Two 'Gambling Affair' Suspects Ask Investigators to Drop Case

By The Moscow Times

Oct. 3, 2013

The legal teams of two former Interior Ministry employees once thought to be connected to an illegal gambling ring in the Moscow region have filed a motion to stop the investigation against their clients.

Lawyers for Farit Temirgaliyev and Mikhail Kulikov believe that the investigation was conducted illegally. Even though the initial decision to initiate the case on bribery charges was almost immediately cancelled by Deputy Prosecutor General Viktor Grin, the Investigative Committee continued the inquiry, Kommersant reported.

Temirgaliyev's lawyer Yelena Vyatkina said she filed a motion to the Investigative Committee based on the ruling of the Supreme Court that neither the criminal investigation nor the detention of the former law enforcement officers were legal because of Grin's cancellation.

In spring 2011 the Investigative Committee uncovered a massive network of underground casinos owned by businessman Ivan Nazarov and claimed that prosecutors were protecting them.

Former Moscow region deputy prosecutor Alexander Ignatenko fled Russia after being accused of involvement in the case, but was released in July after being extradited from Poland earlier this year.

Meanwhile, other figures in the "gambling case," Nazarov and his accomplices Vladimir Khusnutdinov, Vladimir Naumkin, Marat Mamiyev, Alla Guseva and Ivan Volkov, have also decided to ask the authorities to dismiss their cases due to an amnesty.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue