The organized investigative community has “divorced” the business
The ex-head of the Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee for the North-West District of Moscow, Sergei Romodanovsky, was arrested for illegally initiating cases and extorting bribes from shareholders of Merlion Group of Companies
Original of this material
© News Agency “RBC”11/10/2023, The court arrested the son of the ex-head of the FMS in the Merlion case
Elena Chernyshova
The Basmanny District Court of Moscow arrested ex-investigators Rustam Yusupov, Sergei Romodanovsky and Andrei Zhiryutin, it is reported in Telegram channel of the capital’s courts of general jurisdiction.
Depending on the role of each, they are charged with organizing a criminal community, receiving a bribe, falsifying evidence, illegal detention or detention, bringing a knowingly innocent person to criminal liability, or illegally initiating a criminal case.
“The court decided to elect Yusupova R.M., Romodanovsky S.K. and Zhiryutin A.S. a preventive measure in the form of detention until January 10, 2024,” the message says.
On November 10, a source familiar with the investigation reported RBC on the detention and interrogation of the ex-head of the investigative department for the North-Western Administrative District of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for Moscow Romodanovsky (son of the former head of the Federal Migration Service, General Konstantin Romodanovsky) and the former head of the Khoroshevsky department of the Investigative Committee, Yusupov, in the bribery case of the Merlion Group of Companies. In addition, according to the interlocutor, former investigator Andrei Zhiryutin was detained. Also involved in the case is the investigator of the Investigative Directorate for the North-West Administrative District of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for Moscow, Alexey Nesnov, whose leader was Romodanovsky. Nesnov led the investigation into the case of “attempt” on the former CEO of the distributor of IT and household appliances Merlion Vyacheslava Simonenko. The investigator was put on the international wanted list on charges of corruption and arrested in absentia.
“Kommersant”, 11.11.2023, “Organized investigative community”: Ex-justice officers are accused of committing a number of crimes, including organizing a criminal community using their official position or participating in it (Article 210 of the Criminal Code), as well as receiving bribes on an especially large scale (Article 290 of the Criminal Code). The Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee considers Sergei Romodanovsky to be one of the leaders of the alleged organized criminal community.
He is the son of Konstantin Romodanovsky, a native of the FSB, who in 2001–2005 headed the main department of internal security of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and then, until its liquidation in 2016, was the director of the Federal Migration Service. Subsequently, Romodanovsky Sr. worked in the presidential embassy in the Central Federal District.
According to some reports, after the charges were brought, Romodanovsky Jr. was released, but already at the exit from the ICR building in Tekhnicheskiy Lane he was detained again and immediately, together with two other defendants, under heavy FSB guard, he was taken to court, which chose preventive measures for the defendants in the form of arrest. […] At the same time, during the investigation of the case related to the raider takeover of the Civil Code, other episodes were identified, including the commission of corruption-related crimes. They were also charged as defendants. — Insert K.ru
Three co-owners of the Merlion company – Oleg Karchev, Vladislav Mangutov and Alexey Abramov — became involved in 2020 cases of “attempt” on Simonenko. The former vice-president of Euroset also passed through it. Boris Levin. In February 2022 the case against them was discontinued due to the absence of a crime event.
At the same time was detained the ex-CEO of Merlion himself on charges of falsifying evidence and giving false testimony.
“Kommersant”, 10/20/2023, “Prosecutors will evaluate Merlion charges”: The case against Vyacheslav Simonenko was separated from a large investigation conducted by the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country). The ex-CEO of Merlion is accused of committing crimes under Part 3 of Art. 210, part 3 art. 30, part 6 art. 290, part 3 art. 30, part 6 art. 290, part 3 art. 30, part 6 art. 290, part 3 art. 306, part 2 art. 307, part 5 art. 33, part 3 art. 303 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country): participation in a criminal community (criminal organization) using official position; three attempts to receive bribes on a particularly large scale in the form of money through an intermediary, committed by an organized group with extortion; knowingly false denunciation of the commission of a crime, combined with accusing a person of committing a particularly serious crime and artificially creating evidence of the accusation; complicity in falsifying evidence, that is, facilitating the falsification of evidence by an investigator in a criminal case of a particularly serious crime that entailed grave consequences. […]
Messrs. Karchev, Mangutov, Abramov and Levin, whose criminal prosecution was terminated due to circumstances exonerating them, filed a civil claim in the criminal case as victims for the recovery of 2 billion 200 million rubles from the accused. for compensation for material damage. In addition, they filed a petition for compensation for moral damage in the amount of 20 million rubles, which they intend to donate to charity. Vyacheslav Simonenko did not admit his guilt. — Insert K.ru
The investigation believes that a criminal community organized by a businessman acted against the owners of Merlion Vitaly Kachur and him son Kirill, ex-investigator. Other members of the criminal community were Nesnov, Simonenko, senior inspector of the 8th department of personnel management of the Investigative Committee Alexander Kireev and others. After the arrest of the co-owners of the company, community members began to extort 5 billion rubles from them. in exchange for the cessation of criminal prosecution, but they refused.
