Moscow Central Investigations Directorate of the Russia’s Investigative Committee has completed investigating a criminal case against members of a criminal group, who abducted Ivan Kaspersky. Depending on the role of each, Nikolai Savelyev, his son Nikolai Savelyev, Sergey Gromov and Oleg Mayukov are charged with crimes under paragraphs “a” and “h” of part 2 of article 126 and paragraph “b” of part 3 of article 163 of the RF Criminal Code (abduction of a person by a group of persons under a preliminary conspiracy out of mercenary motives and extortion by a group of persons under a preliminary conspiracy using violence with the purpose to get property on an especially large scale).
According to investigators, no later than March 2011, the Savelyevs, Gromov, Mayukov and Alexey Ustimchuk decided to kidnap Ivan Kaspersky and set a ransom of 3 million euros. The testimonies of the accused show that the plan appeared after they had seen a TV show telling about the victim’s father – Yevgeny Kaspersky, Head of Kaspersky Lab, who, they believed, had enough money. Since March 2011 the accused shadowed the victim, and learned that he was a 4-year student in the Lomonosov Moscow State University and worked for ZAO Infowatch (CJSC) and event made his day schedule. According to a preliminarily prepared plan the accused thought the residential block near Strogino subway station the best place to kidnap the young man. There, in the morning of 19 April 2011, the accused grabbed Ivan Kaspersky, put him into a car, put on him a band and a cap and handcuffed him. They drove him to the allotment partnership in Sergiyevo-Posadsky district of Moscow Region, where kept him until he was released on 24 April 2011. During the negotiations with Ivan Kaspersky’s parents on the ransom, the kidnappers agreed to provide an electronic data storage device containing information about the state of their son and subsequent payment of ransom.
However, the parents came to the police on the day their son had been abducted and thanks to professionally planed and conducted search and investigating operations the victim’s whereabouts were established. Law enforcement agents released Kaspersky and apprehended Gromov. The same day the other accomplices – the Savelyevs and Ustimchuk were detained at the Moscow Region Traffic Police checkpoint, when they were going to Moscow to meet with the victim’s parents. When they had been detained, the police officers found an electronic data storage device with information about the state of their son and subsequent payment of ransom.
The two of the accused have previous police records. Sergey Gromov has been previously convicted three times for misdemeanors (beating) and Nikolai Savelyev-senior was convicted in 70s for fraud.
Investigators have collected enough evidence and the case with the approved indictment has been forwarded to court to be tried on the merits.
Alexey Ustimchuk has been sentenced to 4.5 years in a high-security correctional facility.
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