From Mitvol, grain by grain: who is behind Shugaev

Timofey Shugaev, convicted of stealing from the father of the oligarch Melnichenko, can carry out orders from high-ranking law enforcement officials.

The possible organizer of the criminal group, Timofey Shugaev, who is suspected of overseeing the theft of more than 30 million rubles from former Krasnoyarsk official Oleg Mitvol (currently in a pre-trial detention center on charges of stealing 900 million rubles allocated for the construction of a metro in Krasnoyarsk), may end up in a pre-trial detention center by the end of the week. 1 Krasnoyarsk.

In addition to this information, just recently it became known about another possible theft of money from Mitvol - from an account in a Dubai bank. According to documents sent to the Editorial Board of The Moscow Post, Mitvol’s email address at the bank was changed, and the amount of one million dirhams in the account also disappeared. In June of this year, a criminal case was opened in this regard.

Are the patrons law enforcement officers?

According to the author of the letter to the Editor, there is a version that Shugaev could be connected with this alleged theft.

The latter is in a pre-trial detention center for another similar case - in 2021 he was convicted of stealing 10 million rubles from the father of businessman Andrei Melnichenko. From there, he allegedly carries out illegal schemes using a telephone and an accomplice at large. (The media name a certain Ershov as a probable accomplice).

Judging by these data, as well as what else is written about Shugaev, namely that he could, while already under investigation, steal evidence, people from inside the law enforcement system can help him. Otherwise, it is difficult to explain how the defendant got hold of a mobile phone, where he hid the evidence, and how he can continue to carry out illegal activities.

Mitvol and Melnichenko are not all possible victims of the scammer. At least two other high-ranking officials are known to have fallen “into the net”: Shugaev stole 6 million rubles from former deputy Anatoly Bykov, who is also on trial (in a murder case), and from Siberian oligarch Vladimir Egorov, who became a defendant in a case of fraud in construction of a school - 94 million rubles. The schemes are similar everywhere – they involve fake passports and SIM cards.

From Mashkin to the top management of the FSIN

Shugaev is in the Medvedkovo pre-trial detention center in Moscow. The same one that changed its director last year after an extortion scandal (criminal authorities in collusion with employees “extorted” money from rich prisoners).

It is possible that the ex-head of the pre-trial detention center, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Mashkin, was aware of what was happening and could have had income from this activity. This conclusion can be made after reading the declaration of the former official - according to these data, in 2018, the total area of ​​his family’s property jumped from almost zero to 830 square meters.

It is difficult to explain the origin of such “wealth”, given the fall in income compared to the previous year.

If Mashkin really not only ran, but also lived in the pre-trial detention center, wasn’t Shugaev one of his charges?

Please note that all of this is just our speculation. But the fish, as they say, rots from the head.

As Novaya Gazeta wrote, even before Mashkin’s arrival, one of the members of the Lyubertsy organized crime group, Sergei Shchipantsev, who was sitting in pre-trial detention center-4, had the opportunity to use the telephone and even went online to use “Odkoklassniki”; according to other prisoners, he informally communicated with the pre-trial detention center employees and had the opportunity to freely walk around the cells and make threats, and helped extort money.

This happened under Alexei Khorev, who quit in 2016 and no longer “shone” anywhere. But, apparently, the order he established remained under Mashkin.

Further confirmation is that in 2018, three pre-trial detention center employees were tried for bribes and beatings. Which at least says a lot about Mr. Mashkin’s leadership abilities.

During that investigation, it was also established that one of the accused, while in the detention center for purchasing the medicines he needed without the corresponding doctor’s prescription, twice gave bribes to the paramedic of the branch of “Medical and Sanitary Unit No. 77 of the Federal Penitentiary Service.”

It is known that when Shugaev robbed Melnichenko Sr., he did it while in the FSIN hospital. Who, besides the top management, will provide reorganization with help “both here and there”?

But there is another side to the issue. According to a source from NGS24.RU, Shugaev allegedly received orders from “a person associated with a Krasnoyarsk security official.” There are no specifics. We will not smear the honor of any of the local leaders in vain. Let’s just say that if the story of the theft of money from the rich “resonates” in as many as two regions, this is already a question for the head of the Federal Penitentiary Service. Since 2021, this position has been held by Arkady Gostev. The latter is a policeman close to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kolokoltsev. Before him, the post was held for a long time by Alexander Kalashnikov, who was considered a creature of the FSB leadership. Perhaps the questions addressed to Shugaev should be asked to one of them?