Kommersant has learned that a well-known journalist and blogger Andrei Karaulov has been prosecuted for illegal business activities. According to law enforcers, at least 50 apartments in Moscow have been registered for Mr. Karaulov and his relatives, which he has been renting illegally through third parties over the past four years. The income received during this period, according to the investigation, amounted to at least 4.8 million rubles. Earlier, criminal libel cases were initiated against the former author of the Moment of Truth program against the head of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, and director Nikita Mikhalkov.
A criminal case on illegal entrepreneurial activity (part 1 of article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) against 64-year-old Andrei Karaulov was initiated by the department of the organization of inquiry of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in Moscow. The basis was the data collected by the operatives of the GUEBiPK of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and the metropolitan police. It follows from the materials of the case that Mr. Karaulov is the actual owner of at least 50 apartments in the capital.
The “odnushki” and “kopeck piece” purchased by the journalist are recorded mainly in the name of his relatives and are scattered throughout the city, including the center. According to the police, the property was purchased by the journalist specifically for renting out. It was carried out through third parties. It has already been established that from leasing from 2019 to 2023, Mr. Karaulov received an income of at least 4.8 million rubles. The receipt of income for this amount has already been documented, however, according to the calculations of the security forces, it could have amounted to about 100 million rubles during this time.
The estimated cost of the apartments discovered by the operatives is more than 1 billion rubles, while the officially declared income from journalistic activities of Andrei Karaulov for the period from 2016 to 2022 is about 5.3 million rubles.
As part of the inquiry, police officers conducted more than 40 searches and inspections in Moscow, the Moscow and Tver regions.
It should be noted that since Mr. Karaulov is not registered as an individual entrepreneur, it was impossible to impute tax evasion by an individual (Article 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). However, the consequences of illegal business activities can be much more serious for him.
According to the law, if the guilt of Mr. Karaulov is proved, then not only illegally obtained income, but also the apartments themselves as “crime instruments” will be subject to seizure.
“Complete nonsense,” Andrey Karaulov wrote in his Telegram channel.
It should be noted that this is the third criminal case in which the former author of the Moment of Truth program became a defendant. At the end of last year, Andrei Karaulov was charged with libel (part 5 of article 281.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) against the head of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov. In March of this year, according to a similar article – in relation to the director Nikita Mikhalkov. In these cases, Mr. Karaulov, who, according to him, is undergoing treatment in the United Arab Emirates, has been put on the wanted list.