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The Chuvash Republic investigating bodies of the Russia’s Investigative Committee have finished investigating a criminal case against former head of the Chuvash Republic Directorate of the Federal Migration Service Leonid Druzhinin. he is charged with crimes under paragraph “b”, of part 5 of article 290 of the RF Criminal Code (taking a bribe with extortion – 2 counts), part 3 of article 159 (swindling by a group of people under a preliminary conspiracy using official position), part 1 of article 285 (abuse of office – 4 counts) and part 2 of article 292 (forgery by an official). Alexander Khlebnikov, a driver of the same Directorate, is charged with a crime under part 3 of article 159 of the RF Criminal Code (swindling).

According to investigators, in 2012, Druzhinin conspired with Khlebnikov and made fictitious documents on utilization of one of the service cars because of its alleged unfitness for further use and used the car to his own ends. The action caused the Chuvash Republic Directorate of the Federal migration Service a loss of 115 thousand rubles.

In addition, in 2013, Druzhinin during 4 months used illegally and free of charge labor of two citizens of Tajikistan in building a house in the town of Cheboksary, knowing that they had violated the staying and labor regimes in the Russian Federation and protecting them from administrative punishment. It should be noted that this free work force had been provided to Druzhinin as a bribe by the head of a commercial organization, who had been earlier cited for administrative violation of migration laws connected with the use of labor of foreign citizens by his firm and who was afraid of new possible sanctions from the accused in future. In October 2012, Druzhinin threatened to carry out new checks on following the migration laws and demanded from the same businessman to build a sewage system in his house worth 11.5 thousand rubles, and the businessmen had to do that. Khlebnikov worked at the building site of the same house using the service car on agreement with Druzhinin. Moreover, in the period between May and October 2012, he practically did not do his main job. Druzhinin, however approved tables of working time, where he put knowingly false information that Khlebnikov discharged his duties in full as a driver in the Chuvash Republic Directorate of the Federal Migration Service. These actions cause the said Directorate a loss of over 160 thousand rubles of the wages illegally paid to Khlebnikov, writing off the expenditures, connected with wear and tear of the service cars he used in building the house of Druzhinin and expenses on fuel and lubricants.

In 2012, Druzhinin helped heads of two commercial organizations to avoid administrative responsibility for illegal use of labor of foreign citizens. In one case he took from his subordinate the documents, confirming violation of the migration laws by the firm, CEO of which had helped him to build the said house by selling him building materials by installment, and destroyed explanations of three citizens of Uzbekistan. In another case Druzhinin imposed a disciplinary liability on three of his subordinates and threatened to fire them for allegedly illegal checks of the activity in a firm, headed by another of his acquaintances, who had promised him to assist in promoting him in service. The accused knew that the second firm illegally used the labor of two citizens of China. This way, the employers avoided huge fines for violation of migration laws and the foreign workers were not deported from the Russian Federation.

On the request of the investigator the court placed the accused in the custody as a pre-trial restraining measure and arrested Druzhinin’s property. 7 phonoscopic and 1 assessment and technical expert analysis have been conducted during the investigation to find the objective truth. There are 20 volumes in the criminal case, in which about 100 witnesses have been questioned and 5 people have been found victims.

The investigators have gathered enough evidence and accordingly the case after the indictment was approved has been sent to a court to be tried on the merits.

The facts of Druzhinin’s wrongdoings were revealed thanks to operative cooperation with the office of the Federal Security Service in the Chuvash Republic.