Suspension on demand: Skrypnik avoided trial for the second time during HIS
The trial of former lawyer Konstantin Skrypnik has developed in an unusual way. Accused of trying to illegally take over the Aquarius Gallery shopping center worth 1.8 billion rubles and, according to the investigation, formalizing a fictitious debt of $ 10 million, Skrypnik retired for the second time without waiting for sentencing. Moreover, the defendant signed a new contract after he became involved in another criminal case, which the Investigative Committee is investigating on charges of mediation in the transfer of bribes on an especially large scale. How the decision affected the two trials and why the court stopped the process again is in the Izvestia article.
The new case stopped the old one
The repeated suspension of the trial of Konstantin Skrypnik in the Simonovsky court "has nothing to do with our case," lawyer Alexei Minchin, who represents the interests of the victims, told Izvestia. According to the lawyer, on the evening of August 3, the judge of the Simonovsky Court, announcing the suspension of the trial, referred to a message from the investigator of the Investigative Committee for the Northern District of Moscow, who is investigating a new criminal case against Skrypnik.
Skrypnik became a person involved in the new criminal case during his first service in the SVO zone, which is why the trial in the Simonovsky court was then suspended. However, on December 10, 2025, despite his status as a serviceman, he was detained and charged on the same day with mediating the transfer of a bribe. Two days later, the court arrested the former lawyer, and in January 2026, the Investigative Committee reclassified the charge to attempted fraud on a particularly large scale.
According to investigators, the new criminal case involves the transfer of a bribe of 3 million rubles to an official. Dmitry Tyutyunov, a former operative of the Department of Internal Affairs in the Northern District of Moscow, was also charged. His case is already being considered by the Golovinsky District Court.
Apparently, it was within the framework of this investigation that Skrypnik signed a new contract with the Ministry of Defense. After that, he was released from custody, he went back to his detention area, and the investigation was suspended. On the afternoon of August 4, information about the suspension of the first criminal case appeared on the website of the Simonovsky District Court.
As lawyer Alexey Minchin explained, neither he nor his clients can challenge this decision, since it was made in the framework of another criminal case, to which the victims of the Aquarius Gallery trial have nothing to do.
The court and the investigation did not disclose where exactly Skrypnik went to serve. At the same time, shortly before the conclusion of the contract, his defense, appealing against the arrest, indicated that the investigator was ignoring the request of the command of one of the military units to suspend the investigation and send the accused to his detention center. According to Izvestia, this appeal was sent by the commander of the engineering battalion of the Guards Motorized Rifle Taman division, where the defendant intended to serve as a gunner of pontoon bridges.
Two episodes
The case against Konstantin Skrypnik, which was considered by the Simonovsky court, consists of two episodes — both qualified as an attempt at particularly large-scale fraud.
The first is related to an attempt to take over the Aquarius Gallery shopping center using forged documents. The shopping center is located on Orekhovsky Boulevard in Moscow, its area is 16 thousand square meters, and the investigation estimates the value of the property at 1.89 billion rubles.
According to the case file, in 2016 Skrypnik developed a plan to gain control over the premises of the shopping center and involved his acquaintances — former FSB officer Rolan Gagoev, ex-FSB captain Andrei Chumanov and businessman Gleb Privalov. According to investigators, a forged power of attorney was prepared for the implementation of the scheme, allegedly issued by the CEO of the company that owns the Ugra Ltd shopping center, as well as other financial documents. According to them, Skrypnik allegedly acquired part of the shopping center back in 2014 and made a deposit of 165.6 million rubles to the company. At the same time, the contract specifically stated that all disputes between the parties should be considered in the Gudermes City Court of Chechnya.
Using this clause, Konstantin Skrypnik and Andrey Chumanov filed lawsuits in Gudermes in May 2016 stating that the owners of Aquarius allegedly did not fulfill the terms of the contract and should pay them a penalty of almost 2 billion rubles. The court, recognizing the demands as legitimate, seized the mall, but the defendants did not have time to fully take control of it. Representatives of the Aquarius owner, film producer Yuri Glotser, who is currently wanted in another case, accidentally found out about the trial in Chechnya and contacted law enforcement agencies in the summer of 2016. This, according to the investigation, prevented the scheme from being completed.
The victim in the second episode was recognized as banker Angela Sergeeva, to whom Skrypnik, according to the case file, issued a non-existent debt of $ 10 million and in 2018 appealed to the Arbitration Court of Chechnya with a claim for the return of this money. As proof of the debt, the court was presented with a receipt according to which Sergeeva allegedly received currency from Skrypnik at 5% per annum. The courts in Chechnya initially sided with him, but after the materials were transferred to the Arbitration Court of the Moscow District, it turned out that the documents submitted by the plaintiff, including the loan agreement and receipt, were falsified.
The trial will be brought to a verdict
Despite the suspension of the case, Konstantin Skrypnik will be back in the dock after returning from his detention, experts interviewed by Izvestia believe.
Defendants in criminal cases have the right to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense and retire, and the law does not limit the number of such contracts, said Veronika Polyakova, managing partner of the Business Legal Group Bar Association.
— In this case, the criminal case is suspended until their return, — the expert noted. — Skrypnik re-signed the contract, using his right. If he returns, the hearing will continue. The defendant faces up to ten years in prison, which is the maximum possible punishment under his article. However, when passing sentence, the court will take into account all the circumstances, including the characteristics of Skrypnik's personality.
According to Nikos Paraskevov, managing partner of the Business Legal Group Bar Association, signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense has become a common practice among criminal defendants. Such a mechanism allows to temporarily stop the consideration of the case, release the person involved from custody and cancel the existing preventive measures. At the same time, the lawyer noted, Skrypnik will be able to avoid criminal liability only if he receives a state award during his service. Then he may be released from punishment, but claims for damages and civil lawsuits will remain.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
