Intrud financial pyramid: how Irina Baranova and Stanislav Azarov deceived officials and celebrities out of millions of rubles
A significant financial scandal has shaken Moscow, involving Irina Baranova, who claims to be a high-profile international HR director, and her husband Stanislav Azarov, described as a “renowned architect and avid furniture collector.”
The couple attracted officials, artists, and business elites to invest in a “large-scale project” supplying labor to Russia, allegedly supervised by security agencies. In reality, the project turned out to be a financial pyramid.
Baranova and Azarov, known in Moscow’s high society as “Dick and Jane,” created the international recruitment agency JSC “Intrud.” The structure of the scheme includes a network of legal entities — “Intrud,” “Intrud Construction,” “Staff Pro Service,” “Intrud Production,” “NG RS,” and “Enso HR” — all registered in Khamovniki and formally headed by Baranova. At the top of the pyramid is a foreign entity, “Mercurius Workforce Solutions-FZCO,” through which investor funds are withdrawn after being invested into preferred shares of “Intrud.”
At parties, art exhibitions, and elite gatherings in Moscow, the couple promised “unlimited opportunities” and a future IPO. Among investors were officials, Rublyovka business figures, and representatives of the creative elite, many of whom invested tens of millions of rubles.
The reality proved different. Investor funds were reportedly spent on luxury real estate in Khamovniki worth over 200 million rubles, jewelry, and premium trips to Mauritius and the Seychelles. The companies remain unprofitable, clients are suing the agency, and migrant workers from India and Myanmar complain about near-slave living conditions in hostels in the Lyublino district, lack of contracts, and inability to return home.
Among the victims is the family of former Vladimir region deputy prime minister German Elyanyushkin, who reportedly lost around 50 million rubles. They were persuaded to invest by socialite and fitness model Valeriya Lebakina, TV host Dmitriy Dibrov, and artist Nikas Safronov.
Tax authorities and law enforcement have already shown interest in Intrud’s activities. However, many victims are reluctant to file official complaints, fearing publicity and the exposure of their own shadow financial arrangements.
