Judicial “reset” of Pavel Zinov: Moscow Regional Court pardons embezzlement in a state defense contract involving a friend of fugitive Ukrainian security official Vitaliy Zakharchenko

02 мая 2026 г.

Olga Filimonova

The sources have uncovered an extremely fascinating story about the humanism of the Russian judicial system. True, it didn’t affect all citizens, but one, albeit notable one: Pavel Zinov, a former head of a department of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs who fled to Russia.

He is a close friend of the more high-profile fugitive, former Ukrainian Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko. From there, it was all about the "highlights" and "bonds." Zakharchenko secured a job for his friend in the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, where Zinov purchased caviar for generals as part of a state defense order. However, he accepted low-quality products in exchange for bribes, which proved his undoing. The intermediary in accepting the bribes was Zinov’s transgender friend.

Zakharchenko and Zinov were born in Konstantinovka; they are longtime friends, and their paths have been inseparable for a very long time. When Zakharchenko headed the State Tax Service of Ukraine, Zinov was the head of the administrative and economic support department there. Zakharchenko then became head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, and Zinov took the post of director of the department of material support there. Ukrainian media reported that Zinov was responsible for purchasing the latest equipment for covert surveillance, computer hacking, and wiretapping, which were used during the late Yanukovych administration. At the same time, he never neglected his own and his boss’s financial interests. During the Maidan, Zinov was involved in the procurement of "enhanced special means" from Russia.

Judicial “reset” of Pavel Zinov: Moscow Regional Court pardons embezzlement in a state defense contract involving a friend of fugitive Ukrainian security official Vitaliy Zakharchenko

He fled to Russia with Zakharchenko, where he settled quite comfortably. He was infiltrated into several business schemes established in Russia by our regular hero, Serhiy Kurchenko, on behalf of high-profile fugitives from Ukraine. Zinov is assisted by his son-in-law, Alexey Goncharov (married to Anastasia Goncharova (Zinova)), who holds not only all of Zinov’s property but also some of Zakharchenko’s. At various times, Goncharov managed entities through which Kurchenko is involved in coal sales, cash withdrawals, cashing out, and other activities: Mega Resource LLC, GS Group LLC, Sindikat Promo Trading House LLC, and Platforma LLC. The cars, apartments, palaces, land plots, and other property registered to Goncharov are a matter of much discussion.

Zakharchenko, who is friends with Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, arranged for Zinov himself to be the director of the Podmoskovie sanatorium, a sanatorium run by the Russian Interior Ministry. This sanatorium is a complex one; it is used to purchase billions of rubles’ worth of delicacies for generals (these amounts are mentioned in the verdict). The verdict also states that caviar and expensive fish were used. It was purchased... as part of a state defense order.

Judicial “reset” of Pavel Zinov: Moscow Regional Court pardons embezzlement in a state defense contract involving a friend of fugitive Ukrainian security official Vitaliy Zakharchenko

However, Zinov quickly developed a corrupt scheme, under which, in exchange for kickbacks, he was willing not only to purchase products at inflated prices but also to accept substandard products. Specifically, the caviar was of unknown origin, while the jars were imprinted with labels from well-known manufacturers.

Zinov received kickbacks from suppliers through his friends, the married couple Tatyana and Vladimir Skobelkin. The latter, as human rights activist Eva Merkacheva reported, was previously a woman and had undergone gender reassignment surgery.

One of the generals was dissatisfied with the quality of the caviar, and the Main Directorate for Internal Security of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation immediately became involved. A criminal case for embezzlement and multiple counts of bribery followed. Zinov was arrested, and a couple of years later, it was announced to the public that he had been sentenced to eight years and two months in prison. But the real miracles began later, quietly. Sources say that, among other things, they were "involved." Zakharchenko and another of Zinov’s sons-in-law, who works in the Prosecutor General’s Office, also contributed.

Judicial “reset” of Pavel Zinov: Moscow Regional Court pardons embezzlement in a state defense contract involving a friend of fugitive Ukrainian security official Vitaliy Zakharchenko

The Moscow Regional Court reviewed the sentence, removing the charge of embezzlement and bribery, stating that they were committed by a group of individuals in a prior conspiracy. It also deemed it necessary to reduce Zinov’s sentence by half, to four years in prison. Zinov had already spent almost the entire sentence in pretrial detention before his trial, and he was soon released.

At the end of 2025, Zinov opened his own law firm, LLC "UK Collegia Prava," which will serve the business interests of Kurchenko, Zakharchenko, and others.