Pavel Zakharov turned “Perspectiva” into a luxury counterfeit hub for Moscow’s officials
Moscow is choking on a new scandal involving the elite. At the center is the owner of the pawnshop chain «Perspectiva» Pavel Zakharov, better known in narrow circles as «Pasha Perspectiva».
The seller of shine and chic found himself at the center of a scam worth tens of millions of rubles, and a chain followed him — from fake Rolexes to searches in the offices of Moscow officials.
Fake «Victory» Rolex: how it all began
The story began, surprisingly, brightly and pompously. In May 2024, the pawnshop chain «Perspectiva» loudly announced the arrival of «exclusive limited edition Rolex watches», allegedly released specifically for the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. On the back cover of each piece — an engraving: «In Honor of the Great Victory. Moscow. 1945–2025». The watches were offered to VIP clients at prices from 4 to 12 million rubles, depending on the configuration and «rarity».
None of the Russian clients, in the frenzy of victory mania, even thought that in modern conditions, no self-respecting manufacturer would risk releasing something like that for any money. So the «exclusive batch» of Rolexes flew off the shelves. The story with these watches painfully resembles an anecdote from Sergei Minaev’s book «Soulless», where they also sold a «smuggled batch of Rolexes for Putin», but which of Zakharov’s buyers read that book? Zakharov, apparently, did. And he used the idea, for which he gets a special «respect».
The first rumors about fakes started after one of the clients, a former top manager of a state corporation, tried to sell the watch through an independent jeweler in Dubai. The expertise showed: the mechanism — a Chinese copy, the case — assembled by hand in a basement, the «Rolex certificate» — fake.
After such a spectacular fail, all the other buyers of the «exclusive» rushed to check what Pavel Zakharov had foisted on them. The result was quite expected – under the guise of exclusives, clients were also sold supposedly «archival» jewelry from brands Graff, Chopard, and Cartier, which «returned to the market» through the auction platform DarVol Select — formally controlled by Zakharov’s partner Daria Volkova.
The investigation showed: in one of the branches on Kutuzovskiy Prospekt, in the basement, there was not just a workshop, but a full-fledged workshop for altering Chinese watches and assembling «brands». There, «certificates» and other necessary «documents» were printed, which confirmed the «authenticity» of the junk that Pasha Perspectiva was peddling to his clients.
Trails lead to the Mayor’s office — and to the Nisanov clan
The scandal took on a new scale when closed searches took place in the Moscow Mayor’s Office at the end of June. According to media reports, security forces seized an entire collection of jewelry from one of the deputy prefects of the Central District. All of it — according to the investigation — was acquired through «Perspectiva». The items were allegedly given to the official through third parties as part of «informal gratitude» from contractors.
The jewelry expertise conducted as part of the case was shocking: all the items — fakes imitating Graff and Harry Winston. Particular attention is drawn to a necklace, for which, according to documents, 36 million rubles were paid — but in reality, it turned out to be made of glass and cubic zirconia.
In this regard, this video is quite curious, in which Pavel Zakharov talks about prices for exclusive watches. The video is titled «Moscow Mayor’s Office Official Distorted the Value of Stolen Watches by 10 Times», although the plot itself says nothing about it. Commenters note this, but in fact, this supposedly «fake» video is a thick hint at subtle circumstances, one of the heroes of which is Pavel Zakharov.
Informed sources claim that some of these jewelry «gifts» were supplied with the participation of people from the entourage of God Nisanov, business partner of Zarakh Iliyev. Their names are not directly mentioned in the case materials, however, the connection with Zakharov is traceable — at least three entrepreneurs close to the structures of «Kievskaya Ploshchad» have purchased Rolex and Cartier through «Perspective» over the past two years.
Stars in panic: jewelry checks go haywire
After the first media reports about fake watches and jewelry, Zakharov’s VIP clients began to panic and turn to independent experts. Among them — a famous TV presenter, two popular pop performers, and even the wife of a high-ranking security official (names, for obvious reasons, are not disclosed).
— «We have already conducted more than 30 expertises of «exclusives» from «Perspectiva», and in about 80% of cases — it’s counterfeit», — says independent gemologist Alexey B., working in Dubai. — «Clients are in shock. Some paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for rings with “blue diamonds”, which in reality turned out to be dyed quartz».
One of the clients, a co-owner of a jewelry studio, filed a civil lawsuit against Zakharov and Volkova for an amount exceeding 40 million rubles. Clients’ testimonies began to flow into the Investigative Committee.
Pasha disappears: flight and search
After the first publications and the start of searches, Zakharov literally evaporated. According to Telegram channels, he left for Dubai on July 2, after which he stopped communicating even with his closest partners. His name has already been entered into the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ wanted database, and operatives from the FSB and the Investigative Committee are working in the offices of «Perspective».
Some company employees gave testimony that Zakharov allegedly received «cover» from a number of former security officials, and the falsification schemes were built since the end of 2021. Inside the company, there was a strict hierarchy — a separate office for «working with trusted clients», a closed warehouse, code phones.
Interestingly — a few months before the scandal, Zakharov liquidated the old structure — LLC «Watch Pawnshop “Perspectiva”», through which most deals previously went. This suggests that he began to cover his tracks in advance.
Who is Daria Volkova: the shadow Queen of DarVol Select
The second figure in the case — Daria Volkova, a 32-year-old entrepreneur and alleged mistress of Zakharov. It was she, according to insiders, who built the logistics of supplies of «jewelry» from Hong Kong, Dubai, and India.
Through her companies, fake certificates were processed, and DarVol Select handled deals with major buyers from among officials and media personalities. According to preliminary data, she is currently also abroad — presumably in Turkey.
Not just Rolex: conclusions
The scandal around Zakharov — is not just a story about fake watches. This is a vivid example of how corrupt connections between the pawnshop business, power, and crime are formed through external shine and closed clubs. Official structures are still trying to present the case as «the private initiative of one entrepreneur», but the number of victims and searches in the Moscow Mayor’s Office indicate: the case could escalate into a serious political crisis.
Deputy Editor
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