Corruption

Moscow's police-mob-bribery scandal lands its biggest fish yet

On Tuesday, federal agents detained Moscow Investigative Committee head Alexander Drymanov, who reportedly submitted his resignation recently. According to the news agency Interfax, Drymanov is finally a suspect in a bribery scandal involving his department, where high-ranking Moscow Investigative Committee officials accepted money from gangsters to facilitate Andrey “The Italian” Kochuikov’s early release and reduce the charges against him.

Kochuikov is a known associate of the mobster Zakhariy “Young Shakro” Kalashov. In March 2018, Kalashov and Kochuikov were sentenced to nine years and 10 months in prison and eight years and 10 months in prison, respectively.

In previous testimonies, some of Drymanov’s subordinates already tied him to the bribes from Kalashov. Denis Nikandrov, Drymanov’s former deputy, says he gave the money to his supervisor. Specifically, Nikandrov says he paid his boss 9,850 euros (about $11,565) “no earlier than May 19, 2016,” as thanks for a promotion and for his general support. In mid-July, Interfax reported that Drymanov had filed for extended leave, followed by his resignation.