As it became known to Kommersant, the Supreme Court (SC) of Russia granted the petition of the defense of the former director of the department for attracting private investments of the Ministry of Development of the Far East and the Arctic (Ministry of Development of the Far East) Demis Eminov to consider his criminal case in the Khabarovsk regional court, and not in the capital. The ex-official is charged with exceeding official powers. According to investigators, in 2015-2016, by distributing subsidies among local investors, he illegally contributed to the allocation of 7.35 billion rubles to three companies, and 43 million rubles to two more, the latter amount being misused. The former director of the department admitted his guilt, his case is supposed to be considered in a special order.
Violations in the implementation of state support measures for investment projects in the Far Eastern Federal District were discovered back in 2017 by auditors of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation. Then the inspectors found that in 2015 the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East unreasonably entered into agreements to provide three investors with a subsidy of 7.35 billion rubles, the amount of which at the date of signing the contracts exceeded the limits of budget obligations. And two other investors were allocated 43 million rubles, which, according to the auditors, “were spent for purposes not specified in the relevant agreements.”
Based on the facts revealed during the inspection, the investigation department of the ICR for the Khabarovsk Territory opened a criminal case. Some time later, Demis Eminov, the head of the department for supporting industrial investment projects of the Ministry for the Development of the Far East, and later the director of the department for attracting private investments of the ministry, was involved as the defendant in this case. It was he who supervised the issuance of the subsidies mentioned in the case in the ministry.
Demis Eminov was charged under Part 2 of Art. 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (abuse of official powers by a person holding a public position).
At the same time, the investigation considered that the leadership of Demis Eminov was not aware of his controversial decisions on the issuance of subsidies, and the ministry was recognized as the injured party in the criminal case.
During the investigation, the official admitted his guilt and concluded a pre-trial cooperation agreement with the prosecutor’s office. After the signing of the indictment by the Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, the materials of the investigation were sent in April for consideration on the merits to the Khamovniki Court of Moscow, at the location of the Ministry of Development of the Far East and the Arctic. At the same time, a representative of the prosecutor’s office filed a motion to consider the case of Demis Eminov in a special order (without examination of evidence and interrogation of witnesses), which, in accordance with the law, provides for a punishment not exceeding two-thirds of the maximum.
In turn, the defendant’s lawyer Denis Troshin decided that the territorial jurisdiction of the case was determined incorrectly, in connection with which he filed a petition with the Supreme Court of Russia to hold the trial in the Khabarovsk Regional Court. As a result, the consideration of the case in the Khamovniki Court was postponed.
It took the Supreme Court no more than half an hour to make a decision on the issue of jurisdiction. Demis Eminov participated in the meeting via videoconference, as he was currently under house arrest in Khabarovsk. It is interesting that the request of Troshin’s lawyer to change the jurisdiction of the case was also supported by the Ministry for the Development of the Far East, whose representative, however, did not come to the session in the Supreme Court.
During the consideration of the petition, lawyer Troshin explained that, in his opinion, the process should take place in Khabarovsk, since the investigation was conducted there and most of the witnesses in the case were located.
At the same time, why witnesses may be needed if the case is supposed to be considered in a special order remains unclear.
Unexpectedly, Ekaterina Filippova, a representative of the Prosecutor General’s Office, supported the lawyer’s petition. At the same time, she asked to extend the preventive measure for the accused until July 19, 2023. Demis Eminov himself refused to speak, noting that he still pleads guilty and agrees with the lawyer’s request.
As a result, the presiding judge granted the request to transfer the process to Khabarovsk and extended the defendant’s house arrest. After the meeting, Troshin’s lawyer declined to comment.