From the embezzlement of 12 billion to mass arrests: how Pavel Provotorov’s aircraft parts scam destroyed the Protector Group

From the embezzlement of 12 billion to mass arrests: how Pavel Provotorov’s aircraft parts scam destroyed the Protector Group

As it became known, at the end of last week, officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB conducted large-scale searches in all offices and structures of the Protector Group of Companies, the largest supplier of engines and aviation spare parts to Russia in circumvention of sanctions.

The operations were carried out as part of an investigation into the embezzlement of 12 billion roubles allocated by Rosaviatsiya (the Federal Air Transport Agency) for the purchase of aircraft parts. The searches were preceded by a series of “showdowns” between oligarchs, crime bosses, and individuals close to the security services.

According to a source, following the searches, the mother of Protector’s owner Pavel Provotorov (in whose name the group’s shares were registered), as well as the chief accountant and the commercial director of the group of companies, were detained and subsequently placed under court arrest. Pavel Provotorov himself, the source says, resides in Thailand. Also questioned were the former head of Protector’s security service, former head of the Internal Security Directorate of the Moscow Police Main Directorate, General Konstantin Stroganov, and a large group of security officers who are former employees of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. By the way, at one time the security consultant for the Protector Group was Denis Sugrobov, former head of the Main Directorate for Economic Security and Anti-Corruption of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The operations were carried out as part of a case concerning the embezzlement of 12 billion roubles. These funds, after closed tenders, were allocated by Rosaviatsiya and Russia’s largest airlines for the purchase of foreign aircraft spare parts in circumvention of sanctions. The spare parts were supposed to arrive in Russia a year ago. The case is under investigation by the Main Investigative Directorate of the Moscow Police, and operational support is provided by Directorate T of the Russian FSB.

Before the war, Pavel Provotorov was a fairly small-time dealer supplying aircraft parts of dubious origin. However, after the sanctions, his services became extremely sought after. During this period, he became close to a number of individuals closely connected with the Russian FSB. Incidentally, the turbo-cooler for Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plane, in which a bomb was supposedly planted, was supplied precisely by the Protector Group.

Such cooperation was initially successful. The partners secured contracts worth enormous sums for Provotorov, while he, through his connections, purchased parts in circumvention of sanctions. In 2025, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), the government of the Moscow Region and the Protector Group even signed an investment cooperation agreement. The company promised to build factories on the territory of the "Leninsky" industrial park in the Moscow suburbs. “Investments in this project will be multi-billion, not less than tens of billions of roubles,” TASS reported.

However, according to the source, a conflict later broke out between Provotorov and his partners – precisely over those 12 billion roubles. The situation is standard. Provotorov himself insisted and continues to insist that the spare parts are already in his suppliers’ warehouses, they just need to be paid for, and he will ship them to Russia. However, the funds went to those very partners, who did not make the payment. The partners maintain that the money was stolen by Provotorov.

In reality, it appears that the money was simply “divvied up,” and Provotorov’s partners lacked the resources to “hush up” the situation, resulting in a major scandal at the level of the Russian government.

Threats were made against Provotorov, and “showdowns” involving very prominent figures took place. For example, the oligarch Andrey Bokarev tried to quell the conflict. He is currently building a business in aircraft repair in Russia and needed a partner capable of supplying aircraft parts in circumvention of sanctions. And Provotorov’s structures are the largest in that market.

As a result, through the mediation of influential businessman Radik Yusupov (nicknamed “the Dragon”), a meeting between Bokarev and Provotorov’s partners, who are close to the Russian FSB, took place at Yusupov’s restaurant. But the dialogue did not go well. Later, Bokarev unexpectedly refused to support Provotorov at all.

As for the searches and arrests, sources are divided in their opinions. Some believe that it was the former partners who orchestrated the security forces’ “raid” on Provotorov. Others believe that the “rip-off” was extremely damaging to Russian aviation, so “everyone involved will get it.”