A court has recognized the evidence gathered by the investigating bodies of the Russia’s Investigative Committee for the Penza Region sufficient to convict leader and members of Olympia criminal community. Depending on the role of each, they were charged with crimes under parts 1 and 2 of article 209 of the RF Penal Code (banditry), parts 1 and 2 of article 210 (organization and membership in a criminal community), paragraphs “a”, “e”, “f”, “g”, “h” of part 2 of article 105 (murder), part 3 of article 30, paragraphs “a”, “e”, “f”, “g”, “h” of part 2 of article 105 (attempted murder of two or more people by an organized group out of mercenary motives), part 3 of article 222 (illegal acquisition, carrying, storage of arms and ammunition), part 2 of article 213 (hooliganism by an organized group), part 2 of article 167 (destruction of another’s property by arson).
The court and investigators found that the criminal group was set up in Olympia sports complex in the early 90’s. The aims of the group were getting illegal benefit by means of crimes and taking under criminal control persons and organizations engaged in business, assertion of their interests in conflicts with other gangs, attacks on citizens, including members of competing gangs in order to establish leadership among them.
In the late 90’s one of the gang leaders Sergey Maksimenko set up and headed a criminal community named after him, with several functionally separate groups, each of which had its leader subordinate to Maksimenko. Each leader of the division had clear areas of criminal activity, such as illegal acquisition of weapons, taking stock of regular income in the “bank” of the gang, control over members organizing prostitution and gambling. The gang has its hierarchy with juniors unconditionally reporting to seniors. There was strict discipline and any deviation was severely punished. In addition the gangsters recruited new members, got armed by acquiring weapons and explosive devices by different means, had a common fund. The members of the gang committed numerous serious and especially serious crimes, including those using firearms and explosive devices.
This way, the investigators solved the murder of leader of Ternovskiye gang Bareyev, committed in winter 2004 near the metro shopping mall and murders of businessmen in 2001. In addition, fighting for leadership in criminal community, the gangsters on the orders of Maksimenko several times tried to kill criminal kingpin Muzafyarov using firearms and explosive devices.
The activity of the gang was broken up in April 2011 during efficient operation of officers of the regional offices of the Investigative Committee and Interior Ministry.
It took over two years to solve the case and there are 81 volumes in it, 14 of which are indictment.
A team of special investigators of the regional Investigative Committee did a lot of work to investigate the case. They identified and questioned over 350 witnesses and victims, ran over 100 forensic analyses, carried out numerous examinations and seizures of objects relevant for the investigation.
Based on the verdict of the jury the court has sentenced Maksimenko to 25 years in prison. Other gangsters have been sentenced to between 4 and 21 years in prison. They will serve their terms in a maximum-security penal colony. One of the defendants got a suspended sentence of 3 years.
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