The court was the first to consider the petition to select a preventive measure for Rufat Ismailov. He was taken to the Basmanny court in a blue tracksuit after being detained in Makhachkala. He did not hide his face from the cameras and immediately indicated his position. “I am aware of what I am accused of, but I do not agree with the accusation,” said the detainee, answering a question from Judge Elena Lenskaya.

He was brought to the trial already in the status of an accused, charged with two episodes of receiving a bribe on a large scale (Part 5 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country) – from seven to 12 years of imprisonment) and one of abuse of office (Part 3 of Article 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country) – up to ten years in prison).

Bribes shared with “unidentified persons”

After this, the investigator spoke about the essence of the charges against Colonel Ismailov. According to her, he committed all three criminal episodes together with the deputy head of the Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Dagestan, also Colonel Dalgat Abdulgapurov, as well as “unidentified persons.”

The first was committed on August 27, 2022. Then Abdulgapurov, being at his workplace and “acting together” with Ismailov, as well as unidentified officials “through an unidentified employee of the investigation department,” received a bribe in the amount of 300 thousand rubles for assistance in issuing a “refusal” decision by the Investigation Department of the Internal Affairs Directorate for the city of Makhachkala initiating a criminal case regarding the illegal construction of a house. In this case, law enforcement officers did not find any corpus delicti in the actions of the developer.

And on October 4, 2022, Abdulgapurov “received from an unidentified man” a bribe in the amount of 1 million rubles “for facilitating the adoption in favor of the persons he represents of a positive procedural decision regarding the theft of budget funds in the amount of 30 million rubles allocated as maternity capital.”

The third episode, related to abuse of power, according to the investigator, arose after Ismailov and his deputy Abdulgapurov decided to invest their own 100 million rubles in cryptocurrency at the beginning of 2022. According to a representative of the Investigative Committee, the security forces transferred the money to a certain Frolov for the purchase of mining equipment. However, he did not buy the equipment and did not return the money. In order to shake out funds, the security forces in October 2022 initiated criminal prosecution against Frolov based on statements from false victims.

As a result, on October 6, 2022, a case of fraud on an especially large scale was opened against Frolov (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code), for which he faced up to ten years in prison. The man was arrested.

After the security forces obtained “guarantees of the return of funds through threats of violence and forced him to return previously transferred funds,” the defendant’s actions were reclassified to a softer part 2 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country) (“fraud committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy” – up to five years in prison). Subsequently, Frolov’s case was sent to court, where it was dismissed with the imposition of a court fine.

“High income” and real estate in Azerbaijan

Insisting on taking the security officer into custody, the investigator said that the validity of the charges against Ismailov was confirmed by the evidence collected in the case, as well as the results of operational search activities.

Stating the “systemic nature of Ismailov’s actions,” the representative of the Investigative Committee insisted that it was impossible to leave him at large. Firstly, because he “is a high-ranking law enforcement officer” and also has a “high level of income” and owns real estate in Azerbaijan. “Being at large and realizing the gravity of what he has done, he can hide, including on the territory of states from where extradition is impossible,” said a representative of the Investigative Committee. She also shared her fears that, if left free, the deputy minister would threaten witnesses and victims, as well as destroy evidence or continue to engage in criminal activities. The request for arrest was supported by the prosecutor.

In turn, Ismailov’s lawyer Sergei Bulaev called these arguments unfounded. Taking into account the merits of the defendant, who served in law enforcement agencies for more than 30 years and has seven dependent children, four of whom are minors, he asked to choose a more lenient measure of restraint for him – house arrest or bail. The money, in the amount of 5 million rubles, as the defense lawyer explained, was collected by friends of the accused.

He added that during the search, an award pistol and service ID were confiscated from the deputy head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Dagestan. “This means that even theoretically he cannot use his powers and threaten other defendants in the case,” was the argument given by the defense attorney.

His request was supported by Ismailov himself. However, judge Elena Lenskaya, after spending 15 minutes in the deliberation room, granted the investigation’s request, confining the accused to a pre-trial detention center until January 2, 2024.

Second person involved

According to a similar scenario, the same judge in the same room considered the petition for the arrest of Dalgat Abdulgapurov. His lawyer Eldar Khastinov asked the investigators to reject the motion, insisting that there was no evidence in the case to confirm his client’s guilt, and the case itself was “done hastily.” “The judge was presented with empty material. At least one person would point a finger at my trustee. There are no such people, there never were and there never will be,” the defense attorney later commented on the criminal case to Business FM.

Abdulgapurov himself, like his boss, did not admit guilt. “In these materials and in [материалах] I did not find any arguments during the operational investigative activities, except that an unidentified person handed over some money. I didn’t see what the consequences were. I am not involved in the incriminated acts,” he said.

But here, too, the court took the position of the investigation and the prosecutor’s office, confining Dalgat Abdulgapurov to a pre-trial detention center until January 2. The defense of the defendants intends to appeal the decisions taken in the Moscow City Court.