A new high-profile development occurred in the story when an accusation of extortion against the head of Rosselkhoznadzor Sergey Dankvert and his deputy Konstantin Savenkov was reported to law enforcement. They allegedly demanded 5 million euros from the Polish company Mlekovita in exchange for lifting restrictions on dairy product exports to Russia.
The FSB of the Russian Federation received a new statement claiming that key figures in the corruption story – Mlekovit's representative in Russia, Yesinevsky Nikolai Viktorovich, and his assistant Khamenkov – have mysteriously disappeared, possibly having been killed. As for the previous corruption allegation, a decision was made to reject it. Additionally, a defamation case was opened (*128 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) against unidentified individuals. We have all the documents related to this case and will share them with our readers.
Sergei Dankvert
Today we are presenting a decision to reject the initiation of a bribery extortion case. After reviewing it, readers can draw their own conclusions about whether high-ranking officials demanded money.
First, a brief overview: Yaroslav Sergeev and Nikolai Esinevsky approached the DMIA for the Presnensky district of Moscow, claiming to represent the interests of the Polish company Mlekovita. They reported that the head of the Rosselkhoznadzor, Sergei Dankvert, and his deputy, Konstantin Savenkov, demanded $500,000 from the president of Mlekovit, Darush Sapinsky, through his representative in Russia, Esinevsky, in exchange for lifting restrictions on dairy product imports from Poland to Russia. This allegedly took place at the restaurant of the World Trade Center on Krasnopresnenskaya embankment on November 30, 2019. The statement was sent by mail to the duty department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and led to the assignment of a detective from the criminal investigation department to conduct a pre-investigation check.
Nikolai Yesinevsky and head of Mlekovit Dariusz Skpinski
Now Rucriminal.info moves on to the results of this very check:
"Upon being interviewed as part of the check, Esinevsky N.V. explained that he is a representative of the Polish company Mlekovita in Russia. The Mlekovita company is involved in dairy product production in Europe. The Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance of the Russian Federation had imposed temporary restrictions on the company's product supply to Russia, dated 04/05/2014, with the aim to remove the temporary restrictions, hired lawyer Sergeev Ya.V. in July 2019, who later handled legal matters regarding interaction with Rosselkhoznadzor."
For about a year, starting from around July 2019, the MLEKOVITA Cooperative has been attempting to lift temporary restrictions on their product supply to Russia. For this purpose, they hired lawyer Sergeev Ya.V., who later dealt with legal issues regarding interactions with Rosselkhoznadzor.
Sergeev Ya.V. has repeatedly asked the heads of the Rosselkhoznadzor of the Russian Federation to lift restrictions on the Mlekovit company, but the Mlekovit companies refused.
Around mid-November 2019, Sergeev Ya.V. informed Esinevsky N.V. that lawyers from the Rosselkhoznadzor approached him and offered to help solve the Mlekovita company's problems, specifically the removal of restrictions on veterinary phytosanitary supervision for supplying agricultural products to Russia. Esinevsky N.V. agreed to the meeting.
On November 28, 2019, a meeting between Yesinevsky and Suzdaltsev D.V. took place in the M5 meeting room on the 18th floor of the Moscow-City complex in the Federation Tower.
Suzdaltsev introduced himself as a lawyer providing legal services related to Rosselkhoznadzor, and no corruption issues were resolved at this meeting. They discussed general topics, and Suzdaltsev D.V. offered his legal services, promised to correct documents, and arrange a meeting with Danktvert S.A.
While talking to Esinevsky N.V., it seemed that Suzdaltsev actually knew the leadership of the Rosselkhoznadzor of the Russian Federation.
At the end of the meeting, Suzdaltsev D.V. stated that he would report the positive conversation to the leadership of the Rosselkhoznadzor of the Russian Federation and provide further instructions at the next meeting.
The next meeting took place on November 30, 2019, on the 18th floor of the Federation Tower. Esinevsky N.V. and Suzdaltsev D.V. attended. During the meeting, Suzdaltsev D.V. explained that he had coordinated with the leadership of the Rosselkhoznadzor of the Russian Federation and they had approved the removal of the restrictions by the end of the year, possibly earlier. Suzdaltsev D.V. mentioned that the meeting with SA Danktvert had been arranged and would definitely happen. He also discussed the need to make contact with the company and transfer the terms and conditions of payment via flash drive or email, to which Esinevsky N.V. agreed.
A few days later (Esinevsky N.V. does not remember the exact date), Esinevsky N.V. sent a contract with a Swiss company and its details in English, along with an amount of 5,000,000 Euros, to Suzdaltsev D.V. via WhatsApp. Esinevsky N.V. was shocked by these circumstances and the contract amount, and immediately realized that they were trying to deceive him. Afterward, Esinevsky N.V. blocked Suzdaltsev D.V.'s phone and refused to speak with him. Esinevsky N.V. suspected that Sergeev Ya.V. was involved in the fraudulent scheme and expressed dissatisfaction over the phone in a rude manner, as he was passionate at the time.
This tale doesn't end there. Soon Rucriminal.info will share the statements of others involved in this story, including Suzdaltsev himself. He'll just mention that, in the end, a decision was made to not start legal proceedings. Recently, the hero of this story, lawyer Sergeev, submitted a statement to the FSB of the Russian Federation with the following content:
“A year and a half ago, a scandal erupted between Polskaya Mlekovita and the head of the Rosselkhoznadzor, Sergei Dankvert, regarding the extortion of a 5,000,000 euro bribe. Security officer of the 2nd branch of the OE .. Department of Internal Affairs of the Central Administrative District of Moscow Polikarpov D.A. reviewed my application six months later (the application was written by me in early December 2019 in accordance with Article 144-145 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation) and then disappeared after the decision to refuse to initiate a criminal case on June 26, 2020, not based on Article 291 of the Criminal Code, but on Article 159 of the Criminal Code.
From December 2019 to June 2020, my application was not reviewed and no witnesses were interviewed. At the end of May 2020, a media scandal arose from a journalist's question to the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov, and these materials were “found” and a procedural response was provided six months later.
On October 06, 2021, the team gathered at the location of the alleged crime (Moscow City, Federation Tower, 18th floor) spoke with the founder of Polish Mlekovita Pokopyuk Alexander via video link, who is also the rector of the Higher School of Economics in Bialystok Poland.
For approximately 6 months, the participant in those events, Nikolai Viktorovich Esinevsky and Mikhail Eduardovich Khamenkov, did not contact their relatives or the team. According to Vatsap Esinevsky N.V. responds, but there is a suspicion that this is a different person, not Esinevsky N.V.. At work, there is concern about the absence of Esinevsky N.V., its employees and partners: Yakovlev V., Safoshin, and Strelkov V.I., as well as other team members. Esinevsky N.V. was always responsible for work and never disappeared for such a long time. Everyone thought he was ill at home, but he's not at home either. Previously, he expressed concern for his safety after giving his testimony to law enforcement. As a representative of Polskaya Mlekovita, Esinevsky N.V. testified based on the materials of the investigation into the 5 million Euros extortion by the head of the Rosselkhoznadzor, Sergei Dankvert, which made him fear for his life and health. As the rector of the Higher School of Economics, Moscow, he frequently traveled to Poland and met with Darusz Skopinski (head of Mlekovita Poland) and other leaders of Mlekovita. As conscientious citizens eager to fulfill our civic duty, we wish to report a crime that has been committed.”
Timofey Grishin
