62-year-old producer of "Laskoviy May" forced to hide in Miami 0 15

The family of the soloist of the group "Laskoviy May," Yuri Shatunov, assessed the amount of damage in the criminal case against producer Andrei Razin (62) at 1 billion rubles (about 11,000,000 euros). This was reported by those close to the singer's family.

It was previously reported that Razin left Russia after a criminal case was initiated against him for large-scale fraud. He is hiding from the investigation in the state of Florida in the USA, particularly in the city of Miami. The producer has distant relatives there whom he often visited.

Razin is accused of using a forged contract with songwriter Sergey Kuznetsov to appropriate licensing payments for the hits of "Laskoviy May." According to the investigation, through this scheme, the producer earned about 500 million rubles. The second episode of fraud is related to Razin's use of a fictitious agreement with Shatunov.

Earlier, producer Razin filed a complaint about the illegal use of "Laskoviy May" songs.

The subject of the dispute includes 27 main hits of the group "Laskoviy May": "Belye Rozy," "Sedaya Noch," "Rozovyy Vecher" — all of which were literally played from every radio in the late 1980s.

Thanks to the forged contract, for over 20 years, the royalties intended for the songwriter went to Andrei Razin's accounts. Now, the amount in question is 500 million rubles, which constitutes large-scale fraud, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Investigators clarify that the amount may significantly increase as the investigation proceeds.

Sergey Kuznetsov led a music club in a children's orphanage and wrote songs in his free time, but he could not sing himself. Therefore, he decided to form a group that later became known as "Laskoviy May."

"But there was no vocalist, so we had to look for one. One night, Slava and I probably had a kilogram of cognac. We sat down, and he remembered: 'There’s a boy in Albulak. He has an amazing voice and plays the guitar.' That was Yuri Vasilyevich Shatunov," said the author of the music and lyrics of the songs of the group "Laskoviy May," Sergey Kuznetsov.

A little later, the collective was noticed by Andrei Razin, the producer of the popular group "Mirazh" at that time. The talented administrator immediately understood how to profit from it.

"When I received 2000 rubles per concert from 'Laskoviy May,' it was 1987, while Alla Borisovna received 67 rubles," Andrei Razin said.

As a result, 47 million tickets were sold for the group's concerts — an absolute world record. Soviet orphans even surpassed Michael Jackson.

For successful production by any means necessary, Razin was often referred to as the Ostap Bender of the show business world. By the way, he himself is a Turkish citizen, which he used to hide from justice.

"The Republic of Turkey has taken me under its protection. My lawyer appealed to the Chairman of the Supreme Court of Russia," Andrei Razin said.

This is not Razin's first case. After the group's breakup in 1992, a long legal battle began with Yuri Shatunov, who managed to defend the right to perform his own repertoire. Today, the disputes continue with Shatunov's heirs. Thanks to the sensational series "Slovo Patsana," the hits of "Laskoviy May" have regained popularity.