News

The Vladimir Region investigating bodies of the Russia’s Investigative Committee have opened another criminal investigation against 10 members of the criminal community (part 2 of article 210 of the RF Penal Code – membership in a criminal community) during several investigations against the leader of an organized criminal community – a local businessman Oleg Zhukov charged with economic crimes.

According to investigators, no later than in 2008, Zhukov, who ran construction, equipment lease and travelling businesses and wanted to maximize his profit by committing felonies among other means, set up a criminal community to run shadow and fraudulent economic scams.

Following orders of their leader members of the gang found assets of economically vulnerable companies and then depending on the situation made decision on the way of getting hold of the assets and the amount of profit.

The members of the gang created a fictitious circulation of documents, concluded unprofitable contract and created artificial loan debts vial controlled firms.

In the period between 2008 and 2013, Zhukov involved in the gang people from his circle, relatives and friends, who became directors and founders of controlled companies and obeyed him unquestionably. Ensuring strict manageability of sophisticated schemes, strict discipline, hierarchy, supporting a common idea of making illegal profit, Zhukov developed the structure of the gang, set up a number of legal entities in the form of limited liability companies making this way a network of controlled affiliated firms.

To reach his goals the businessman set up four functionally detached groups, one of which he headed in person, having stolen assets of OAO Turtsentr in the town of Suzdal together with CEO of OOO Alyans-Tur Sergey Kashenkov.

CEO of ZAO Vladimiragrovodstroy Valery Kuprichonkov, CEO of OOO UMSR-2 – Zhukov’s cousin Alexey Zhukov and other directors of construction firms who had joined the gang used tax evasion schemes to gain illegal profit.

Heading the structural unit that implemented the plan of stealing assets from OAO Vladimir Education Center was one of the organization leaders Sergey Bagrov who acted together with CEO of OOO UNR-88 Mikhail Kryukov.

The criminal community acted in Vladimir and the region since 2008 and until its activity was broken up by law enforcement officials in late 2013. Over that period of time the community committed at least 10 felonies. The damage caused by their crimes stands at over 250 million rubles.

The leader of the criminal community and its members were charged with fraud on a very large scale (part 4 of article 159 of the RF Penal Code), illegal business gaining profits on a very large scale (paragraph “b’ of part 2 of article 171), tax evasion (article 199), deliberate bankruptcy (article 196).

Following the request of the investigators a court ruled to place Mikhail Kryukov, Alexey Zhukov and Valery Kuprichonkov in custody pending trial. Oleg Zhukov and his accomplices Sergey Kashenkov and Alexey Bagrov are also under arrest.

Over 200 people have been questioned, complex construction, tax and other forensic inquiries have been run to expose the accomplices. Right now the case has over 100 volumes.

At present a number of investigating operations are underway to identify all accomplices of economic scams and to prosecute a number of people from among Zhukov’s close relatives and friends.

The investigation is conducted in close cooperation with the Main Economic Security and Anti-Corruption Office and regional department of the Russian Ministry of the Interior.