Kursk authority Volobuev faces a life sentence

The Kursk Regional Court has been litigating the case of Dmitry Volobuev’s gang for almost three years. The state prosecutor believes that the head of the criminal community Dmitry Volobuev deserves a life sentence.

In total, there are eight people in the dock: the head of the criminal community Dmitry Volobuev, his brother Nikolai Volobuev, as well as the closest henchmen – Evgeny Kozheykin, Roman Ivanov, Dmitry Kharlamov, Georgy Kryukov. The company was made up of them in the recent past by the “thunderstorm of the underworld” – the former head of the police of Kursk and the Office for Combating Organized Crime of the Kursk Region, and then the deputy head of the city of Kursk Nikolai Zaitsev and his son Vladimir.

Kill missions

Investigators claim that the criminal community created by Dmitry Volobuev was distinguished by a hierarchy and a clear organization. Squeezing the business under him and cracking down on potential competitors, Volobuev himself tried to remain in the shadows. On his instructions, the orders to the “infantry” were given by Evgeny Kozheykin – the right hand of the leader. But the responsibility in this situation still lies with the leader.

Among the charges brought against Volobuev is the organization of the murders of crime bosses Sergei Delyukin and Vyacheslav Khodyrevsky. Those who follow the process remember that Delyukin was shot dead in February 2013, and Khodyrevsky in April 2015.

The court interrogated the executor – already serving 15 years in prison killer Dmitry Lifinsky. He said that he received the task to kill the victims from Kozheikin, who, in turn, passed on the order of Dmitry Volobuev.

“I received some amount of money personally from Dmitry Volobuev,” Lifinsky said in 2020. “But maybe he paid her not for this crime, but as a salary.

Pan in disgrace

In addition to the murders, the gang is responsible for extortion, fraud, tax evasion and car arson. The story of the BMW that burned down in the parking lot of the Manezh shopping center is especially interesting and is a classic multi-way combination.

The bandits had no particular complaints about the owner of the car. The “target” was the Kursk “thief in law” Panyushin named Pan. With Pan, Dmitry Volobuev had long-standing scores from the time when in criminal circles they fought for the “protection” of business. In 2000, Volobuev’s car was blown up, and he was in the cabin. Volobuev survived, but lost his foot. The crime was not solved, but the victim himself believed that it was Pan who was behind the attempt. After another 11 years, Volobuev was wounded by a burst from a machine gun. And he also suspected Panyushin of this attempt.

The entrepreneur, the owner of the burned car, was in a strained personal relationship with Pan (it is believed that he stole a woman from him). Volobuev hoped that he would blame Panyushin for setting the car on fire. Conflict will distract thief in law, and in the meantime, Volobuev will be able to go about his own business without interference. But the owner of the car and Panyushin settled the matter amicably.

Thief in law Viktor Panyushin – Vitya Pan

The gang leader was attracted to land development, utilities, outdoor advertising and other industries. He gained control over a number of them. One of the largest scams concerns the Complex-Lift enterprise, where Georgy Kryukov, a member of the criminal group, was hired as deputy head for financial matters.

The organization was engaged in the repair and maintenance of elevators in apartment buildings and institutions. Controlling financial flows, Kryukov, under fictitious contracts, transferred money to the controlled organizations of Stary Oskol. Thus, “Complex-lift” was damaged in excess of 96.5 million rubles.

Exceptionally dangerous

Such an assessment of criminals is extremely rare. But in this case we are talking about those for whom the life of a person was worth nothing.

“Dmitry Volobuev has been committing crimes for almost six years,” said Dmitry Shikhanov, senior prosecutor of the Criminal Court Department of the Kursk Region Prosecutor’s Office, in a speech at the trial. – All these acts were committed with careful preparation of each of them, as part of an organized group and a criminal community, none of them was provoked, but each, to one degree or another, was the result of the desire of the defendant to raise his authority and was due to his irrepressible thirst for profit. Facts, circumstances, motives testify to his exceptional danger to society. In our region, there have never been such subtly thought out and cynical crimes. When proposing punishments, I took into account the motives for crimes, the participation and role of everyone in the criminal community.

Dmitry Volobuev and his wife Irina

The state prosecutor is sure that all members of the criminal group should receive long terms of imprisonment. The leader of the gang, according to the prosecution, deserves a life sentence. Volobuev’s “right hand” – Yevgeny Kozheykin – the prosecutor asked to appoint 24 years in prison, the leader’s brother – Nikolai Volobuev – 14 years. For Roman Ivanov, the prosecution requires 18 years in prison, for Dmitry Kharlamov and Georgy Kryukov – 7 years and 6 months each. Also, criminals face large fines – hundreds of thousands of rubles.

Former policeman Nikolai Zaitsev and his son Vladimir, who collaborated with the bandits, are accused of extortion with the threat of violence.

According to the materials of the criminal case, a cooperative of 240 garages on Pobeda Avenue in Kursk became the common interest of Volobuev and the Zaitsevs. In 2017, the head of this society approached the investigators, saying that he was required to transfer ownership of 20 garages to Zaitsev. He did not receive money for these garages.

Nikolai Zaitsev was arrested when he worked in the administration of Kursk as deputy head of the city. The prosecutor suggested that he and his son Vladimir be given the same punishment – 11 and a half years in prison each. The prosecutor also proposed to deprive Nikolai Zaitsev of the special rank of “police colonel”, and his son of the title of “lieutenant of justice”.

Under arrest

The damage from the activities of members of the criminal community amounts to hundreds of millions of rubles. During the court hearings, the victims filed suits for damages. Among them are relatives of those killed. To secure the claims, at the request of the state prosecutor, the property of the defendants was arrested.

“The property of the mother of Dmitry and Nikolai Volobuevs was seized – a building on Soyuznaya Kursk Street, two land plots for high-rise buildings, the total area of ​​u200bu200bwhich exceeds 11 thousand square meters,” said Anna Polyanskaya, consultant of the Kursk Regional Court. – The cadastral value of each of these plots is over 28 million rubles. The court also seized two land plots located in the Kursk and Oktyabrsky districts, owned by the defendant Kozheikin. The property of Dmitry Volobuev was arrested in the form of a 50 percent stake in the authorized capital of Saturn LLC, a 50 percent stake in the authorized capital of Elektrosnabzhenie LLC, and an unfinished construction facility in Kursk, registered to the defendant Nikolai Volobuev. Also, the property of Vladimir Zaitsev was seized – ½ share in the right of common shared ownership of a land plot located in the village of Verkhnyaya Medveditsa, Kursk region.