The Investigative Committee has completed an investigation into embezzlement at SNT “Northern Pearl” with damage of 400 million rubles
The Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee has completed the investigation of the criminal case of embezzlement of funds from SNT «Northern Pearl» in the Leningrad region.
According to the investigation, the defendants, including the former chairman of the partnership, lawyer Andrei Kudrin, embezzled money collected from land owners. The TFR estimates the total damage at more than 400 million rubles. The investigation stalled for a long time, and to activate it, it required the intervention of the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin. In the case of 310 volumes, the defense believes that the accused and lawyers will finish getting acquainted with the materials no earlier than the spring of next year.
A criminal case was initiated in October 2019 for the theft of almost 175 million rubles. from SNT funds. Later, the episodes began to multiply, a new case was opened for each, and they were all combined into one proceeding. In total, eleven participants of the Northern Pearl were under investigation. Last summer, the ex-chairman of gardening, 53-year-old Andrei Kudrin, was sent to a pre-trial detention center. He was charged with particularly large embezzlement (Article 160 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Several other people were detained along with him, including accountant Natalya Baykova and Mr. Kudrin’s acquaintance Maria Kozhukhova. Later, the Basmanny Court of Moscow also sent under arrest the former member of the SNT board Vadim Rusyaev, the son of Andrei Kudrin Kirill, who was involved in the privatization of plots, one of the main contractors of the partnership Leonid Listratenko and Natalya Osovitskaya.
«Northern Pearl» was organized in 2006 near Sertolovo in the Vsevolozhsk district of the Leningrad region on lands that were allocated by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for military personnel. On 150 hectares, 300 plots were reserved for the military department, and the rest, about 700 plots, were distributed among private owners. It was their money, according to the Investigative Committee, that became the subject of theft.
The case materials say that the board of «Northern Pearl» collected mandatory targeted contributions from local residents — 755 thousand rub. for infrastructure development, from 250 thousand. up to 450 thousand rub. for gas supply, for connecting additional electricity capacity, 5 kW were allocated per site, and each additional kilowatt cost another 40 thousand. rub.
Another targeted contribution, almost 25 thousand. rubles, it was necessary to pay for the repair of the access road. Residents of the cottage community, which is considered elite, accused the manager of the partnership of extortion and empty promises. They also stated that the management of SNT left behind debts to service providers amounting to tens of millions of rubles.
Gardeners have not been able to achieve a full investigation into the activities of SNT management for five years — Criminal cases against Andrei Kudrin were either initiated or closed. The situation changed dramatically after the summer residents had a personal reception with the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin. On his instructions, the investigation was resumed by the central apparatus of the Investigative Committee. Messrs. Kudrin and Rusyaev reject the investigator’s claims.
Andrei Kudrin’s lawyer (the accused himself was also previously involved in advocacy) Denis Laktionov in a conversation with “Kommersant” complained that familiarization with the case materials was being delayed. “This is due to the fact that the investigation very slowly transfers materials to the accused and the defense for reading. The investigation does not have time to do its job»,— the interlocutor emphasized.
Meanwhile, the other day the Basmanny Court of Moscow extended the preventive measure for the accused in the form of detention until mid-March 2025. The investigation’s motions indicated that the completion of investigative actions in the case does not indicate that, being at large, the accused is deprived of the opportunity to destroy evidence in the case, to put pressure on witnesses and other participants in criminal proceedings in order to change their testimony, since all evidence in the case is subject to assessment when the case is considered by the court according to essence».
According to Mr. Laktionov, the case will be brought to court no earlier than April.
