As Kommersant learned, at the request of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to organize an international search, the founder of the KhimProm organized crime community, Yegor Burkin, and two of his closest accomplices were arrested in absentia. At first, the defendants were involved in the production and distribution of drugs, and then created call centers in Russia and Ukraine for remote fraud. Part of the income they received, according to the police, was used to finance the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Artem Shabanov, senior investigator for particularly important cases of the Main Investigation Department (GSU) of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Moscow, filed petitions for the arrests in absentia of three alleged organizers of the KhimProm OPS in the Tverskoy District Court. The captain of justice demanded to authorize the arrests of Muscovite Alexander Sheremetyev, native of Sterlitamak (Bashkiria) Yegor Burkin and Egyptian citizen Ahmed Awad (Adam).
All defendants are accused of organizing a criminal community (Part 1 of Article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and five episodes of especially large-scale fraud (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The petition regarding the Egyptian was considered first.
Mr. Shabanov said that his criminal case was separated from the case of the capital’s call centers, the participants of which were detained by the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation on December 11, 2024. According to law enforcement officials, three ringing groups operated in the capital, convincing citizens to invest money in cryptocurrency or trading platforms, and then stealing their funds. The investigation believes that citizens of twenty countries suffered from the actions of the scammers, however, due to problems in international legal cooperation, only Russian victims were identified. The swindlers, controlled, according to the case materials, by Yegor Burkin, “threw” them out of 28 million rubles.
At the same time, the investigation believes that part of the fraudulently stolen funds was used to finance the armed forces of Ukraine. Investigator Shabanov did not disclose the details of the case, saying only that it contains three dozen volumes and those involved who were caught are already familiarizing themselves with their contents.
The organizer of this gang was Ahmed Awad, who is now abroad. The investigation demanded that he be arrested for two months, explaining that the very fact of including the Egyptian on the Interpol wanted list would be enough.
If detained, Russia will send materials regarding the person involved to this country. Even if he is not extradited, the evidence collected could be used to prosecute him abroad.
Fewer questions arose with the other two alleged organizers of the OPS, Sheremetyev and Burkin. The latter, according to investigators, was in fact the founder of KhimProm, which appeared in Russia back in 2014. Burkin began with the production of synthetic drugs, the so-called salt, which were not prohibited for distribution at that time.
Yegor Burkin’s closest partners in the criminal business were his school friend Alexander Shchiptsov, who was involved in security and personnel selection at KhimProm, as well as Andrei Vigel, who was responsible for laundering money received from drug sales. Taking advantage of corrupt connections among law enforcement officers, the group created a widespread distribution network in Russia and Ukraine. In 2016, Burkin moved to this country, receiving a passport in the name of Yegor Levchenko. In Ukraine, he organized a whole network of call centers, whose participants fraudulently extorted funds from citizens, primarily Russia. Now, according to operational data, Yegor Burkin is hiding in Mexico, from where he continues to run his criminal business around the world.
Demanding his arrest in absentia, as well as Alexander Sheremetyev, the investigator said that, like the Egyptian, they were charged with organizing an organized criminal group and five counts of particularly large-scale fraud. Hiding from the investigation (Sheremetyev is in Germany), they continue their criminal activities, noted a representative of the Main Investigation Department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Defenders by appointment opposed the satisfaction of the stated petitions.
Alexander Mikhailov, who defended the Egyptian Awad, spoke out most clearly. He noted that through an Internet search engine he found 20 thousand people with the same data as his client.
And it is impossible to understand which of them the investigation brought charges in absentia. Moreover, all the witnesses knew the Egyptian not by name, but by his nickname – Adam.
The presiding judge granted all three petitions, deciding to remand the accused in custody for two months if they were extradited to the Russian authorities.
