Lucrative case: the former head of the DIA was accused of embezzlement of 4 billion rubles

The former head of the DIA state corporation, Yuri Isaev, became involved in the case of embezzlement of 4.3 billion rubles from the agency he heads, Izvestia found out. The ex-official has been charged with fraud and is wanted. According to investigators, Isaev was a member of the structural unit of the criminal group, provided its members with general protection and, using his official position, took an active part in embezzlement. The investigation believes that his first deputy, Andrei Melnikov, who became the head of the DIA in 2022, was involved in the scheme. According to law enforcement officials, the accomplices discussed the details of the fraud without leaving the agency building.

The deputy as an accomplice

According to investigators, Yuri Isaev joined the criminal group no later than June 10, 2020. Investigators believe that the decision was made after a meeting with his first deputy, Andrei Melnikov. The conversation, as follows from the case file, took place in the office of the DIA on Vysotsky Street, 4. There Melnikov told the head of the agency in detail about the embezzlement scheme, which by that time had already involved three deputies of Isaev.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Lantyukhov

According to the investigation, the scheme was based on the systematic appropriation of income from the operation of one of the largest water parks in Russia, the Novosibirsk Aquamir, which was under the competitive management of the DIA.

Theft scheme

According to the case file, the Novosibirsk Aquapark was secured by the Moscow Intertopenergobank after its owner, VDT Stroy LLC, took a loan from the bank on August 22, 2013, mortgaging the asset as collateral.

However, the company was unable to pay off the creditor. She was declared bankrupt, and her debt to Mezhtopenergobank exceeded 2.1 billion rubles.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Lantyukhov

However, already in 2017, Mezhtopenergobank itself lost its license. The Central Bank explained this as a violation of the requirements of the law on countering money laundering. The regulator also found that the bank lent to companies that did not conduct real business activities. At the time of bankruptcy, the credit institution's obligations to depositors and other creditors exceeded 30.6 billion rubles.

After the bankruptcy proceedings began, the bank's assets, including Aquamir, were placed under the management of the Deposit Insurance Agency. According to the investigation, it was this mechanism that the participants of the criminal group decided to use.

The prosecution believes that Dmitry Voronin was appointed the bankruptcy trustee of VDT Stroy LLC in 2020. Shortly after, the DIA leased the water park to a Moscow-based company, Belaya Sphere-Construction, which was created specifically for this purpose. It follows from the case file that it was headed by Natalia Mukhanova, a former member of the Novosibirsk Region Investment Council, and Arkady Tarabrin, a confidant of the owner of RATM Holding, Eduard Taran, became the founder.

Photo: IZVESTIA

According to the case file, the businessman had been planning to get Aquamir from DIA for several years, but he did not want to buy or rent it at the market price. Instead, the investigation is confident that Taran colluded with the DIA leadership through trusted persons, having received the water park into management on his own terms, which allegedly did not fully reflect a significant part of the profits received from renting and selling tickets.

Andrei Melnikov invited his boss to join the actions that the investigation classifies as embezzlement, and the DIA director general agreed, it follows from the case. Investigators believe that, according to the criminal plan, Isaev was supposed to provide the group members with general protection, participate in the distribution of funds that, according to the investigation, were stolen from the DIA, and perform other actions necessary for its implementation.

Billion-dollar embezzlement

The group, against which a criminal case has been initiated, operated in Moscow and Novosibirsk for four years, according to investigators, ceasing to exist only after the arrest of its main participants on September 30, 2024. The investigation believes that the group was stable, designed for a long-term existence and creation for the commission of a serious crime. It consisted of three separate divisions, one of which, after Isaev joined, was completely formed from DIA employees.

In addition to the CEO of DIA, the group, according to investigators, included Andrei Melnikov, the first deputy head of the state corporation, as well as two deputy CEO Olga Dolgoleva and Alexander Popelyukh, a former deputy prosecutor of the Novosibirsk region. Such a structure, according to the investigation, allowed the participants to support the work of the criminal scheme and quickly solve common tasks.

According to investigators, after joining the group, Isaev, along with his accomplices, participated in the preparation of crimes and observed measures of secrecy. For communication, the group members used only calls via Internet messengers and secure communication channels.

In 2020 and 2021, judging by the case materials, with the "general patronage" of Yuri Isaev, the group members tried to maintain control over the bankruptcy procedure of the owner of the Novosibirsk aquapark, VDT Stroy LLC. Within the framework of the DIA's commission on operational issues of bankruptcy proceedings, they achieved the inclusion of the company in the list of problematic assets, as well as the termination of the contract for legal support with the G.R. Management bar association beyond their control.

After that, issues related to the debtor's bankruptcy were transferred to the departments of asset sales and legal support of the DIA, which, according to investigators, were fully controlled by the deputy heads of the agency. In addition, Isaev and his accomplices, according to investigators, did not organize an inspection of the water park by the DIA.

According to the investigation, it was these actions that allowed the members of the group to conclude at least 51 fictitious sublease agreements and other agreements that the investigation considers fictitious, as a result of which 4.3 billion rubles were stolen from DIA, according to the case file.

According to Izvestia, Isaev, like other defendants in the case, was charged with fraud on an especially large scale. He is wanted. The DIA state corporation was recognized as the injured party in the case, and Isaev himself became the fourth head of the agency brought to justice as part of this investigation.

Another person involved in the case, Andrei Melnikov, became the head of the DIA after Isaev's departure. The court is currently considering the case against Olga Dolgoleva and five other defendants, and the materials regarding the remaining participants have been separated into separate proceedings. The defense of the accused does not comment on the investigation.

What threatens the defendants

This case can be considered indicative in terms of possible abuse of access to a large state asset, Anton Pivovarov, a lawyer at the Moscow SED LEX Bar Association, told Izvestia.

"According to the investigation, it was not a one—time theft, but a systematic withdrawal of income from the operation of the Aquamir water park, which was under the competitive management of the DIA," he added. — The peculiarity of the case lies in the alleged combination of interests of former heads of a state corporation, asset managers and representatives of private business.

According to Vladimir Sobolev, a lawyer at the Moscow Regional Bar Association, this story is more like a "witch hunt."

— It feels like the corpus delicti is far-fetched. At least, it is still completely unclear what exactly the violations were," he stressed.

The defendants face up to ten years in prison and a fine. At the same time, the final punishment for each will depend on his role in the scheme, the duration of participation, the amount of damage, criminal records and assistance to the investigation, Anton Pivovarov noted.

— The admission of guilt by itself does not guarantee a minimum term, but it can be considered as a mitigating circumstance. Most of all, the time limit may be affected by self-incrimination, assistance to the investigation and voluntary compensation for damages. If the legal conditions are met, the maximum penalty may be reduced," the lawyer said.

The damage caused by the actions of the defendants, according to the investigation, amounted to about 4 billion rubles. Lawyer Viktor Terskikh noted that in judicial practice there are cases when, even with large amounts of damage, it was not possible to recover the money in full, and the accused received relatively short sentences.

— The punishment in such cases is not always severe. At the same time, the issue of the return of 4 billion rubles can be considered separately in the framework of a civil lawsuit. After it is submitted, money can be recovered from convicts already in civil proceedings, regardless of the criminal case," the lawyer explained.

Anton Pivovarov also told Izvestia that the inability to fully compensate for such a large damage would not in itself become an aggravating circumstance for the defendants.

— Voluntary compensation for damage or real attempts to compensate for it are considered mitigating circumstances by law. Therefore, the refusal of compensation in itself does not strengthen the charge, but deprives the defendant of an important argument that could influence a more lenient punishment," he explained.

According to Vladimir Sobolev, if the damage indicated in the verdict remains unpaid, it may further complicate the obtaining of parole for convicts.

At the same time, the presence of the defendants abroad is not considered a circumstance that aggravates their guilt, Viktor Terskikh noted.

"If the accused lives outside of Russia and evades appearance, a case of a serious or especially serious crime can, in exceptional cases, be considered in absentia, with the mandatory participation of a defense lawyer,— Anton Pivovarov added.

— The possibility of extradition depends on which country the person is in, whether there is an extradition treaty between the states, whether this is recognized as a crime in both countries and whether a foreign state is ready to cooperate with our country. Russia can send an official request for extradition both for criminal prosecution and for the execution of an already pronounced sentence," the lawyer explained.

Anton Pivovarov noted that the very fact of evading investigation or trial is not considered an aggravating circumstance by law, but can be taken into account in the overall assessment of the defendant's personality.