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A court has recognized the evidence gathered by the Vladimir Region investigating bodies of the Russia’s Investigative Committee sufficient to convict leader of an organized criminal group, 61-year-old resident of Vladimir, Valery Valkov. He was found guilty of crimes under paragraphs “a” and “b” of part 2 of article 172 of the RF Penal Code (illegal banking), part 2 of article 187 (making and selling forged billing documents by an organized group), part 1 of article 173.1 (illegal institution of a legal entity). Members of the organized group Vyacheslav Sorokin, Irina Olshanova and Mikhail Petrov were also found guilty of illegal banking, making and selling of forged billing documents (paragraphs “a” and “b” of part 2 of article 172 of the RF Penal Code, part 2 of article 187).

The court and investigators have revealed that Valkov was no longer able of running construction and restoration business and came up with a scheme of making illegal money on illegal banking. Having qualities of a leader and being able of gaining people’s trust easily, he involved in his crimes his foster son Sorokin, his wife Olshanova, and friend Petrov, distributed their roles, retaining the authority and leadership to himself.

To ensure that there would be no obstacles to his criminal activity the organizer of the crime multiple times changed his personal data in the registry office registering under different patronymics and family names – Volkov, Vaykov, Valkov.

The scheme involved forming and using phony firms, through settlement accounts of which he planned using forged billing documents to cash money for the legal entities, interested in cash services, getting cash, past financial and tax oversight.

To do that, the members of the organized criminal group in the period between 2009 and 2013 found clients, who in mutual interest under the guise of paying for deliveries and services, loan contracts, transferred to the settlements accounts of Valkov’s firms between 300 thousand and 10 million rubles for one banking transaction.

In using illegal techniques for cashing Valkov and the members of the group used settlement accounts of over 20 phony firms, as well as over a thousand of bank cards and bankbooks, which they made for a fee between 1 and 5 thousand rubles on the citizens not aware of their criminal intents. The involved money of the clients them were returned to them in cash minus 2 percent of the sum, which Valkov retained as commission charges for his services.

Over the time of their activity using loan institutions in the cities of Vladimir, Kaluga, Ivanovo, Moscow and the Moscow Region and other regions this way the accused cashed about 5 billion 200 million rubles with their profit standing at about 104 million rubles.

The law enforcement officials suppressed their illegal activity in March 2013.

Despite the fact the neither leader nor members of the criminal group would admit their guilt, the investigators did a considerable amount of work to record the criminal scheme and consolidate the evidence, questioned over 400 people in different regions, and made over 150 seizures of documents from banks.

Lenin District Court has sentenced Valkov to 7 years to be served in a minimum-security penal colony and a fine of 700 thousand rubles. Sorokin got 5 years and 500 thousand rubles of fine, Petrov to 4 years and 300 thousand rubles of fine. All of them will serve in a minimum-security penal colony. Irina Olshanova received a suspended sentence of 3 years and a fine of 200 thousand rubles, the court released her from serving the time for non-rehabilitating reason – an amnesty. Another accomplice had cooperated with the investigators, admitted his guilt and testified against other members of the criminal group was earlier sentenced to 3 yars in jail.

Valkov was also charged with a crime under part 1 of article 135 of the RF Penal Code (sexual abuse of a minor).

In early 2013, the accused first in his car and later in his flat sexually abused a 15-year-old teenager, after that he gave him 6 thousand rubles as a fee. This count was dropped due to non-rehabilitating reason – the statute of limitations.

The criminal case was investigated with an operative support from regional offices of the Federal Security Service and Interior Ministry and in cooperation with the officers of the prosecutor’s office and the Federal Financial Monitoring Service.