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Members of an Organized Group Found Guilty of Kidnapping, Extortion and Murder Have Been Sentenced in St. Petersburg

The evidence collected by the investigating authorities of the Main Investigative Department of the IC of Russia for St. Petersburg was recognized by the court as sufficient for passing of sentence based on the guilty verdict of the jurors against Mikhail Spiridonov, Viktor Bayurov, Yevgeny Kagalo and Andrey Levandovsky. Depending on the role of each, they were found guilty of committing crimes under Part 3 of Article 33, Paragraph h, Part 2 of Article 105, Paragraph a, Part 3 of Article 126, Paragraphs a, b, Part 3 of Article 163, Paragraphs a, c, g, h, Part 2 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (kidnapping, extortion, murder).

The investigation and the court have found that in 2013 Spiridonov conspired with an unidentified person to organize the murder of an entrepreneur from the city of Sosnovy Bor, Leningrad Oblast, for hire, for a monetary reward of at least 650,000 rubles. After that, he contracted Aleksey Klimov as a hired killer, the criminal case in respect of whom was separated into a separate proceeding in connection with the conclusion of a pre-trial agreement on cooperation, he had previously been convicted. Spiridonov developed a plan to commit the murder, collected and provided the accomplice with the necessary information about the victim, with whom he repeatedly traveled for observation to his place of residence and work. On December 25, 2013, Klimov, acting in accordance with his role in the crime, attacked the victim in the city of Sosnovy Bor, inflicted at least 6 blows with a piercing and cutting object, as a result of which he died. For the murder, the accomplices received a monetary reward.

In addition, from December 2013 to February 2014, Spiridonov created an organized criminal group to kidnap people and extort ransom, as well as to kill them if the required ransom was not paid. Having professional skills and knowledge for carrying out forceful measures, obtained during his service in special forces, he developed a plan for committing crimes, according to which, having found the victim, members of the organized criminal group were to kidnap the victim, move him to a specially prepared location, where the round-the-clock detainment was ensured until a ransom was received; the criminals were to stop attempts of the victim to escape, and also to present to the victim a demand for the transfer of property for his release in the form of cash on an especially large scale. In case of failure to receive the required ransom, or realizing that the release of the victim entails a high risk of their exposure, he planned to kill the victims in order to conceal the committed kidnapping and extortion.

Spiridonov engaged Klimov, Bayurov, Kagalo and Levandovsky to participate in the organized criminal group, and also distributed roles between them. Klimov, Kagalo and Levandovsky were directly engaged in kidnapping, while Bayurov ensured their detainment. Spiridonov equipped the organized group with cloth bags, handcuffs, adhesive tapes, motor vehicles, cell phones, SIM cards, a device for recording and reproducing the victim’s oral speech with a request for a transfer of funds for the release. Also, Spiridonov found isolated rooms with disguised entrances and soundproofing, located in the basements of a country house, as well as in a garage.

In February 2014, accomplices kidnapped an entrepreneur from the city of Sestroretsk and extorted 10 million rubles for his release. Not having received the required ransom, Bayurov and Klimov, at the direction of Spiridonov drowned the victim in the waters of the Sestra River in Kurortny Raion in April 2014. On May 22, 2014, near one of the buildings at Primorskoye Shosse, members of the organized group kidnapped an entrepreneur of Kurortn Raion and extorted 3 million rubles for his release. After receiving unidentified drugs for the release of the victim, Klimov, on the instructions of Spiridonov, killed the victim in a forest near the city of Sosnovy Bor on May 26, 2014, using an unidentified blunt instrument.

The court sentenced Spiridonov to 24 years of strict regime, Bayurov to 16 years of strict regime, Kagalo to 5 years. According to the totality of sentences, 7.5 years in a correctional colony with a strict regime. The court also ordered Kagalo compulsory observation and treatment by a psychiatrist on an outpatient basis. The court sentenced Levandovsky to 10 years. According to the totality of sentences, 20 years of strict regime with a fine of 400,000 rubles. In addition, the court exacted 2 million rubles from Spiridonov in favor of the victim, and 500,00 rubles from the other defendants, each.