After the detention of the deputy of the City Duma of Ulyanovsk Anton Antipov on Friday, today, Sunday, he was announced a measure of restraint. His wife and concerned townspeople came to support the parliamentarian. According to investigators, Antipov received a bribe from Valery Khudozhidkov, chief road worker of the mayor’s office, to transfer it to the Gosstroynadzor authorities in order to avoid verification. Two days before the meeting, the official wrote a statement to the FSB, and the parliamentarian was caught red-handed.
The operation to detain Antipov took place on Friday on Lenin Street. Documents were seized from the politician’s car, he was taken away for interrogation and detained for 48 hours. The deputy is charged with Part 2 of Art. 291.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Mediation in bribery”. Under the article, he faces over 3 years in prison. His wife Victoria urged all those who are not indifferent to come to the building of the Leninsky District Court, where today a measure of restraint will be chosen for the politician. She insists that her husband was framed.
73online.ru, 09/02/2022, “The security forces detained the deputy Antipov”: FSB officers are working with Ulyanovsk City Duma deputy Anton Antipov. They search his car, seize things – they are especially interested in a certain yellow folder. “Not mine,” says the parliamentarian. The 73online.ru correspondent is at the scene. The operation is taking place on Lenin Street near house number 130, next to the Azalea flower shop. It all started around 5:15 pm. A gray Lada Priora with numbers 589 is standing by the roadside – this is Anton Antipov’s car. Nearby witnesses and five people in balaclavas from the FSB, as well as an employee of the Investigative Committee.
The glove compartment in the car is turned out, documents are being seized. They took out a yellow folder and sealed it.
– Your folder? they ask Antipov.
“Not mine,” he replies.
– And whose? Have you been tossed?
— (Speaks something indistinct) Write as you wish. […]
A white minibus appeared, some unknown aged man was put into it and left. At that time, the security forces were sealing the confiscated diary, wallet, flash drive, car keys, and phone. Antipov looks calm, smiling. He and two attesting witnesses were given protocols to sign. […] Finally, he set his Lada on the alarm, took the bag and, accompanied by the security forces, but without handcuffs, reached the office of the Investigative Committee for Leo Tolstoy, where he was put into a foreign car and taken away in an unknown direction. — Inset K.ru
The 73online.ru journalist arrived at the courthouse at 12:30 pm — the main entrance is closed, only the service entrance from Robespierre Street is open. There are a total of 20 law enforcement officers at the two entrances. It is possible that the police regarded Victoria’s call as an uncoordinated mass event.
The head of the department for combating corruption and other offenses, Agalar Nurov, is walking nearby.
All arrivals were launched into the courthouse. Viktoria Antipova was the first to come, caring citizens began to arrive as listeners, and the issue will be resolved separately by their presence. Human rights activists Igor Toporkov and Konstantin Tolkachev also came. The bailiffs whisper that even the chief of police, Maksim Petrushin, has arrived.
Finally, they began to let everyone into the courtroom, including listeners – 8 people came from among ordinary residents of the city. Antipov sits in a cage in a black PUMA tracksuit, greeted everyone, and was in high spirits. The wife came in, the deputy kissed her hand, but the bailiffs separated them, forbidding them to hug. “Hold on. People are with you! Victoria clenched her fists. He replied that everything was fine.
– How is your son? Antipov asked his wife, asked to see the photo and smiled. The girl replied that she was naughty, worried.
The interests of Anton Antipov are represented by Associate Professor of the Department of Criminal Law and Procedure of the Ural State University, lawyer Oleg Maksimov. The judge on duty is Ildar Khaibullov, the prosecutor is Oleg Stepanov, the investigator is Yekaterina Lashina, who took part in the arrest.
The judge began to establish the identity of the politician. “He works as an adviser to the head of the state construction supervision, is a deputy of the State Department of State Duma. Married with a three year old son. We do not judge before, ”Khaibullov lists. The trial is conducted in an open format. The investigator, lawyer and prosecutor object to filming. Antipov was not opposed, he left the decision to the discretion of the court, and Khaibullov forbade taking photos and videos during the process.
Defender Maksimov attached numerous petitions from public organizations that ask to choose a measure of restraint for the deputy, not related to detention. Positive characteristics and the presence of a small child are cited as extenuating circumstances.
It turns out that the wife collected these signatures on the porch of the Gulliver store opposite the courthouse on Karl Marx Street. Antipov explained that they were mostly residents of his 38th district.
The investigator makes a motion. It was established that on August 19, Anton Antipov told Valery Khudozhidkov, head of the road infrastructure department of Ulyanovsk, that he could help avoid an inspection by the State Construction Supervision Authority for 150 thousand rubles, which he would transfer to a certain official. Investigator Lashina claims that Antipov warned Khudozhidkov about the need for secrecy when transferring money. Khudozhidkov himself wrote a statement to the FSB on August 31. And on September 2, Antipov received a bribe from Khudozhidkov for not carrying out verification activities. On the same day, he was immediately detained, and money was found in his personal car during a search. On September 3, he was charged. The parliamentarian pleaded not guilty. It is reported that Khudozhidkov has already given his testimony and is a key witness in the case.
The investigation also claims that Antipov was engaged in extortion of money from commercial structures.
Kommersant.Ru, 09/04/2022, “The deputy was considered an intermediary”: Mr. Antipov was detained by officers of the regional department of the FSB and the investigation department of the ICR for the Ulyanovsk region on Saturday evening in the center of Ulyanovsk in his car. According to eyewitnesses, the operatives presented him with a kind of “yellow folder”, from which the deputy denied. […] On Saturday, the Investigative Committee of the ICR charged him with mediation in bribery when committing obviously illegal actions (part 2 of article 291.1, up to seven years in prison). […]
The investigation, filing a motion to select a measure of restraint, stated in court that on August 19, the deputy informed the head of the city department of road facilities and transport, Valery Khudozhidkov, that he could “help avoid verification by the State Construction Supervision Service”, the service would cost 150 thousand rubles. Mr. Khudozhidkov agreed, but at the same time, on August 31, he wrote a statement to the FSB about this (now Valery Khudozhidkov is a key witness in this case). The money, according to the investigation, was handed over to the deputy on September 2 “for transfer to a certain official”, this amount was found during a search of the deputy’s car during the arrest. The representative of the Investigative Committee of the ICR also indicated that the deputy may be involved in other similar episodes related to extortion of money from commercial structures, in addition, according to the investigation, the accused may be associated with criminal groups. — Inset K.ru
Lashina suggests that Antipov may hide due to the presence of a passport, influence witnesses, and therefore asks to detain him for the period of investigative actions. The prosecutor supported the motion.
Antipov claims that he has never traveled abroad in his entire life. He also added that during the arrest, the FSB officers allegedly put forward conditions for him to remain at large – to hand over the yellow folder, where the money was, to the regional deputy prosecutor Maxim Grishin. He offered to confirm his words on a polygraph. Recall that during the arrest, the security forces took out a document in a yellow file from the deputy’s car, from which he disavowed.
– I am a law-abiding person, except for administrative fines for speeding, I have never had anything. In addition, I am a key witness in another high-profile case, assisting law enforcement officers. From the moment I got to the temporary detention center (temporary detention center – approx.), not a minute passed that I did not think about my family. I don’t know yet how to characterize what happened, it takes time,” said Anton Antipov.
The investigation also suspects that Antipov is connected with criminal communities, which surprised him, since in another case, where he is a witness, an organized crime group is being exposed. He promised to tell more about this at the next meeting.
The lawyer believes that the arguments of the investigation are unfounded, but taking into account all the circumstances, the defense understands that everything needs to be sorted out. He asks to refuse the application for detention and choose any other measure of restraint.
The judge retired to the deliberation room.
During the break, lawyer Maksimov declined to comment to the media. Victoria Antipova also did not want to talk to journalists, but spoke emotionally about the detention of her husband and stated that she was determined to defend herself.
What can I say that my husband is not to blame? What set him up? He didn’t tell me the details. I do not know anything. But Anton is an honest man. We don’t ride Porsches, we don’t have golden toilet bowls at home, come visit us, see for yourself. At first there was shock and hysteria, I just now came to my senses. There was a phone call that he had been detained and was in a temporary detention facility. I brought him a change of clothes there. But we were not given a date. Today I see him for the first time since Friday,” Victoria said.
Antipov did not refuse to talk to the press, he spoke about the conditions of detention: a cell for two beds, his neighbor is 68 years old, he is an “experienced walker” – he spent half his life behind bars. The deputy noted that he was happy with the neighborhood: “We need to discuss the weather, politics with someone …”.
– The food is tolerable, the most edible is a hot lunch. I specifically found out who the power operator was in the isolation ward, but they didn’t tell me. I am sitting behind bars in a dungeon damp, a young eagle fed in captivity, – the deputy laughs, quoting a poem by Alexander Pushkin with an expression.
“Well, the eagle is young, yes,” the wife smiles at the prisoner.
Ildar Khaibullov returned and announced the decision – the court agreed with the arguments of the investigation. Antipov is taken into custody for two months until November 1. The deputy is taken to SIZO-1 on 12 September Street. The defense will appeal the decision within three days.
When the deputy was handcuffed, he thanked everyone in the hall: “Thank you for coming!”