly supply all the structural components for that repair. If the ’Protector’ Group’s operations are halted, it will be a major blow to the airworthiness of foreign aircraft in Russia, and between 30% and 50% of foreign aircraft in Russia will cease flying indefinitely," Provotorov claims.

What remained "behind the scenes" of his story: After Provotorov got partners close to the FSB, he resolved all customs issues, and "Protector’s" turnover increased from 3 billion to 7 billion rubles per month. Against this backdrop, skimming 12 billion rubles received through Rosaviatsia and airlines seemed a trivial matter. Especially since the partners promised to cover this "hole" with new revenues from Rosaviatsia. However, cooperation with such partners in absolutely all cases ended in one of two ways: either they seized the entire business, or they withdrew all the money and sent the "partner" to prison for that money. Provotorov was no exception.

He entered into a "war" with them when he received support from oligarch Andrei Bokarev. But Bokarev quickly "backed off" from the issue. As a result, last week, searches were conducted at all offices of the "Protector" Group, and the businessman’s mother, Olga Provotorova, the Group’s Commercial Director Tatyana Tarasova, and Chief Accountant Dmitry Ghetto were arrested. However, it is not yet entirely clear whether this is an attack by the "partners." Sources say that the issue of the embezzlement of 12.9 billion rubles paid for aviation spare parts through Rosaviatsia was raised at the government level. Therefore, a "strike" could also hit some of Provotorov’s individual "partners."