Rolf car dealership founder Sergei Petrov is sentenced to nine years in absentia over an alleged 4-billion-ruble scheme

Sergey Petrov, founder of the car dealership Rolf, has been sentenced to nine years in absentia by the Cheryomushkinsky District Court in Moscow. The charges stem from allegations that he transferred 4 billion rubles abroad, with an additional fine of 800,000 rubles imposed. Russian authorities initiated the criminal case against Petrov and Rolf’s senior executives in 2019, while Petrov was residing in Austria and opted not to return to Russia.

Petrov maintains his innocence, stating that he did not transfer any funds from Rolf. The indictment accuses Petrov and three other individuals—Tatyana Lukovetskaya, Georgy Kafkalia, and Anatoly Kairo—of forging an agreement to purchase shares in Rolf Estate for 3.9 billion rubles. However, investigators claim that the shares were worth no more than one ruble, as Rolf Estate's assets had been pledged as collateral.

The funds allegedly passed through foreign organizations controlled by Petrov before reaching him directly. Rolf, Russia’s largest car dealership, was established by Petrov in 1991 and Petrov served as a State Duma deputy from 2007 to 2016. In 2011, he participated in a rally against election fraud in Moscow. In December 2023, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree nationalizing Rolf, with businessman Umar Kremlev subsequently becoming the company's new owner.