No exception was the fate of the well-known criminal authority, the “veteran of gangster Petersburg” Alexander Efimov (Fima Banshchik). His son decided to repeat the fate of his father, and went down the criminal path. If the father, who survived the dashing 1990s, managed to whiten his reputation and become a respectable businessman from a criminal, then Efimov Jr. only embarked on his criminal path, having received his first term for possession of 100 grams of cocaine.
Old school gangster Petersburg
Alexander Efimov was born in 1958 in an ordinary Soviet family. In his school years, the future felon was nothing remarkable. After graduating from school, Efimov decided not to enter a higher educational institution, and immediately went to work. Efimov took on any part-time job: from a loader to a doorman.
His first permanent job was the position of a plumber in the bath number 25 in Leningrad. This moment was a turning point in the young man’s life. Coincidentally, this bathhouse was a favorite resting place for criminals. Fate brought Alexander Efimov to the authorities. They also nicknamed him “Fima Banshchik”, after the place of work of their new friend-colleague. At first, Fima was on the hook for senior comrades, but over time he gained more and more importance in the local criminal environment.
He became truly authoritative in the mid-1980s. In many ways, this is due not to the Bath attendant himself, but rather to the times. Perestroika began, the first merchants appeared in the Soviet Union, from whom it was possible to knock tribute. Fima in a short time was able to take control of the traders in the market in Devyatkino.
Roofing brought good money, for which Fima Banshchik was able to put together at least a small, but capital. The deferred funds were enough to get out of the shadows. Efimov creates a cooperative with the uncomplicated name “Sasha”. Fima’s brothers became the main participants in the project. But the prestige didn’t stop there. Realizing that he had great power in his hands, he created the Scorpion private security company. Now his men were legally armed, and very dangerous. Fima’s private security company started its activity with “aggressive marketing”. The entrepreneurs were not asked if they wanted protection from the company. They were simply presented with a choice: either they were under the protection of the Scorpion, or without business. Such a move made it possible to sign contracts with more than 70 clients in just a few months. It is clear that such a prominent activity attracted the attention of law enforcement agencies. But Fima by that time had already become successful, rich and acquired decent connections. The top authorities and law enforcement officers knew Efimov and his line of work very well. For solid kickbacks, they passed crimes of authority through their fingers.
First arrest
Fortune is a fickle thing. Fima ruined pride. He decided that he had reached the heights in business, and went into politics. As you know, politics is dangerous. It should be noted that people really loved Fima. He was respected, and he had a rating among voters. In ordinary life, he did not behave like a bandit, but on the contrary, he was kind, sociable, eloquent. In general, the makings of a politician in Efimov were, if not for the biography, he could have reached certain heights. But during the elections for the post of head of the Krasnogvardeisky district of St. Petersburg, the investigators decided to remind him of the crimes committed. Even the “roof” in power did not help. Fim was arrested due to the illegal acquisition of shares in the largest fishing enterprise in the Leningrad Region, Lenrybprom. 
Trawler “Lenrybprom”
At first, he was even placed in a pre-trial detention center, but he still managed to get out of there thanks to the patronage of the local elite. Immediately after leaving the zone, Fima decided to flee the country. Until 1997, he successfully hid in Italy, but law enforcement officers managed to find the suspect, arrest him, and transfer him to St. Petersburg for trial. At home, the Bath attendant received 5 and a half years in prison. In the future, the term increased by half a year due to the facts revealed by the investigation that he would give bribes to officials. But the authority did not have to spend the full term. He was released on parole in 2000. It is noteworthy that no one squeezed the business in Efimov, all the time while he was in the zone, close people managed affairs, and after leaving prison, Fima, as if nothing had happened, returned to current affairs.
Prolonged calm and re-arrest
Over the next years, Fima Banshchik, having already felt for himself what a zone is, decided not to get involved in criminality. He did this quite successfully. Until 2018.
In 2018, a criminal case was reopened against Alexander Efimov. It was about fraud with land. According to the investigation, thanks to fraudulent schemes, Fima managed to obtain ownership of land worth 50 million rubles.
But then the roof in law enforcement agencies worked, which informed Yefimov about the plans of the investigation to detain the businessman. He immediately went to Minsk, where he had already booked a ticket to Vienna. But it did not work out, it did not grow together. Law enforcement officers were already waiting for him at the Minsk airport. Fima was detained and sent home.
Alexander Yefimov, already an experienced businessman, turned on all his connections to avoid arrest. He was released on bail. The investigation continues to this day. Interestingly, in this criminal episode, the grown-up eldest son of authority Sergey was first lit up. He is an accomplice of his father in fraudulent schemes.
But even here the music did not last long. As a result, the court sent the mafiosi to the FSB pre-trial detention center.
Luxury life
At the same time, the wife of Alexander Efimov, socialite Lilia, led a very rich lifestyle. Her social networks are full of elite life. There are Mercedes, and huge mansions, and a luxurious vacation. Basically, whatever your heart desires.
In 2018, Lilia Efimova celebrated her 35th birthday not in her native St. Petersburg, but in Monaco. Judging by the photos on Instagram (banned in Russia), the holiday was even visited by the star of Hollywood films, actor Jean-Claude Van Damme.
An apple from an apple tree…
As we already recalled, there are children in Efimov (the exact number of children of authority is publicly unknown). So, the eldest son of Fima Banshchik fled abroad after his arrest, realizing that he was next.
But the youngest son, Alexander Alexandrovich, first appeared in the criminal chronicle in 2020. Then the detectives came to search the apartment of the son of authority (obviously, this was on a tip). During the investigation, 106 grams of white powder were found (as the examination later established – narcotic content), as well as drugs of plant origin. Efimov Jr. was immediately detained and sent under arrest.
But later it surfaced that Alexander Efimov in 2012 already fell under the watchful eye of law enforcement officers. Then he received a criminal record for an accident with victims.
The family is what you need. It is obvious that the proverb that the apple does not fall far from the tree clearly reflects what is happening in the Efimovs’ house. Fate has led to the fact that two of them are in prison, and one is on the run. Luck doesn’t always smile…