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Saint-Petersburg Main Investigations Directorate of the Russia’s Investigative Committee has finished investigating a criminal case against Alexander and Andrey Kuryakov, Sergey Tsaryov, Mikhail Belykh, Sergey Osipov, Mikhail Koretnikov, Vladimir Golovkov, Vladimir Panteleyev, Andrey Gordiyenko, Dmitry Koshelev and Mikhail Kokotov charged with crimes under parts 1, 2, 3, 4 of article 210; parts 1 and 2 of article 209; paragraphs “g” and “h” of part 2 of article 105; parts 1 and 3 of article 30; paragraphs “a’ and “d” of part 3 of article 228.1; parts 4 and 5 of article 33, paragraphs “a”, “b” and “c” of part 3 of article 286; part 2 of article 228 of the RF Criminal Code, parts 4 and 6 of article 17, paragraphs “a”, “f”, “h” and “m” of article 102 of the RSFSR Criminal Code (organization, membership in a criminal community by a person using their official position and a person occupying a top position in a criminal hierarchy and membership in it; banditry; murder; illegal drug dealing; abuse of power).

According to investigators, in the period between October 1992 and May 1994, Kuryakov, born in Leningrad, using his leadership qualities set up a criminal group to commit crimes in Saint-Petersburg. To the group he involved his acquaintances from the district he lived in, from the school he had studied at and people, with whom he had served his prison time for acquisitive crimes. Members of the group purchased firearms and ammunition to commit crimes including murders for hire. In 1994, under the leadership of Kuryakov, the gang and other persons committed a number of murders, including members of the gang.

In 2000, Kuryakov was found guilty of abduction, organization of a murder on lucrative impulse by a group of people under a preliminary conspiracy, extortion, swindling and robbery. In 2002, he was released on parole and gained acknowledgement among the persons involved in criminal activity in Saint-Petersburg as a criminal kingpin. He set up a criminal community to commit grave and especially grave crimes connected with illegal trafficking of drugs and psychotropic substances in the Russian Federation and countries of the European Union. The criminal community also had a special unit providing security during the crimes and physical support during conflicts. In January 2011, the members of the gang, on the order by Kuryakov, killed the businessman, who had a conflict with the latter connected with financial issues in illegal drug trafficking. In addition, the investigators believe that the gang had as its member chief of adepartment of Organized Crime Office of the Main Directorate of the Interior Ministry in Saint-Petersburg and Leningrad Region Vladimir Golovkov. He exerted general patronage of non-citing the said persons for their crimes and informing the organizer about investigating and search operations, ways to resist law enforcement agents directed to avoid criminal responsibility. Moreover, Golovkov involved his subordinates to get rid of Kuryakov’s rivals and persons, with whom the latter had conflicts, by prosecuting them illegally.

In all the accused are charged with 7 murders,, 7 counts of drug dealing committed in the period between 1994 and March 2012 with 2 of them committed in the countries of the European Union – Germany and Finland.

It took 4 years to investigate the case, it has 60 volumes of criminal records.

Beside investigators of the Russia’s Investigative Committee the operations also involved personnel of Main Office of the Russian Interior Ministry in Saint-Petersburg and Leningrad Region, Office of the Federal Security Service, Federal Drug Control Service and law enforcement in the countries of the European Union.

The investigators have gathered enough evidence so the case has been sent for the indictment to be approved and will then be sent to court to be tried on the merits.