The Chekalins' business partner exposed the ex-spouses in the case of the withdrawal of funds abroad

Roman Vishnyak, a former business partner of blogger Valeria Chekalina (Lercek) and her ex-husband Artyom, testified in the case of the illegal withdrawal of funds abroad and described the roles of participants in the criminal scheme. This was announced on January 19 by a correspondent of Izvestia from the hall of the Gagarin District Court of Moscow.

"I admit my guilt. I confessed. He exposed other members of the group, and also exposed the perpetrators of similar crimes," Vishnyak said.

According to the man, his responsibilities included developing a website and an application, as well as opening accounts in the UAE for the implementation of fitness marathons. He said that he had offered the Chekalins marketing services himself. The couple advertised the offer on their social networks, payment for them went through the payment system, and payments were made in dirhams.

Vishnyak noted that he had discussed the paid marathons with Artyom in personal correspondence — specific amounts were announced in them. According to him, Chekalin knew that the money was being transferred to the checking accounts of a non-resident of Russia, bypassing the tax service.

"Artyom was the organizer of criminal activity, Valeria Chekalina was engaged in advertising shooting. Chekalin was also in charge of financial and economic activities," Vishnyak said during the confrontation.

Earlier that day, the court refused to return the jewelry and watches seized during the search to the blogger. On November 24, 2025, the Gagarin Court of Moscow extended the house arrest of both Chekalina and her ex-husband Artyom for six months.

On December 1, Lercek pleaded not guilty to withdrawing funds abroad and noted that she did not understand the essence of the charges. In turn, the ex-spouse admitted that he was guilty of committing a tax crime, but had nothing to do with the withdrawal of funds from Russia.

The criminal case against Chekalina and her ex-husband was initiated in October 2024. They, along with an accomplice, were suspected of illegally withdrawing more than 250 million rubles from Russia to Dubai using forged documents (art. 193.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

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