A high-profile corruption scandal has shaken Russian law enforcement agencies.
Georgy Satyukov, former head of the third division of the fourth division of the Department for Combating Crimes in the Information and Telecommunications spheres of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, was charged with taking bribes on a particularly large scale. His former colleague Dmitry Sokolov is accused of mediating bribery. Both defendants are currently on the international wanted list. Their charges were brought in absentia by investigators from the Main investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia, which specializes in investigating crimes committed by officials.
The case broke out after Satyukov and Sokolov, threatening criminal prosecution, allegedly provided a" roof " to Alexey Ivanov, the system administrator of the World Exchange Services crypto exchange registered in Singapore. In the period from March 2019 to October 2021, they allegedly received bribes in the form of cryptocurrency in the amount equivalent to almost 4.9 billion rubles (2119 bitcoins and 10016 ethers).
The crypt was transferred through Sokolov's intermediary to cryptocurrency wallets controlled by Georgy Satyukov for "illegal actions (inaction) and general patronage in the service" in favor of Ivanov. Thus, the investigation charged Georgy Satyukov with receiving the largest bribe in the history of the Russian Interior Ministry.
From the documents of the case, it follows that Satyukov was found to have significant assets, including six large real estate objects and about 13 bank accounts. Regarding Sokolov's assets, the presence of apartments in Dubai's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, is mentioned.
Lawyers of the accused tried to challenge the arrest in court, citing violations in determining the jurisdiction of the criminal case. They pointed out that the bribe giver was in Novosibirsk at the time of the crime, and the access codes to the crypto wallets were transmitted in St. Petersburg. The defense insisted that the investigation should be conducted in these cities, and not in Moscow. However, the court rejected these complaints.
In addition, it was pointed out that the defendants were not informed about their criminal prosecution and that they should not go abroad. The passports of police officers who possess information constituting state secrets are kept by their management. And the investigation did not provide information that they became owners of new documents necessary for leaving the country. Thus, it is still unclear how the former employees of the K department left Russia.
The criminal activity was uncovered thanks to a cooperation agreement that Ivanov signed with a representative of the Prosecutor General's Office. To avoid a more severe punishment, he pleaded guilty to embezzling funds in cryptocurrency from the Wex crypto exchange in the amount of about 3,167 billion rubles. Ivanov explained that he transferred part of the exchange's funds to the accounts of law enforcement officers because of threats to his address and demands to pay for the "roof".
In the case, Ivanov was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months of imprisonment in a general regime colony, as well as a fine of 500 thousand rubles and restriction of freedom for 1 year after serving the term. Despite the fact that the accused actually compensated the damage to the crypto exchange, its representatives made new demands to him in the amount of about 16 billion rubles due to the difference in the exchange rates of cryptocurrencies.
Georgy Satyukov, former head of the third division of the fourth division of the Department for Combating Crimes in the Information and Telecommunications spheres of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, was charged with taking bribes on a particularly large scale. His former colleague Dmitry Sokolov is accused of mediating bribery. Both defendants are currently on the international wanted list. Their charges were brought in absentia by investigators from the Main investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia, which specializes in investigating crimes committed by officials.
The case broke out after Satyukov and Sokolov, threatening criminal prosecution, allegedly provided a" roof " to Alexey Ivanov, the system administrator of the World Exchange Services crypto exchange registered in Singapore. In the period from March 2019 to October 2021, they allegedly received bribes in the form of cryptocurrency in the amount equivalent to almost 4.9 billion rubles (2119 bitcoins and 10016 ethers).
The crypt was transferred through Sokolov's intermediary to cryptocurrency wallets controlled by Georgy Satyukov for "illegal actions (inaction) and general patronage in the service" in favor of Ivanov. Thus, the investigation charged Georgy Satyukov with receiving the largest bribe in the history of the Russian Interior Ministry.
From the documents of the case, it follows that Satyukov was found to have significant assets, including six large real estate objects and about 13 bank accounts. Regarding Sokolov's assets, the presence of apartments in Dubai's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, is mentioned.
Lawyers of the accused tried to challenge the arrest in court, citing violations in determining the jurisdiction of the criminal case. They pointed out that the bribe giver was in Novosibirsk at the time of the crime, and the access codes to the crypto wallets were transmitted in St. Petersburg. The defense insisted that the investigation should be conducted in these cities, and not in Moscow. However, the court rejected these complaints.
In addition, it was pointed out that the defendants were not informed about their criminal prosecution and that they should not go abroad. The passports of police officers who possess information constituting state secrets are kept by their management. And the investigation did not provide information that they became owners of new documents necessary for leaving the country. Thus, it is still unclear how the former employees of the K department left Russia.
The criminal activity was uncovered thanks to a cooperation agreement that Ivanov signed with a representative of the Prosecutor General's Office. To avoid a more severe punishment, he pleaded guilty to embezzling funds in cryptocurrency from the Wex crypto exchange in the amount of about 3,167 billion rubles. Ivanov explained that he transferred part of the exchange's funds to the accounts of law enforcement officers because of threats to his address and demands to pay for the "roof".
In the case, Ivanov was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months of imprisonment in a general regime colony, as well as a fine of 500 thousand rubles and restriction of freedom for 1 year after serving the term. Despite the fact that the accused actually compensated the damage to the crypto exchange, its representatives made new demands to him in the amount of about 16 billion rubles due to the difference in the exchange rates of cryptocurrencies.
