Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Alexander Khinshtein announced the early termination of the powers of the chairman of the 6th Court of Cassation Alexander Efanov. This decision was made yesterday by the High Qualification Board of Judges (VKKS). The parliamentarian covered the process on his TG channel, however, his crusade against the judge began last year. Governor Dmitry Azarov, who again claims to be the head of the region this year, recently awarded Efanov the title of “Honorary Citizen of the Samara Region.”
Efanova, in her speech to the VKKS, noted that judges can “open Pandora’s box.”
– In the future, this may affect any of you and any decision that the judge brings to the chairman of the court. As soon as a decision is made that is not what the deputy likes, then it will be possible to expect the collection of compromising evidence, emissions in the tg-channel, slander, a commission and a drive to a meeting of the HQCC. It is up to you, dear colleagues, for my part I have not violated any law, I fulfill my civil rights and obligations in good faith. It’s up to you to decide whether I followed the principles of judicial ethics and the law “On the Status of Judges” – it’s up to you, – he said.
This speech did not go unnoticed by Mr. Khishtein, who published an excerpt in his TG channel and regarded it as an open call to the judicial community for mutual responsibility and protection of the honor of the uniform from the “deputy”.
– Thus, as if saying to everyone: we are all smeared with one world … No. Thank God, not alone. I am deeply convinced that Efanov and those like him are not part of the system, but foreign bodies that the system is capable of squeezing out of itself. And the unanimous decision of the VKKS on the early removal of the judicial mantle from Efanov is clear evidence of this, ”Khinshtein commented on the words of the judge.
He called what is happening at the VKKS “the last minutes of the rule of the “golden” chairman” and “an unprecedented event, once again confirming the ability of the judiciary to self-cleanse.”
The parliamentarian recalled that 9 months ago, in response to Efanov’s alleged threats against him, he replied: “It’s not evening yet, Alexander Alekseevich.” The MP expressed his readiness to repeat them again.
– The recognition of Efanov’s disciplinary offense and the deprivation of judicial powers does not relieve him of criminal and other liability, which I intend to pursue further. As well as the return to state ownership of recreation areas in Samara, which Efanov’s family firms brought out for nothing under false schemes. So, Alexander Alekseevich, today’s decision of the VKKS is far from the final, – the parliamentarian summed up.
This includes the island of Podzhabny. “BV” wrote that he plots on it last year were put up for sale for 1 billion rubles, while their owners may be relatives and friends of Alexander Efanov.
The other day, according to Khinshtein, on the ad portal, a recreation center on the island was put up for 170 million rubles – 6 houses on 68 acres (with the possibility of “expanding” another 5 hectares.
– The coordinates of the object lead to the sites of “Era” on Podzhabny: this is a fragment of the very 40 hectares that the company affiliated with Efanov brought out for a song through Efanov’s court. Later, Efanov bought a part of the land that was awarded to him for himself and is building a coastal estate. For 0.5 hectares, he paid only 860 thousand, although the market price of the site is more than 50 million. The billionth ad was removed, and Era decided to sell the selected lands in parts along with infrastructure. However, the chances of finding fools are close to zero. But the chances of withdrawing these lands back to the treasury, on the contrary, are more than high, – Khinshtein commented on the announcement.
However, on the eve of the VKKS, according to the parliamentarian, the announcement was removed, which Khinshtein regarded as “an attempt to cover his tracks.” As well as the removal of a watch from Efanov’s photo that looks like an expensive Swiss watch, as well as attempts to allegedly hush up the story with an SUV, according to the deputy, allegedly received by the judge from fellow businessmen.
Yefanov himself, immediately before the meeting of the board, in response to journalists’ questions about the land on the island allegedly bought for a pittance, noted that “there is a conclusion of the state examination, which says that the plots were sold at a market price.”
– Believe the deputy, who says that the cost (land) exceeds the cost (plots) on Rublyovka … Well, believe …, – the judge concluded.
To the question of whether “this is a slander” and he has enemies, “someone is plotting something against him,” Efanov said that “he is not engaged in conspiracy theories.”
– All this was published by one deputy in his blog. There are no other media, processions, demonstrations and there never were. Why doesn’t he like something? Well, he does not like a lot of things in Samara and the Samara region, the judicial system, the executive branch. He believes that only he knows better than anyone, he distributes deputy instructions to everyone, sends out requests in tens and hundreds. But this is his right, – the then chairman of the “Six” noted.
He called outright lies the information that after the accident involving his wife, there was some kind of pressure on other participants in the incident. However, he did not deny his arrival at the scene, explaining his concern about his wife.
“Neither then, nor now, there was no question of her being innocent. Yes, she committed a traffic violation … – he admitted.
Prior to the meeting of the HQCC, Alexander Efanov refused to comment on the procedure itself in any way. He has not yet made any statements after the decision on the early termination of his powers as head of the 6th Court of Cassation.
Recall that the VKKS commission that worked in Samara was headed by the former chairman of the Saratov Regional Court Vasily Tarasov, who worked in this position from 2009 to 2017. He became deputy chairman of the HQCC only in December 2022, having left the chair of the chairman of the Voronezh Regional Court.
In the tg-channel of Alexander Khinshtein, Efanov was first mentioned in August 2022. Then the Krasnoyarsk District Court of the Samara Region issued a verdict in the high-profile case of the Filimoshin gang, which committed at least 9 crimes (beatings, arson, extortion, grievous bodily harm). The deputy was dissatisfied with the fact that earlier the cassation sent the leader of the gang under house arrest. Khinshtein regarded Filimoshin’s verdict as “a kind of verdict for the Sixth Cassation, and primarily for its chairman, Alexander Efanov,” although the latter denied any involvement in the release of the ringleader.
The deputy noted the unwillingness of the investigation to look for the customer of the crimes, although one of the victims named as such the owner of the Zhigulevskoye Pivo company, Yuri Saprunov, who knew not only Filimoshin, but also allegedly was friends with Efanov. Khinshtein repeatedly criticized the decisions of the “Six”, laying out compromising evidence on its chairman.
The story reached the finish line in mid-April: after Khinshtein’s appeal, a special commission of the All-Russian Higher Commissariat of Expertise arrived in Samara to study “information of a negative nature.” The meeting of the VKKS, apparently, put a temporary end to this story.
