Saint-Petersburg Main Investigations Directorate of the Russia’s Investigative Committee has finished investigating a criminal case against former employee of the Federal Drug Control Service Pyotr Krutelev, former officials of Saint-Petersburg and Leningrad Region Office of the Federal Drug Control Service Pavel Vyalykh and Artyom Geraskin and resident of Saint-Petersburg Vladimir Mikhailov. Depending on the role of each one of them in a crime, they are charged with the crimes under part 3 of article 30, part 4 of article 159, parts 2 and 3 of article 228, part 1 of article 286 of the RF Penal Code (attempted fraud using official position on a very large scale, by a group of people in a previous concert, illegal purchase, storage and transportation of drugs on a large and very large scales, excess of authority).

According to investigators, the officials of the Central Office of the Federal Drug Control Service, having learnt that Saint-Petersburg and Leningrad Region Office of the Federal Drug Control Service had a criminal case against a businessman of a Baltic republic charged with illegal drug dealing, decided to carry out a fraud against his acquaintances. To do that they involved Vyalykh, who in his turn involved Mikhailov. In the period between 7 February and 26 August 2013, the accused found the businessman’s acquaintances through Mikhailov, while the former was hiding from investigation abroad. After that by phone and during personal meetings in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg the accused misled them regarding the possibility to affect the investigation and demanded 1 million euros for not putting the man on an international wanted list. The operatives of the Drug Control Service had to have registered the man as a valuable operative agent, receive 2 million rubles from the victims, buy a large batch of cocaine, mix it with a filler to make it weigh more and confiscate it allegedly on the tip from the agent. Then Vyalykh and Mikhailov received 2 million rubles and bought presumably 5 kg of cocaine, which they wanted to confiscate later, however, the man was put on an international wanted list independent of them. After that for a fee of 30 million rubles the officials of the Drug Service offered the businessmen to give them information on the progress and results of investigative operations against them in order to help them avoid prosecution.

Vyalykh and Krutelev entered a pretrial cooperation deal and the criminal case against them was severed in a separate law suit, which with the approved indictment will soon be sent to court to be tried on the merits.

The criminal case against Geraskin and Mikhailov with the approved indictment will also soon be sent to Saint-Petersburg City Court.