In 2021, a company that serviced facilities at the Russian Defense Ministry’s Patriot Park began signing and extending contracts with a Moscow firm co-owned by the sons of Avigdor Lieberman — who previously served as Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs (2009-2012 and 2013-2015), Minister of Defense (2016-2018), and Minister of Finance (2021-2022), among other cabinet posts. Investigators believe the contracts — signed between Russian company Hermes LLC and the Lieberman sons’ Lamed A.K. Holdings Russia Ltd LLC — were used in order to channel payments in exchange for assistance obtaining and renewing Defense Ministry contracts, while the work specified in the agreements was not actually performed. St. Petersburg-based outlet Fontanka estimates the total value of the contracts at 200 million rubles ($2.4 million). The outlet reported the details, citing testimony from a businessman who was questioned in a separate case involving Patriot Park CEO Igor Vasilyev.
Who owned the Russian company
Fontanka’s report mentions only Amos Lieberman. However, The Insider found that the Russian company was owned by both sons of the Israeli politician: Amos Mordechai Lieberman and his brother, Yaakov David Lieberman, known as Kobi. According to corporate registry records, each held a 50% stake in Lamed A.K., which was registered in Moscow on Jan. 24, 2019.
Pavel Kurilenko served as director general from the company’s founding. However, on April 12, 2023, both brothers withdrew as shareholders, leaving Kurilenko as the sole owner. On April 25, 2025, the company changed its name to Welltov LLC while retaining the same registration numbers. Nevertheless, when Hermes began signing contracts with the company, both of Avigdor Lieberman’s sons were still co-owners.
How the company became linked to Patriot Park
Amos Lieberman knew Hermes CEO Yevgeny Mariyev and, investigators believe, helped him obtain and renew contracts to service Defense Ministry facilities in Moscow and Kronstadt, Fontanka reported. Hermes initially worked as a subcontractor, with the main contractor, management company UK BSM, assigning it part of the work. In 2021, Hermes received its first contract to clean the Main Naval Cathedral. The company then began servicing facilities in Moscow, and by 2023 it had gained access to sites in Kronstadt. In 2026, Hermes became a direct contractor, replacing UK BSM.
According to Fontanka, investigators allege that beginning in 2021, Hermes signed and renewed contracts with Welltov that were used to make payments in exchange for assistance securing and extending Defense Ministry contracts. Investigators say the work covered by the agreements was not actually carried out and that the money — the aforementioned 200 million rubles ($2.4 million) — was transferred abroad.
Other episodes in the Patriot Park corruption case
The Patriot Park corruption case involves several episodes tied to senior officials and companies that serviced the Defense Ministry complex. In October 2025, Yevgeny Grigorkin, head of the Kronstadt branch of the ministry’s museum and cathedral complex, was arrested. Investigators said he accepted 15 million rubles ($183,000) in exchange for helping lease more than 2,500 square meters of a military pier to Archeda, a private company, and nearly 5 million rubles ($61,000) for approving maintenance work at branch facilities. In April 2026, a court sentenced Grigorkin to six years in a maximum-security penal colony, fined him 32 million rubles ($391,000) and ordered the confiscation of about 19.8 million rubles ($242,000).
In April 2026, Patriot Park Deputy Director Vitaly Melimuk was detained. Investigators allege he received 18 million rubles ($220,000) from Hermes CEO Yevgeny Mariyev in exchange for assistance securing contracts and other considerations. Russia’s Investigative Committee said that in December 2025, a state customer signed contracts with Hermes worth more than 1.4 billion rubles ($17.1 million) for comprehensive engineering, technical, and sanitation services at the park outside Moscow and at its branch in Kronstadt.
In October 2026, Hermes CEO Mariyev and Patriot Park head Igor Vasilyev were placed under house arrest in connection with the bribery case. According to Fontanka, Vasilyev is accused of receiving 80 million rubles ($978,000) from the head of Hermes. Patriot Park deputy directors Sergei Fedosov and Alexei Pavlyukov were also detained, while Vladimir Naon, head of general contractor UK BSM, was placed under house arrest.
What else is known about the Lieberman family’s business
Amos and Kobi Lieberman had previously drawn scrutiny from Israeli journalists over their business dealings involving Russia. In February 2024, TheMarker published an investigation by journalist Gur Megiddo into the business activities of Lieberman’s sons. Among other things, it examined the operations of the Russian company Lamed A.K. Holdings Russia Ltd, which acted as an intermediary in export deals from Israel to Russia.
According to the journalist, entities connected to the brothers supplied products from Israeli manufacturers to Russia, including equipment made by Elbit Systems. The investigation also cited a deal involving the delivery of ventilators to Russia during the coronavirus pandemic. The journalist alleged that some shipments continued after international sanctions were imposed on Russia. Elbit denied involvement in the transactions described.
Avigdor Lieberman called the report baseless at the time and said he had never contacted anyone in Israel or abroad regarding his sons’ business activities. He added that he was proud of their entrepreneurial work.
Avigdor Lieberman is currently a member of the Israeli Knesset and the chairman of the Yisrael Beiteinu (“Israel Our Home”) party. He has served at various times as Israel’s foreign, defense, and finance minister. The party’s official website lists him as having three children: daughter Michal and sons Kobi and Amos.
What does the commander of the Leningrad Naval Base have to do with it?
Fontanka linked the new testimony to the recent arrest of Alexei Suglobov, commander of the Baltic Fleet’s Leningrad Naval Base. Suglobov was detained on Oct. 21 in Kronstadt while allegedly accepting 1.5 million rubles ($18,000). Alexei Ionov, head of the Defense Ministry’s naval engineering service, is also a defendant in the bribery case.
Fontanka noted that Patriot Park has not been mentioned in the case materials concerning Suglobov. The outlet said his position would have brought him into contact with managers at the Defense Ministry complex and that he may have information relevant to its operations. Fontanka also reported that Suglobov is prepared to enter into a pretrial cooperation agreement with investigators.
The Insider previously found that Suglobov had already been serving as acting commander of the Leningrad Naval Base in August 2023, more than two years before his permanent appointment. The case involving the alleged use of military land for sand extraction and the dumping of construction waste was already the second corruption investigation of its kind in Russia’s Leningrad region within a year.
