The Main Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia finished investigation of a criminal case into Velikiy Novgorod resident Sergey Semenov. He is accused of committing an offence under Paragraph H of Part 2 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of Russia (murder combined with robbery).

This criminal case remained unsolved by the territorial investigative department for 18 years, and in November 2019 was transferred to the Central Office of the Investigative Committee of Russia for further investigation.

According to investigation, in November 2001, Semenov, together with an accomplice, committed a robbery of two businessmen in order to seize money in the amount of 300 thousand rubles. In order to exert psychological pressure on the victims, Semyonov pointed the sawed-off shotgun he had with him in their direction. In response to Semenov's criminal actions, one of the businessmen tried to resist his attackers, and Semenov shot the businessman in the chest, inflicting a fatal gunshot wound.

The investigator of the Main Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia carried out a significant amount of investigative activities to collect and consolidate the evidence of guilt of the said person. A complex of various forensic examinations was conducted, including forensic, genetic, psychological and psychiatric examinations. The investigation was complicated by the significant age of the crime, the active opposition of the accused at the initial stage of the investigation, which manifested itself in an attempt to shift the blame for the murder to an accomplice in the robbery.

The investigation gathered enough evidence; therefore, the criminal case was sent to the court to be tried on the merits.