News

Central Federal District Investigations Directorate of the Russia’s Investigative Committee has finished investigating a criminal case against members of a stable armed group (gang), who killed on hire businessman Solomon Gavrilov in 2009 in Moscow, three more businessmen and attempted to kill a businessman in Moscow and Moscow Region in 2005-2007. The defendants are Yuri Khasanov, 28 and Grigory Shevchenko, 22, from Moscow Region. Depending on the role of each one they are charged with crimes under part 2 of article 209 of the RF Criminal Code (membership in a gang), paragraphs “a”, “g” and “h” of part 2 of article 105 (contracted murder), part 3 of article 222 (illegal handling of firearms). The third member of the gang Dmitry Makarenko has already been convicted.

According to the investigation, in 2005, 31-year-old resident of the Moscow Region Andrey Safronov created a gang to commit murders and other crimes on hire in respect of businessmen. The gang consisted of two friends of his: Makarenko and Khasanov, Shevchenko joined them later in 2009. It has been found that members of the gang were watching their victims for a long time and used illegally acquired cold weapons and fire arms when killing them. According to the distribution of roles, attacks on victims were carried out by Makarenko and Hasanov, and in the last case, Shevchenko followed the victim and gave perpetrators a signal to act. The gang ceased to exist in December 2011 due to the fact that most of its members were detained by law enforcement officials.

The organizer of the gang Safronov, who was charged and remanded in custody in absentia, has been put on the international wanted list. The suspected hirer of Gavrilov’s killers Yuri Israilov is on the international wanted list, too. At present the investigation is establishing contractors of other crimes committed by the gang.

At present investigators are having the accused and their defenders to study the materials of the criminal investigation. After that the case is going to be forwarded for the indictment to be approved and further to court to be tried on the merits.

One more member of the gang Dmitry Makarenko concluded a pre-trial cooperation agreement, therefore a criminal case against him has been severed into a separate lawsuit. The court sentenced him to 17 years in high-security penal colony.

Head of Media Relations                                                                                                V.I. Markin