September 2021 marks three years since the murder of a reputable businessman Badri Shengelia on Novopriozerskoye highway. A dozen bullets riddled a black Mercedes S500 moving towards St. Petersburg. Shengelia was an extremely colorful character of the bandit Petersburg, knew many secrets of this city. In the last years before the murder, he became a witness to the TFR and the FSB of the Russian Federation in many high-profile cases. In particular, Shengelia testified against the leader of the Tambovskaya organized criminal group Vladimir Barsukov (Kumarin).
And then he also testified against the former head of the ICR's own security department, Mikhail Maksimenko. Thus, Shengelia cut off the branch on which he was sitting. It was Maksimenko in the ICR who oversaw the work on the physical protection of important witnesses, protected Shengelia from trouble and sought to extend his state protection. Literally a couple of months after Maksimenko's arrest, state protection from Shengelia was unexpectedly removed, and then the killers shot him.
It is worth noting at the trial of Maksimenko Shengelia gave extremely interesting testimony, which significantly differed from the one voiced during the preliminary investigation. Rucriminal.info has already published what Shengelia told during the investigation. Now is the time to acquaint readers with his testimony during the trial.
“The receipt of a bribe by Maksimenko from Shengelia is confirmed by the following testimonies of the persons interrogated in the case. Interrogated at the hearing Shengelia B.A. testified that he met Maksimenko in 2007 in St. Petersburg during the investigation of the criminal case against Barsukov (Kumarin). He (Shengelia) was at first a suspect in this case, then a witness, and collaborated with the investigation. At the same time, Maksimenko was one of the guarantors of his security. With the latter, he also developed financial relations, since Maksimenko, at his request, resolved certain issues. So, there were situations when, when Shengelia had a problem, he turned to Maksimenko, wrote a statement addressed to the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, a commission came from Moscow and the problem was eliminated.
Several years ago he (Shengelia) bought a Hublo watch for about 20 thousand euros. This watch was later illegally confiscated from him by police officers in St. Petersburg. In this regard, he turned to his friend Fedosov (an operative of the department of his own security), filed an application. Fedosov said that there is a record on which Polozaev (the head of the department whose employee seized the watch) confirms the fact of their seizure. He (Shengelia) was interested in punishing the people involved in the seizure of the watch. However, Fedosov failed to lobby for the initiation of a criminal case. Then he (Shengelia) turned this question to Maksimenko. The latter told him that he wanted to initiate a criminal case against Polozaev in order to find out Klaus (the head of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in St. Petersburg), since these persons prevent him from “solving issues” in St. Petersburg. With Maksimenko, they agreed that a criminal case would cost $ 50,000. The specific mechanism of Maksimenko's actions in terms of initiating the initiation of a criminal case was unknown to him (Shengelia). Later he learned from Fedosov that a criminal case had been opened. After that, in October 2015, he met with Maksimenko at the Park Inn Hotel in St. Petersburg, made sure that the latter had a copy of the decision to initiate a criminal case, asked his security guard Zagitov to go to his (Shengelia's) home and pick up $ 50,000 from the safe USA.
Upon his return, Zagitov gave him a bag with this money, and he gave it to Maksimenko. In return, Maksimenko gave him a copy of the order to initiate a criminal case.
From the testimony read out due to the presence of significant contradictions that Shengelia gave during the preliminary investigation, it follows, in particular, that the information about the theft of the watch committed from him, which he stated in the crime statement, was false. Indeed, during the meetings, he informed Maksimenko about difficulties with law enforcement officers, namely the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in St. places), talked about wiretapping Polozaev's telephone conversations by employees of the OSB "West" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. The discussion took place in the indicated hotel, but not in a room closed to other persons, but in a bar where other persons were present. In addition, Shengelia did not inform the investigator that he had the money at home, and his bodyguard Zagitov went to fetch them when Shengelia made sure Maksimenko had a copy of the decision to initiate a criminal case (vol. 8 case files 86-95, 96-107, 124-139, 186-195).
At the hearing, answering questions about the reasons for the contradictions in the testimony, Shengelia explained that he had told the investigator about the falsity and stated in the statement about the theft of the watch, as he feared Polozaev and his people.
B, the discussion of the issue of Maksimenko's remuneration (but not the transfer of money) really took place in the bar, but there was no one at the table except him and Maksimenko.
To the investigator, he did not detail the scheme for transferring money (instructions to Zagitov and the actions of the latter).
From the testimony of the witness T.Oh. Zagitova questioned at the hearing. it follows that since 2004 he has been working as a security guard for Shengelia. In October 2015, he took the latter to a meeting with Maksimenko at the hotel 46 31 "Park Inn Pulkovskaya". They were supposed to discuss the situation related to the seizure of watches from Shengelia by law enforcement officers. Shengelia entered the hotel, after some time came out, asked him to go home to him (Shengelia), take $ 50,000 from the safe and bring him to the hotel. He (Zagitov) complied with this instruction.
When he returned to the hotel, a man met him and took him to the room where Shengelia and Maksimenko were. Shengelia went out, took a briefcase with money, and the specified man escorted him (Zagitov) to the car. Of those announced on the basis of Part 3 of Art. 281 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, the testimony of a witness during the preliminary investigation reveals, in particular, that the bag with money, which was later transferred to Maksimenko, was already with Shengelia when he arrived at the aforementioned hotel. Shengelia entered the hotel without a bag, and after a certain time, at the request of Shengelia, he (Zagitov) carried a bag with money to the hotel room (where an unknown man took him) and gave it to Shengelia (vol. 5, l.d. 142-146) ...
During the preliminary investigation, when checking the testimony at the site, Shengelia indicated the places of meetings with Maksimenko at the Park Inn Pulkovskaya hotel at the address: St. Petersburg, Victory Square, 1. Among others, Shengelia pointed to the utility room, where in October In 2015, he donated $ 50,000 to Maksimenko.
Timofey Grishin
To be continued
