Ex-Minister of the Open Government of Russia Mikhail Abyzov, who is accused of organizing a criminal community and embezzling 4 billion rubles, was placed in the same cell with the former governor of the Khabarovsk Territory, Sergei Furgal. This on Sunday, September 6, writes the Telegram channel “Evening Khabarovsk”.
Abyzov was arrested in March 2019. A case was opened against him under Part 2, 3 of Art. 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The actions of the defendants are qualified under Part 4 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Creation and participation in a criminal community, fraud”).
According to the investigation, Abyzov and accomplices stole 4 billion rubles from the Siberian Energy Company (SIBEKO) and the RES. Then they withdrew money from Russia, placing them in accounts in Cyprus. The money was then converted into US dollars to give the appearance of legitimacy. Two defendants in the Abyzov case – Vladimir Niyazov and Sergei Stolyarov – were later put on the international wanted list and arrested in absentia.
Fural was detained on July 9. He is charged with involvement in the activities of a local criminal group and organizing murders in the 2000s. The ex-official did not admit his guilt, he is being held in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center. The Investigative Committee accuses him of organizing the murders of entrepreneurs Yevgeny Zori and Oleg Bulatov, as well as an attempt on the life of businessman Alexander Smolsky.
On September 2, the official representative of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Svetlana Petrenko, announced that the investigation had brought charges against Furgal for organizing the murder of businessman Zori in 2004. The next day, the prosecutor said that the official was subordinate to people who were engaged in the elimination of persons unfit for him. Also on Thursday, the Investigative Committee of Russia extended the period of investigation in the criminal case against the ex-governor by five months – until February 8, 2021.