Moscow. 14th of April. site - The former head of Mari El Leonid Markelov, accused of taking a bribe in the amount of 235 million rubles, does not admit his guilt.
“I have nothing to do with receiving these funds. I did not participate in the deal. I will prove my innocence here in Russia. If there is a task to imprison Markelov, then imprison him for something else, but not for this. - said Markelov on Friday in the Basmanny Court of Moscow.
"This deal was not fictitious. The enterprise itself was not bought for any obscure purposes. The enterprise itself is operating. Nikolai Krivash bought many enterprises. He bought many assets. This is a business. He bought the enterprise as an asset. Dozens of enterprises receive subsidies in the republic," - said the former head of the region.
According to Markelov, Krivash initiated the deal.
"Over the year, I attracted hundreds of millions of investments in the "dead" region. I lobbied for the interests of many enterprises in the good sense of the word. My self-interest was in one thing - I wanted to create a working holding and jobs," Markelov emphasized.
He also pointed to his poor health. "I have tachycardia, ankylosing spondylitis. I can't take drugs without my doctor. I might have a heart attack. Do you need a corpse?" - he said.
Earlier, he said that he had "a serious illness that can be cured only in Russia, and only Russian doctors."
The plot of the accusation
On Friday, the investigator asked the Basmanny Court of Moscow to detain Markelov until June 12.
“Markelov, being aware of the state of the budget of Mari El, entered into an unofficial relationship with the actual head of Akashevsay Poultry Farm LLC Nikolai Krivash. As an accomplice, Markelov attracted his confidant Natalya Kozhanova no later than 2013. Markelov took advantage of his official position, agreed to receive subsidies for Akashekskaya Poultry Farm OJSC in the amount of more than 4 billion rubles allocated to almost all agricultural enterprises in the region," the investigator outlined the plot of the charge.
On April 13, the representative of the TFR, Svetlana Petrenko, told Interfax that a criminal case had been initiated against Markelov on taking a bribe in the amount of more than 235 million rubles.
"The Main Directorate for the Investigation of Particularly Important Cases of the ICR initiated a criminal case on the grounds of crimes under Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ( receiving a bribe), Part 5 of Article 291 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ( bribery), Part 4 of Article 291.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ( mediation in bribery) in relation to the former head of the Republic of Mari El - chairman of the republican government Leonid Markelov and other persons," Petrenko said.
According to her, Markelov received more than 235 million rubles as a bribe from the founder of the Akashevskaya factory, Krivash, through his trustee Kozhanova, for patronage and assistance in the payment of property funds from state support for the development of the agricultural complex.
According to the representative of the investigation, the defendants in the criminal case were detained in the course of joint investigative and operational measures carried out by the TFR in cooperation with the FSB of Russia.
The former head of Mari El, Leonid Markelov, who resigned last week, was detained by the FSB as part of a criminal case on bribes.
According to media reports, the ex-official tried to get a quarter of a billion rubles from one of the richest people in the republic - a major agrarian Nikolai Krivash. The investigation believes that Markelov should have received a bribe for executing a fictitious transaction for the businessman to acquire the agricultural OAO Teplichny.
"Reedus" found out that experts are thinking about another criminal case against the dismissed governor - and whether it is worth waiting for the next resignations of the heads of regions.
Unpopular Markelov
Last week, Leonid Markelov wrote a letter of resignation of his own free will. By his own admission, the official wanted to change jobs and become a senator.
In a sense, Markelov succeeded in “changing his place”: he is accused of attempting to take a bribe in the amount of 250 million rubles (Articles 30 and 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), FSB officers are searching the apartment of the ex-head of the region in Mariy El, and also in the capital's apartment of his daughter and the country house of the official's wife. Apparently, the investigation will apply to the Basmanny Court of Moscow with a petition for Markelov's arrest today.
The former head of Mari El led the region for 16 years. The last election campaign of Markelov in 2014 was not very confident: the second round of elections was planned in the republic, Markelov had every chance to give up the post to the communist Sergei Mamaev.
It was during this campaign that Markelov repeatedly found himself at the epicenter of scandals. For example, a video of his proposal to “bury” a new road for lack of support from the population is still roaming on social media:
“Demonstrated the ability, despite high anti-rating and electoral fatigue, to win in direct elections” - with this wording, Markelov received a “three” in the 17th edition of the Political Survivability Rating of Governors, compiled by the Petersburg Politics Foundation and the Minchenko Consulting Communications Holding.
Re-election for a new term came with a creak. In addition, the thesis about the gradual loss of connection between the head of the republic and reality is being steadily promoted, the researchers noted.
The bribery case of one of the most unpopular governors continued the trend towards the “desacralization” of senior officials, experts say. “The gubernatorial branch of power has been desacralized and has reduced its influence compared not only to the 1990s, but also the 2000s,” notes political strategist Yevgeny Minchenko.
“Now the personnel appointments to gubernatorial posts in recent months are clear,” says Pavel Danilin, head of the Center for Political Analysis, in turn. According to him, many locals already understand that "now you can put any governor in jail."
“What is happening is the strongest political and psychological blow to all governors (and civil servants in general),” adds political analyst Mikhail Vinogradov.
Which of the heads of regions will be the next to leave his post?
Fortune telling on ratings
Experts predicted a strengthening of the anti-corruption agenda after: in early April, a criminal case was opened against him under the article on bribery on an especially large scale. The expert community began to study Solovyov's positions in the ratings of governors in order to trace the correlation - and determine the next candidate "to fly out."
Like the ex-head of Udmurtia, Markelov did not occupy the first places in such studies. For example, in the rating of governors from the Agency for Political and Economic Communications, published in February this year, the former head of Mari El is in last place:
According to the National Rating of Governors, Markelov's positions were a little more optimistic, but they also demonstrated the official's unpopularity in the region: experts ranked the ex-head of Mariy El 64th out of 85.
Based on the low position of Markelov, political scientists considered his departure a matter of time, but no one expected that the ex-head of Mari El would be of interest to law enforcement officers on the anti-corruption agenda.
Political scientist Vladimir Kireev, in an interview with Reedus, noted that focusing on expert ratings, predicting the upcoming resignations of governors, is a thankless task: “Heads of regions should meet the criteria developed by the presidential administration, and not try to please the compilers of such studies. It is unlikely that we are waiting for the next planned resignations, but if there are claims against the head of the region from law enforcement agencies, this is a completely different matter, ”the expert noted.
Assessing the activities of governors, the presidential administration is guided by four main factors: socio-economic indicators; electoral support; the confidence of the president; consolidation of the regional elite. It is by these criteria that the governor is evaluated, whose term of office ends. And if earlier these parameters were rather vague, now the range of criteria that the governor must meet is clear and transparent.
“A number of media outlets call the governor of the Samara region Nikolai Merkushkin a real candidate for relegation. They draw these conclusions on the basis of a study of the positions of governors with the screaming title „ Kremlin rating“, in which Merkushkin is predicted to have a high probability of an early resignation. But the assessments of the activities of the heads of regions by a group of experts, who, most often, are somehow connected with the heroes of the study, are no longer listened to in the administration of the head of state: they are guided only by the developed criteria for governors,” Kireev concluded.
On the eve, in fact, thus making it clear their "value".
Criteria for evaluation
The head of VTsIOM, Valery Fedorov, emphasizes that "the administration has already formulated criteria for evaluating the performance of governors - these are the dynamics of the socio-economic development of the region, the head's support rating among the population, the absence of corruption claims and scandals between the elites."
Against the background of previous similar tables, the latest release gives off obvious commerce. “Specialists who are seriously involved in the regional agenda can see that someone had a hand in ensuring that the assessments of a number of subjects were deliberately turned upside down,” the expert concluded.
First, no matter how many there are, you still cannot avoid an adjustment for the personal relationships of the invited appraisers with the governors. Secondly, the inclusion of a number of quite successful governors in the list of conditional outsiders and vice versa dispelled the myth about the lack of interest, Fadeev concluded.
The Basmanny Court of Moscow considered the issue of arresting the former head of Mari El, Leonid Markelov, and the head of the Mari TV channel Region 12. Recall, according to investigators, the former politician received a bribe in the amount of 250 million rubles from an entrepreneur, and the journalist allegedly assisted in this process: she made “postings and accounts” for the bribe taker.
Illegal remuneration, according to the RF IC, was given to Markelov for help and assistance in obtaining state support funds for the development of the Akashevskaya agricultural complex, the founder of which is Krivash.
First, they considered a preventive measure against Kozhanova. The woman, who appeared to be in her fifties, arrived at the court escorted by a police escort. She was wearing a burgundy flowered blouse and tailored black trousers. The police officers decided not to handcuff her. At the same time, the journalists present immediately felt that she was ready to fight resolutely to be found not guilty.
The judge, who was to decide on the arrest of the head of the Mari TV channel, as usual, began by formally establishing the identity of the accused.
“I was born on August 30, 1955 in Yoshkar-Ola. I have a higher education, I am a candidate of economic sciences. Now I am a pensioner and at the same time the director of the Region 12 television company, ”Kozhanova briefly spoke about herself.
After that, the representative cheerfully read out the standard phrases that, being at large, the accused can “hide from the investigation, put pressure on witnesses, victims and other participants in the process, and otherwise interfere with the course of the investigation in this case.” The investigator said that on the basis of this it must be concluded in. The journalist and part-time pensioner strongly disagreed with this opinion.
“I have state awards, including the title of Honored Scientist of the Republic of Mari El, as well as the Order of Merit of the second degree,” the defendant tried to convince the judge. According to Kozhanova, she is ready to cooperate with the investigation in order to explain to the representatives of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation all the misunderstandings that have allegedly resulted in her detention.
“I am a pensioner with a pension of 18 thousand rubles, where should I go abroad? I beg you, don't do this. I just can not survive this arrest, ”said the head of the TV channel.
She stressed that she has health problems. During the flight from Moscow to Mari El, which took place at the initiative of the investigators, she allegedly suffered a hypertensive crisis.
Then the investigator decided to “crush” his opponent with facts and read out aloud the information from the operational-search materials on the case. From it it followed that over the past few years, Kozhanova crossed the Russian border 52 times, including she visited Austria, Germany, Egypt and Italy.
“These are all my business trips, but something turns out a lot,” the accused herself said, not very confidently.
After that, Dudar went to the deliberation room to make a decision. As is often the case in the practice of this judge, she resolved the issue quite quickly.
“Having listened to the opinions of the parties, the court concludes that the investigation’s petition is lawful and justified, therefore the court decided to satisfy the investigation’s petition and choose a preventive measure in the form of detention until June 12 against Kozhanova,” the judge said. The accused listened to this decision calmly and did not even remove the folder from her face, which she used to hide from journalists.
After that, the former head of the Republic of Mari El, 54-year-old Leonid Markelov, was led along the corridor of the famous Basmanka. He was dressed very strictly: the former official was wearing black denim trousers, a light black sweater with a zipper and sports shoes without laces. At first, he behaved very confidently and before entering the judge's hall, he sat in a relaxed position, crossing his legs. When she began to ask him about who he was and what he did, the former head of the region began to talk a lot and not always to the point.
“I have a dependent daughter of 14 years and a son of 16 years. I will never leave them. Moreover, I expect to take office as a deputy of the regional legislature,” he said.
After that, the word was taken by the investigator.
“In 2013, Markelov had a mercenary plan to use the powers of the head of the subject so that the Akashevskaya poultry farm, owned by the deputy of the local parliament Krivash, received subsidies from the federal budget,” said the representative of the RF IC. According to him, for help in obtaining these subsidies, Krivash promised Markelov at least 250 million rubles.
In January 2015, a fictitious agreement was concluded between them for the purchase of shares from OAO Teplichnoye, controlled by Markelov, for 235 million rubles.
At the same time, Kozhanova, being an authorized representative of Markelov, received bills of exchange from companies controlled by Krivash, and then presented the securities for payment with subsequent transfer to the account of the LLC “Telecompaniya 12 region” company. According to the representative of the RF IC, this TV channel also actually belongs to the former Mari head.
“As a result, for three years, Akashevskaya received state subsidies in the amount of 5 billion rubles,” the investigator said.
“I attracted 340 million rubles to a dead region, and now we are the first in poultry in Russia and in the top ten in the country in pork. I lobbied, but in the right way,” said the head of Mari El, without specifying how and whose interests he promoted. After that, the official began to complain about poor health and listed his many diseases - Bechterew's disease, walking heart block and hypertension. According to Markelov, he cannot travel abroad, as he can only be treated in Russia, with Russian doctors and with domestic medicines.
“I swallowed pills and I’m doing well, their effect will pass, and I’ll lay flat,” Markelov blurted out and asked for a glass of water, which the bailiffs carefully gave him. The lawyer of the former head of the republic asked the court to place him under house arrest instead of a real one.
“He has his own apartment in the center of Moscow. On Mashkov Street, house 2, ”said the defender. He also added that
Markelov is ready to make a bail for his freedom in the amount of 3 to 5 million rubles.
At this time, the mood of the politician completely deteriorated: he began to get nervous and cross himself, sitting in a cage.
However, neither the lawyers' words nor Markelov's emotions had any effect on Judge Safina. The former head of Mari El went to the pre-trial detention center until at least June 12.
The day before, the founder of the Akashevskaya factory, Nikolai Krivash, through his lawyer Igor a, rejected the bribe to Markelov.
“My client does not recognize the claims of the investigation. He claims that he did not give any bribes to anyone, ”Trunov said. The lawyer also noted that now Krivash is abroad for treatment. According to the lawyer, the investigator has not yet notified about any investigative actions against his client, nor has he summoned Krivash to the Investigative Committee.
Former governor Leonid Markelov was accused of taking a bribe of 235 million rubles. The arrest of the former head of the Republic of Mari El, who, after his resignation, "was going to write poetry", is associated with the start of the presidential campaign, experts say
Leonid Markelov (Photo: Dmitry Azarov / Kommersant)
Bribe
Former head of the Republic of Mari El Leonid Markelov on suspicion of taking a bribe, reports the TFR. In a conversation with an RBC correspondent, lawyer Igor Trunov explained that Markelov is suspected of trying to take a bribe of 250 million rubles. from businessman Nikolai Krivash. He allegedly promised to transfer an illegal monetary reward to the head of the region through a fictitious purchase of shares in the greenhouse facility of OAO Teplichnoye controlled by Markelov.
The founder of the local agricultural holding "Akashevo" Krivash transferred the money to Markelov through a trustee - the head of the local TV channel "Region 12" Natalia Kozhanova. Corruption cases were initiated against all participants in the transaction. Meanwhile, in Mari El, searches are being carried out at the place of residence and work of the defendants in the case, including in the republic.
Region 12, which, according to investigators, was involved in corruption, is controlled by Tatyana Markelova, the stepmother of the ex-head of the republic. In fact, “Region 12 TV company is a large financial and construction holding in Mari El,” Ilya Shumanov, deputy director of the Russian division of Transparency International, told RBC. Many corruption stories in the republic are connected with him, Mari political strategist Rustam Abdullin told RBC. In particular, the holding received contracts from the state for the construction of buildings in the center of the region's capital without tenders, he said.
Teplichnoye is affiliated with the Markelov family. In 2013, he divorced his wife Irina. A year before, Irina Markelova joined the Board of Directors of OJSC, she owned 82.3% of the company. Shortly thereafter, the entire package was handed over to Tatyana Markelova. The annual income of Teplichny and other companies owned by Irina Markelova, according to local bloggers, in 2012 amounted to more than 2 billion rubles.
Big Investigation
The fact that the case against the ex-head of the republic may be part of a large investigation into corruption in the Akashevo agricultural holding, Interfax is informed by informed sources. Other high-ranking officials are also involved in the case, including the ex-Minister of Agriculture of the republic, Iraida Dolgusheva, accused of judicial forgery, the agency's interlocutors said.
“The fact that Governor Markelov patronized the Akashevo agricultural holding was not a secret in the republic. Krivash’s bribe was a kind of gratitude for this patronage, ”Gennady Zubkov, secretary of the Mari Republican Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, told RBC. “This organization was granted multibillion-dollar loans for the Akashevskaya poultry farm and its branches. In total, they were allocated about 40 billion rubles. I think for 40 billion rubles. the amount of the bribe is 250 million rubles. “This is not the final figure,” he said.
This information was confirmed by a TASS source: the ex-governor beat out state support for the Akashevskaya poultry farm and “PR” it in circles close to the authorities, the source of the agency claims. The agricultural holding, of which it is a part, is one of the largest poultry meat producers in Russia.
Poultry farm "Akashevskaya" is part of the holding of the same name, founded in 2005. According to the industry magazine Agroinvestor, in 2016 Akashevskaya was ranked ninth in the top 10 largest chicken producers. The agricultural holding owns more than 200 poultry houses for growing broilers at 14 sites in different regions of the republic. In the fall of 2016, Vedomosti wrote, citing sources, that the owner of Akashevo could become the Agrocomplex named after V.I. N.I. Tkachev.
Conflict with the Communist Party
The confrontation between the head of Mari El and the Communist Party began in 2009, when the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Gennady Zyuganov demanded that Markelov be dismissed for rigging the results of local elections and "brought the republic out of the legal field."
“Last year, communist Sergei Kazankov was elected to the State Duma from Mari El. It is possible that it was Kazankov who took part in the approach and subsequent exposure of the head of the republic, since the local branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation traditionally opposed Markelov, ”Yevgeny Suslov, head of the Mari branch of the Russian Association of Political Science, told RBC. According to him, there was a personal conflict between Kazankov and Markelov, which spilled into the public space as insults.
“For example, Markelov, after Kazankov was elected to the State Duma, spoke sharply about him and called him a “boy.” But it was more likely a conflict of political opponents, and not something else related to business,” the political scientist said. - The whole republic has long known that our regime is corrupt. Obviously, the country's leadership ultimately made a decision on Markelov.
Contradictions with the Kremlin
Vladimir Putin Markelova to resign on April 6. The President offered to head the region to the head of the Moscow Region Arbitration Court Alexander Evstifeev. Markelov, according to Putin, would like to change the type of activity and "asks to use it in another area of work." The ex-governor of RBC himself, who plans to "rest and write poetry" in the near future, but "cannot say anything about plans for further work." Thus, his detention took place a week after his resignation. After Markelov's resignation, they predicted a seat in the Federation Council, so he could have immunity, but this appointment did not happen.
The detention of Markelov can be explained by the result of a bunch of plenipotentiary representative in the Volga Federal District (VFD) Mikhail Babich and the Kremlin’s domestic political bloc led by Sergei Kiriyenko, political analyst Nikolai Mironov suggested in an interview with RBC. Kiriyenko was Babich's predecessor in this post, so the Volga region is a zone of special attention for him, he noted.
Vladimir Putin and Mr. Leonid Markelov (left to right) (Photo: Alexey Druzhinin / TASS)
Kiriyenko, being the plenipotentiary in the Volga Federal District, in 2001 advocated the nomination of Markelov for the governor's post. “But by 2017, he began to look like a “weak link”, and therefore his fate was decided,” historian Maxim Artemiev. Markelov's place was taken by Yevstifeev, Kiriyenko's former deputy in the embassy of the Volga Federal District, for whom "it will be enough not to make gross mistakes, and victory with a decent result is guaranteed to him," the expert believes.
An additional reason for initiating a case against Markelov could also be a conflict with Babich. Last fall, Kirill Knyazev, who previously worked in the Kirov region, headed the department of the Federal Tax Service for the republic. Markelov, on the other hand, did not want to see a "Varangian" as head of the tax service. “You appoint local personnel to local positions. Otherwise, some local cadres either end up in prison, or become overgrown with criminal cases, ”Babich advised the leadership of the regions at a meeting with the media.
“Babich tried to create a system of checks in the region, Markelov resisted,” political analyst Konstantin Kalachev explained to RBC.
presidential elections
Two days before Markelov's resignation, Putin sent the head of Udmurtia Alexander Solovyov, who was detained on suspicion of taking a bribe.
Thus, the ex-head of Mari El became the fifth head of the region, who came under investigation over the past two years. In the summer of 2016, the head of the Kirov region, Nikita Belykh, was arrested on charges of taking a bribe in the amount of €400,000; in the fall of 2015, Komi Governor Vyacheslav Gaizer was arrested, who is accused of creating a criminal community. In March 2015, the Governor of the Sakhalin Region, Alexander Khoroshavin, was arrested and accused of taking bribes totaling more than 522 million rubles.
The detention of Markelov may be part of the presidential campaign before the 2018 elections, as one of its topics could be the fight against corruption. It has already affected the results of sociological research in the regions, political scientist Yevgeny Minchenko told RBC. In his opinion, the topic of corruption is leaving the top of the problems that the authorities, according to the population, are not coping with enough. “On the one hand, this corrects the image of President Vladimir Putin and allows you to seize the initiative from the opposition, on the other hand, it is important for the authorities not to go too far, so as not to create the impression that all corrupt officials are at the top,” RBC’s interlocutor explained.
“The anti-corruption agenda will be one of the key parts of Vladimir Putin’s presidential campaign,” agrees Andrey Kolesnikov, head of the Russian Domestic Politics and Political Institutions Program at the Carnegie Moscow Center. “Now there are very few plots on which any pre-election tricks can be built. And there is a demand from below for the anti-corruption theme. And, of course, this topic will be actively used as part of Putin's election campaign, which, according to the sensations, has already begun or will begin in the near future, ”Kolesnikov believes.
Leonid the Magnificent
At rallies, ex-governor Markelov was compared by the communists to the Renaissance dictator Lorenzo de Medici. The monument to Lorenzo the Magnificent, on the initiative of the governor, was erected in Yoshkar-Ola. After the head of the republic visited Venice, copies of Piazza San Marco and the Doge's Palace also appeared in the capital of the region. There are also copies of the Moscow Kremlin and even its own Bruges Embankment (the original name of the Yoshkar-Ola street). All this contrasted with the low standard of living in the republic. From January 2012 to March 2017, the volume of the state debt of the republic increased by 8 billion and amounted to 14 billion rubles. According to RIA Rating, in terms of quality of life in 2016, the republic occupied the 65th position, worsening the result of 2015 by eight points.
Markelov was accused of harsh treatment of his opponents: in Mari El, during his governorship, the media that criticized the actions of the head of the republic were closed more than once. In the 2000s, the Good Neighbors newspaper, which constantly criticized the work of local authorities, was abolished, and the circulation of several other publications was arrested, Dmitry Lyubimov, a journalist from the Mari edition of 7x7, told RBC.
“Those who were forbidden to publish on the territory of the republic were printed on the territory of the Kirov region. They delivered back their circulations, and these circulations were arrested when crossing the border of the republic,” he explained. “It is quite obvious that there are no large media outlets that would provide independent information in the republic, and the sites are not only under control, but they take into account all previous stories and cautiously provide information, even if it is neutral.” According to Lyubimov, 7x7 plays the role of a “litmus test” in the republic: “If we give something, then other publications decide that they can print it.”
In 2005, the European Parliament issued a resolution "On Violations of Human Rights in the Republic of Mari El of the Russian Federation". The Europeans accused local and federal authorities of violating freedom of speech, intimidating journalists and infringing on the rights of the indigenous population.
The ex-governor was also criticized for incorrect communication with voters. Before the elections in 2015, having arrived at the opening of a feldsher-obstetric point in the village of Shimshurga, Markelov declared: "I'm so badly received the first time. Nowhere was there anything to grumble about. Perhaps I, too, should turn to you in the same place as you turned to me. Yes? Close everything and leave. And dig the road. What are you grumbling about, what do you not like?” Subsequently, his press service called these words a joke.
In 2016, Markelov ranked 72-75th out of 85 possible places in the ranking of the effectiveness of governors of the Civil Society Development Fund. The Petersburg Politics Foundation and the Minchenko Consulting holding in the winter of 2016 gave him a grade of "3" in the survival rating of the heads of regions. Markelov won the 2015 elections "despite the high anti-rating and electoral fatigue," experts noted.
