FSB rips off mantle from Rostov judges
Five more judges became defendants, searches took place in four more district courts, and the arrested head of the Department of the Judicial Department of the Rostov Region testifies in Moscow. The main thing about the large-scale anti-corruption investigation.
What is a “judge’s case” anyway?
Detentions of Rostov judges suspected of corruption have been ongoing since April 3. First searches passed at the chairman of the Rostov Regional Court Elena Zolotareva and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Judges Tatyana Yurova.
Elena Zolotareva“In addition to a large amount of cash, Swiss Longines watches, clothes, perfumes, jewelry and accessories from the famous Gucci house, numerous Lou vuitton and other women’s “joys”, as well as gold jewelry were found,” the source told 1rnd.ru.
According to the source of the editorial board, already at that time at least seven people appeared in the criminal case. Soon the FSB officers detained the chairman of the regional council of judges, together with the head of the department of the judicial department. Both are involved in the case as accomplices of Zolotareva.
Tatyana YurovaApril 4 Zolotareva resigned of her own free will, and she was placed under House arrest for two months. On April 5, Moscow operatives searched the homes of several more Rostov judges. Now the list of suspects includes 32 names, including not only members of the judiciary, but also officials.
“The court took into account mitigating circumstances — the deteriorating health of the suspect and consent to cooperate with the security forces,” he said. – House arrest is determined until June 4. According to the source, the investigator and the security forces of the capital petitioned for house arrest.
— After investigative actions, where searches were carried out as part of an initiated criminal case against [зампредседателя областного Совета судей] Tatyana Yurova, Zolotareva was offered a deal. She may still be paid if a criminal case is not initiated. The terms of the deal are quite favorable – several criminal cases are at stake, – our interlocutor said.
According to the source, this does not mean that Zolotareva will definitely “be released from possible punishment.” The Moscow security forces took to the capital the chairman of the regional council of judges, along with the head of the judicial department. Several other defendants in the criminal case are still in Rostov. They testify.
According to the Moscow security officials, in the Rostov region there was a real assembly line for issuing the necessary court decisions. Seven criminal cases were initiated, several articles appear: “Fraud”, “Taking a bribe”, “Abuse of authority”.
Intermediaries in obtaining illegal remuneration from clients were lawyers and employees of the judicial department, which ensures the work of the courts. In the Rostov Regional Court, Kommersant was told that they knew nothing about the special operation.
A new turn in business
On the website of the Basmanny Court of Moscow, there was a mention of proceedings against the head of the department of the judicial department Andrey Roshevsky. Our source reported the arrest on April 3, the next day the Basmanny Court arrested him. Roschevsky’s Moscow colleagues decided not to publish the text of the decision, citing a rule that allows closing access to judicial information. For example, if the decision affects the security of the state.
Andrey RoshevskyAccording to the interlocutor of 161.RU in law enforcement agencies, Roschevsky is considered a participant in a scheme for forging court materials to make “ordered” decisions. The head of the regional judicial department began to testify. – According to Roschevsky’s preliminary testimony, the scheme was headed by Zolotareva. It was she who “named the amounts and gave the go-ahead,” our source retells the version of the investigation. – Roschevsky himself attracted employees of the district prosecutor’s office. <...> The so-called “invitations” were needed for an objective assessment during the meetings.
Roschevsky pointed out that the chairman of the regional court “sometimes even openly opposed such decisions in order to create the appearance of defending the defendants.”
So far, under the magnifying glass of investigators – 32 names. But procedural decisions were made only on 14 suspects. According to the source, the Moscow security forces do not disclose the names, because many of the defendants agree to cooperate.
– In the near future there will be arrests of several more judges. During the searches, investigators found a number of documents confirming the attitude of several officials to the developed corruption scheme, the security official added. – Among them there are representatives of the prosecutorial system of the Rostov region.
– Searches were held in the Oktyabrsky, Zheleznodorozhny, Kirov and Soviet courts of Rostov. Conducted searches in the courts of the region. Under the gun – the Volgodonsk region, Shakhty, Kamensk-Shakhtinsky City Court, – our source noted. According to him, employees of the regional court are checking bank accounts.
– Many are afraid and immediately ready to testify. Mainly against Yurova and Zolotareva. As it turned out from the testimony of two defendants in the criminal case, Yurova kept “all regional courts in fear.” Yurova herself coordinated everything with Zolotareva,” the security official retells the preliminary version of the FSB.
Andrey Roschevsky, head of the Judicial Department, testified. The interlocutor of the editorial office claims that he controlled the course of several corruption cases in the Leninsky and Kirovsky district courts.
What else is known?
Highest Qualification Board of Judges of Russia accepted the resignation Chairman of the Rostov Regional Court Elena Zolotareva. Powers terminated on April 7th.
– The resignation was accepted on April 4, but it was not announced on the agenda. There is no deprivation of status yet. Official information will be posted a little later, – the correspondent of 161.RU was told in the VKKS.
64-year-old Zolotareva worked half her life in the courts of the Rostov region and since 2015 has headed the regional court. Since 1995, Zolotareva has been a member of the Presidium of the Rostov Regional Court, since 2012 – a member of the Council of Judges of the Russian Federation.
According to the editorial source, due to the special procedure for initiating criminal cases against judges, Moscow operatives are forced to wait and comply with formalities that “slow down the process.” According to him, the investigative department of the Investigative Committee for the Rostov region is actively helping Muscovites.
– An interesting point is that the operatives got on the trail of several lawyers who closely cooperated with the regional court. As it turned out, these are Andrey Roshevsky’s former colleagues in the prosecutor’s office. It was they who negotiated with clients about the “amount of freedom,” the source said.
According to him, the earliest documents in the case date back to 1993.
Speaking of possible replacements for suspects, the security forces are pointing to Moscow, where, given the scale of the corruption scheme, they now look with distrust at local, even honored judges. He believes that there will be no appointments in the near future and acting duties will remain in key positions in the system.
The Investigative Committee of the Rostov Region and the FSB have not commented on the situation since the beginning of the searches.
The declaration of Tatyana Yurova could not be found. But as the Joint Press Service of the Courts explained to a RostovGazeta correspondent, the declarations are placed with the consent of the submitters.
There was also unconfirmed information from the media that Andrei Roschevsky, head of the Judicial Department, was involved in this scandal. In 2021, he earned 1.5 million rubles, and from the property he had a BMW X3 car and an apartment of 117 square meters in shared ownership with his wife.
