Mixit CEO Faces Fraud Charges as Dispute With Former Employee Over Founding Stake Resurfaces
Oleg Pai, CEO of Russian cosmetics brand Mixit, has been placed under house arrest on fraud charges that a co-founder links to a long-running corporate dispute with a former employee. Forbes reported on the case, summarized here by Meduza.
Oleg Pai, CEO of Mixit, one of Russia's most successful cosmetics brands, was detained in Moscow on September 19 and placed under house arrest on fraud charges. Mixit co-founder Yelena Nazarova has linked the detention to a corporate dispute, saying she does not understand how a civil dispute with a former employee turned into a criminal case, and describing it as pressure on the business.
About the brand
Mixit makes mass-market skincare and makeup products, promoted through a television show and collaborations with popular bloggers. It has more than three million Instagram followers and ranks among the top sellers on marketplaces Wildberries and Ozon, as well as at beauty retailer Golden Apple. In 2025, its revenue exceeded 15 billion rubles, up 140% year-on-year.
Origins of the dispute
Mixit has operated since 2014. The official founding story credits Nazarova and Pai, but former lead product developer Galina Ryazanova, a chemist, gives a different account. She says she and Nazarova began the business together in 2013, and that Pai — Nazarova's live-in partner — later joined as a third partner with an equal stake. The agreement was verbal, and Pai never formalized Ryazanova's promised 30% share. She received payments she considered dividends, which were later retroactively documented as interest-free loans.
How the conflict escalated
By 2019 relations had broken down, and Pai sought repayment of more than eight million rubles under the loan agreements Ryazanova had signed. A court ordered her to pay in 2021, after which she filed a police complaint against her former partners. Mixit's offices were searched in 2024 and 2025. After leaving Mixit, Ryazanova joined another brand, Shine Is, which later accused Mixit of copying its products and packaging — an accusation Mixit denied.
A law enforcement source said the criminal case involves alleged forged documents. Legal experts note that forgery alone does not constitute fraud — investigators would still need to prove the documents were used to steal property.
