The Investigative Committee of Russia (TFR) has completed the investigation of a criminal case against twelve former employees of various departments of the State Traffic Inspectorate of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Krasnodar Territory, accused of taking bribes as part of an organized criminal community. The case with the approved indictment was sent to the 4th Cassation Court to determine the territorial jurisdiction. According to the prosecution, traffic police inspectors systematically received bribes from drivers and transferred part of the funds to their leaders, and also covered the transportation of counterfeit alcohol.
The Main Investigation Department of the ICR for the North Caucasus Federal District has completed the investigation of a criminal case against a group of former police officers who are accused of creating a criminal community or participating in it, as well as taking bribes and abuse of power (Articles 210, 290, 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The main part of the defendants in the case are former employees of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Uspensky District of the Krasnodar Territory, including the former head of the regional department Andrey Novikov and the former head of the OEBiPK of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Mikhail Bakanov. Traffic police officers Sergey Bochkarev, Maxim Maksimov, Dmitry Plekhov, Evgeny Akimov, Andrey Ionov, Igor Vorontsov and Dmitry Pshenichny are also involved as defendants in the case. Three more persons involved in the case served in the regional headquarters in Krasnodar – the former head of the operational-investigative department of the internal security department of the regional Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Dmitry Frolov, as well as his subordinates Ruslan Skopenko and Roman Grinenko.
Lawyer Yaroslav Krasnoshchekov, who is defending Mr. Frolov, told Kommersant that the prosecutor’s office approved the indictment, the case was sent to the 4th Cassation Court (Krasnodar) to determine the territorial jurisdiction.
According to the ICR, in the period from June 2016 to March 2020, an organized criminal community operated on the territory of the Krasnodar Territory, which included employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. State traffic inspectors were on duty at the checkpoint of the Uspensky traffic police and regularly received bribes from drivers for exemption from liability for administrative offenses and crimes. The traffic police officers transferred part of the funds received to their leaders, as well as to officials of the regional headquarters. In total, the prosecution charges the defendants in the case with taking bribes in the amount of 2 million rubles. The prosecution believes that the head of the community is Sergey Bochkarev, the commander of the traffic police platoon of the traffic police.
As Kommersant previously wrote, the Uspensky checkpoint is located 250 km from Krasnodar, not far from the border with the Stavropol Territory, where the R-217 federal highway begins, which leads to the republics of the North Caucasus. According to the investigation, the police officers who worked at Uspensky, among other things, protected the transportation of counterfeit alcohol.
In December 2022, the Kirovsky District Court of Rostov sentenced the former head of the traffic police department for the Uspensky District, Ilya Makarenko, who was sentenced to five years in a strict regime colony. His former subordinates Vasily Pitsyk and Sirtaki Tosunov were sentenced respectively to 4.5 and 3.5 years in a penal colony. All three pleaded guilty.
According to lawyer Yaroslav Krasnoshchekov, specifically his client is charged with two episodes of bribery, including from traffic police inspectors from the Uspensky district and their leaders, for patronizing their corrupt activities.
“None of the witnesses personally saw the transfer of money to Frolov, and the only alleged participant in the transfer of money, Grinenko, who allegedly confessed, retracted his testimony. The accusation against my client is based on the testimony of people who use rumors and conjectures, there are no real eyewitnesses of illegal actions. The investigation has to rely on rumors, as it has already burned bridges behind itself, repeatedly extending the period of detention of Dmitry Frolov, ”the lawyer said.
