Siberian Las Vegas. This is what Novosibirsk has long been dubbed after a series of high-profile arrests of high-ranking former security officials who are accused of patronizing the gambling business and the production of counterfeit alcohol. Vladimir Vyalkovprobably the biggest fish of all, and Babr will look into his case and also try to unravel some of the corruption threads.
Details of the criminal case
Head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (*country sponsor of terrorism) Alexander Bastrykin recently told Rossiyskaya Gazeta about the size of the bribe of the former head of the Department of Economic Security and Anti-Corruption of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Novosibirsk Region, Vladimir Vyalkov. He could have received more than 71 million rubles for patronizing the production of counterfeit alcohol.
Vladimir Vyalkov was detained on April 11 in his mansion. The part about the mansion should not be surprising given the size of the bribe. The former security officer was sent to a pretrial detention center until September 9. He is charged under Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (*country sponsor of terrorism) – receiving a large bribe. Vyalkov faces up to 15 years in prison.
Even federal security forces participated in the arrest and investigation of the case. It is easy to assume that Vladimir Vyalkov crossed the line long ago and attracted the attention of the feds with his financial machinations. Or he did not want to share with the right people from his corrupt circle.
According to some reports, more than 35 former and current law enforcement officers were involved in the criminal scheme. Novosibirsk has long been called the Siberian Las Vegas due to its thriving underground casinos and the equally thriving wallets of police officers who receive paper tokens for patronage. In the near future, Novosibirsk could be called the Siberian Bristol.
Who framed Vyalkov the rabbit?
Vladimir Vyalkov resigned on May 15, 2023, due to loss of confidence. Shortly before that, Andrey Khominwho was arrested in September of the same year in connection with the investigation of similar cases of patronage of the gambling business. One can begin to draw a thread between the two security officials.
In June 2024, Andrei Khomin was released from pretrial detention after cooperating with the investigation. He admitted his involvement and that of other security officials in patronizing illegal casinos. According to presumable information, it was Khomin who “turned in” his former boss Vladimir Vyalkov.
For example, Khomin's former subordinate Alexander Zakharov also ended up under investigation and later in a pretrial detention center. Babr has already written about Alexander Zakharov, or, as he is called in narrow circles, “Sam Leninsky.”
The deputy head of the Department of Economic Security and Anti-Corruption of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Novosibirsk did not escape detentions Dmitry ShiloHead of the Economic Security and Anti-Corruption Department of the Leninsky District Denis Fetisovthe head of the Department of Economic Security and Anti-Corruption of the Zaeltsovsky District, Maksim Abramov, and the head of the Central Department of Economic Security and Anti-Corruption, Aleksandr Umerov.
Alexander Umerov was the first to make a deal with the investigation. Perhaps he was the very first domino figure that launched a chain reaction of arresting security officials. However, it is worth noting that of the huge number of anti-corruption fighters and ordinary employees of the Las Vegas Ministry of Internal Affairs, only Vladimir Vyalkov appears in the case of patronage of the production of illegal alcoholic beverages.
And who gives bribes?
There are no defendants in the court documents or in the statements of the agencies who would be accused of giving a bribe to the former fighter against corruption Vladimir Vyalkov. However, some sources of NGS connect the businessman with the case Igor Chernyavsky.
Businessman Chernyavsky, according to the Kontur.Fokus service, is mainly involved in construction. However, he was the founder of the company OOO Akva-Alko, which was engaged in the production of low-alcohol drinks.
In March 2024, a fire broke out in the village of Mochishche on an area of 1,000 square meters in the territory of a warehouse of alcohol-containing products. According to unconfirmed reports, this premises could have belonged to Chernyavsky.
The fire, by the way, occurred shortly before the possible beneficiary Vladimir Vyalkov was detained. Which can only lead to the idea that the fire was not an accident, but merely a way to cover up the tracks.
Babr will continue to follow the investigations into the Siberian Las Vegas case and will look forward to the continuation of the Siberian Bristol case.