The Major Cases Directorate of the Investigative Committee keeps on looking into embezzlement of passengers’ money by the staff of OOO VIM Airlines under Part 4 of Article 159 of the RF Criminal Code. Criminal proceedings have been initiated against owner and co-president of the airlines Rashid Mursekayev, former CEO Alexander Kochnev, former first deputy CEO and financial director Alevtina Kalashnikova and chief accountant Yekaterina Panteleyeva. They are suspected of abuse of power under Part 2 of Article 201 of the RF Criminal Code. The criminal proceedings were joined together to form a single lawsuit.
According to investigators, from 2015 to 2017, the suspects abused their powers when bought aviation fuel at overrated prices from companies controlled by Mursekayev.
The investigators have also found out that VIM Airlines headed by Mursekayev was basically a pyramid scam. Its top managers hid loss carefully by putting false income information in accounting documents. Thus they could get bank loans and avoid restrictions imposed by The Federal Air Transport Agency. Aware of the company’s problems Mursekayev and his wife got more than 162 million rubles in wages and dividends from May 2015 to September 2017, while the company had lost more than 2.5 billion rubles by September.
Actions of the suspects caused contractors VIM Airlines a damage of more than 782 million rubles. By now 4 companies have been recognized as injured parties.
Rashid Mursekayev and Alevtina Kalashnikova have fled Russia and are now wanted. The investigators are requesting courts to arrest them in absentia. Once detained, they are going to be charged.
At present, the investigators are working to identify other people involved in the crime and find out if there were other crimes committed. They are also checking if there are other companies which suffered from the hands of the suspects.
Spokesperson of the Investigative Committee Svetlana Petrenko
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