On Thursday, January 16, it became known about the detention of the Minister of Internal Affairs in the Komi Republic. According to the press service of the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee for the region, a criminal case has been opened against the head of the department on suspicion of receiving a bribe on an especially large scale (part 6 of article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

“The suspect is detained, the issue of choosing a preventive measure against him is being decided. In the criminal case, with operational support of the regional FSB officers, investigative and procedural actions are carried out aimed at establishing the circumstances of the crime, obtaining and securing the evidence base, ”the agency said.

The sanction under this article implies a fine in the amount of three to five million rubles, or from 80-fold to 100-fold bribes with the deprivation of the right to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to 15 years, or imprisonment for a term of eight to 15 years with a fine of up to 70 times the amount of the bribe.

As follows from the data on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Komi Republic, the department is headed by police major general Viktor Polovnikov. He was appointed to this post in May 2015. At the same time, Polovnikov began his service in the internal affairs bodies in 1984 as a detective officer in the criminal investigation department of the Kurgan Oblast Executive Committee. In the 1990s, he received the post of Deputy Head of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Kurgan Region - head of the department for organizing and solving serious crimes, and after that - head of the first department. At the same time, in 1998 he graduated from the Academy of Management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

  • © Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Komi Republic

Since 2001 and for seven years, Viktor Polovnikov headed the Office of Internal Affairs in the city of Kurgan, after which he was appointed to the post of deputy chief of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Kurgan region for economic security. Since November 2011, he served as deputy head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Far Eastern Federal District - the head of the police.

According to TASS, the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Komi Republic refused to comment on the detention of the head of the department, including regarding the start of an internal audit.

According to Telegram channel 112, Polovnikov received about 25 million rubles for “not being held criminally responsible”. However, most of the money was transferred to him through one-day firms.

Meanwhile, the issue of choosing a preventive measure will be decided on Friday, January 17, by the Syktyvkar city court.

“A measure of restraint today will not be elected. We are waiting (case files. - RT ) tomorrow, ”said the assistant to the chairman of the court, Igor Nogovitsin.

The detention of the heads of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Dorogomilovo

Earlier, on October 17, 2019, in Moscow, when receiving from a citizen 3.5 million rubles, the deputy head of the Russian Interior Ministry in the Dorogomilovo district, police chief Dmitry Smirnov, as well as his deputy, head of the criminal investigation department Sergey Ustinov were detained. It was noted that this is only the first part, and the total amount of the bribe was to amount to 12 million rubles. They were charged under Part 3 of Art. 30, part 4, article 159 of the Criminal Code (“Attempted fraud on a large scale”).

“In the case of confirmation of guilt, the detained police officers will be dismissed from the internal affairs bodies for negative reasons and will be punished by law, and their leaders will be brought to strict disciplinary responsibility,” the Interior Ministry said.

Along with this, employees of the Federal Security Service carried out searches in the Department of Internal Affairs in the Western Administrative District of Moscow, which includes the Dorogomilovo district.

The victim was the lawyer Sergei Zuev. According to him, money was extorted from him for stopping the investigation by the Investigative Committee against him.

Meanwhile, the defense indicated that the victim had previously been convicted of fraud and abuse of authority.

“The victim in the Smirnov case is an interesting person. Zuev served in the police, was convicted of abuse of authority and fraud. He is inclined to distort facts for his own purposes, I do not exclude that he is misleading and SK. His testimony is inconsistent. If you read them carefully, it is not clear what exactly they extorted money from him for. He himself initiated the meeting with Smirnov and Ustinov, from the first moment of the meeting he kept an audio recording, ”said Smirnov’s lawyer Sergei Bulaev in the Presnensky court.