The Main Investigations Directorate has launched a criminal investigation into 36-year-old citizen of the Russian Federation Viktor Zharinov under Article 210.1 of the Criminal Code of Russia (occupation of the highest position in the criminal hierarchy). The criminal case was initiated on the basis of the results of a probe carried out by officers of the investigative unit jointly with the Federal Security Service of Russia and the Nizhny Novgorod Directorate of the Federal Security Service of Russia.
According to the investigation, Zharinov, being one of the criminal authorities of Nizhny Novgorod Region, gained the highest position in the criminal community--the “thief in law”--in May 2013. From that time until November 2019, he arranged for the commission of several serious and particularly serious offenses in the territory of the Russian Federation.
For instance, as investigators believe, in 2019 he organized the abduction of two residents of Ulyanovsk, who were forcibly held in Nizhny Novgorod and Cheboksary. The purpose of the kidnapping was to force the victims to transfer control of a commercial enterprise to persons from the criminal environment.
At present, the suspect has been declared wanted and investigative activities are underway to establish his whereabouts.
The Investigative Committee is working to establish all the circumstances of the committed offense. The criminal investigation is ongoing.
Official spokesperson for the Investigative Committee of Russia S. Petrenko
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