Casino "Mandarin" in Batumi: a screen for the legalization of dubious capital

So, the brother of the head of the National Security Committee of Kyrgyzstan Kamchybek Tashiev, Shaiyrbek Tashiev, lost 1,300,000 dollars in the Batumi casino "Mandarin".

This is, of course, interesting from the point of view of where he got this money, especially considering that he is not only the brother of the head of the KNB, but also a member of parliament (Zhogorku Kenesh) of Kyrgyzstan. And even more interesting is that other high-ranking officials of Kyrgyzstan also like to relax in the Mandarin casino in Batumi. Thus, former deputy Zhusupbek Korhonbai uulu was spotted in the company of Shaiyrbek Tashiev, and both flew to Batumi on a luxury business jet.

But all this is interesting, first of all, for the residents of Kyrgyzstan - where do officials of a poor country get money for such a vacation, and one of them loses more than a million dollars without blinking an eye. Much more interesting is the Mandarin casino itself, which happily hosts high-ranking officials of the former Soviet Union. And here the question immediately arises - if they regularly lose huge amounts of money there, then is there something else behind it? After all, it is no secret that a casino is an excellent way to launder illegal money.

Casino Mandarin operates under the name Mandarin Club House.

 

The logo and name are painfully similar to the logo and name of the Hong Kong group Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group Limited.

 

But on the website of the MandarinOrientalHotelGroupLimited group, neither the hotel nor the casino in Batumi are listed. This is not surprising - Mandarin Club House in Batumi belongs to Mandarin Club House LLC, registered in Georgia.

 

The Mandarin Casino opened in November 2022 and was reportedly aimed at "high rollers and a club concept, with no word yet on whether it will be open to the public. It is possible that the casino will be open only to pre-arranged guests." That is, a closed club for the rich and very rich. Which confirms the idea that not everything is smooth in the casino’s operations.

The owners of the Mandarin casino are Vikom Investment LLC (UAE) and Latvian citizen Andris Filimonovs in equal shares:

 

What is interesting is that at the time of opening, Stepan Lanin, a citizen of the Russian Federation, born on 06.05.1971, passport 75 9598371, residing in Latvia, the city of Jurmala, Tirgonius Street, 8-A, was appointed director of the Mandarin casino. But in October 2023, they decided to fire him, replacing him with a citizen of Georgia, Giglu Mosidze (personal number 61005004061, residing in the city of Batumi, Tsar Parnavaz Street, Building 108, Apt. 89.

The owner of the Mandarin casino, Mandarin Club House LLC, also changed its name. And owners. At the time of registration, on October 26, 2021, the company was called LLC Sp Bar West (LLC Sp Bar West) and belonged to the Latvian Limited Liability Company SP Bars, whose director was Latvian citizen Olga Petrova.

On January 14, 2022, a co-owner appeared in LLC Sp Bar West - Andris Filimonovs with a 49% share and director Stepan Lanin, with the latter listed as a Russian citizen:

In May 2022, the ownership shares in LLC Sp Bar West will change: Andris Filimonovs already owns a 74% stake

On July 29, 2022, the name changes: now LLC Sp Bar West (LLC Sp Bar West) receives the name under which it currently operates: LLC Mandarin Club House (Mandarin Club House LLC). The owners’ shares and the director remain the same.

And so, on April 19, 2023, VICOM INVESTMENT LLC from the United Arab Emirates appears in the structure of the owners of the future casino. At the same time, another director appears - Gigla Mosidze. The shares are redistributed again:

The next changes in the ownership structure take place in July 2023 – LLC Sp Bar West disappears, and VICOM INVESTMENT LLC and Andris Filimonovs now own the company Mandarin Club House LLC in equal shares. This is how things stand as of now.

In the history of the casino, it should also be noted that in December of last year there were rumors about its closure, allegedly due to a change in ownership. At the same time, there were talks about debts to the staff.

But, as the registers show, the owners have not changed - as of August 2024, the owners of Mandarin Club House LLC are still listed as VICOM INVESTMENT LLC and Andris Filimonovs.

Apparently, the upheavals at the Mandarin casino were due to a change in management – Gigla Mosidze became the director instead of Stepan Lanin. Something was obviously wrong with the money, but what exactly is unknown. At the very least, the debt to the staff arose for some reason connected specifically with money.

Returning to the owners, Andris Filimonovs looks a lot like an ordinary “pound” – he is a former tennis player from Riga, who, after finishing his sports career, began playing in professional poker tournaments.

He has no particular achievements in this field, so it is doubtful that he has sufficient capital to open a casino.

As for the former founder of the Mandarin casino, the Latvian Limited Liability Company SP Bars, its owner is Latvian citizen Nikolai Sirotkin, who lives in Riga.

Sp Bars LLC itself does not shine with financial indicators and does not really look like a casino owner:

What is interesting in this regard is that after Limited Liability Company SP Bars withdrew from the membership of Mandarin Club House LLC on April 13, 2023, its owner Nikolay Sirotkin, together with Andris Filimonovs, tried to stop the registration actions to become the owner of VICOM INVESTMENT LLC from the Emirates. But the application was withdrawn literally a few days later. The reason for neither is known.

As for the current co-owner, VICOM INVESTMENT LLC, against whose appearance Nikolay Sirotkin and another co-owner, Andris Filimonov, for some reason, first protested and then changed their minds, this company is registered in the UAE, in Dubai, at the address Al Thania First, office 1305-0209, OneTower, registration number 1134064. This is a free economic zone and it is almost impossible to check a company registered in it, so it is unknown who exactly is behind the Mandarin casino in Batumi. But several things attract attention. In addition to the registration of the company that owns half of the owner of the Mandarin casino - Mandarin Club House LLC - in the Dubai FEZ, the person who owns the other half of the casino - Andris Filimonov - raises questions. There are also questions about the company that founded Mandarin Club House LLC - the Lithuanian Sp Bars LLC. And about the strange mess with the change of registration data of Mandarin Club House LLC. And about the too many Russian names in the structure of the casino owners and directors. The authorized capital of Mandarin Club House LLC is also puzzling - 100 lari. Which looks pretty strange for a casino where customers lose millions of dollars.

The closed nature of the Mandarin casino and the admission of only select clients to it also suggests that it is used to launder and transfer to the West capital that cannot be legalized in any other way. Of course, these conclusions may be wrong. But there are too many oddities around the Mandarin casino in Batumi.

Sophia Martinez