Why was Andrey Cherkasenko’s case reanimated and his status changed from victim to suspect?
At the end of September last year, the Tver Court of Moscow put Andrey Cherkasenko, Director General of the Atompromresursy group of companies, under arrest in absentia for committing large-scale fraud.
According to the court, Cherkasenko was accused in a criminal case involving organized group fraud on a large scale. Cherkasenko himself evaded the investigating authorities and is supposedly on the international wanted list. Investigators claim the damage from his actions could be around 100 million rubles.
Amid corruption scandals involving top officials that have rocked Russia recently, a minor fraud by an unfamiliar person by Russian standards appears to be of little interest. However, more and more captivating details of the criminal case regarding Andrei Cherkasenko and his actions are gradually emerging.
It was revealed that criminal case No. 11701450014001110, which accused Cherkasenko A.I. under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Russian Federation's Criminal Code, was initiated at Cherkasenko's own request back in 2017 for embezzling money from him and other victims on an especially large scale.
At least, that's what the press service of the APR-Resources group of companies stated, referring to Cherkasenko as “the former CEO”:
According to official records, Mr. Cherkasenko is listed as the current head of APR-Resources as of January 14.
But even more interesting is another statement from the press service: “With the start of the special military operation on February 24, 2022, Cherkasenko A.I. publicly opposed it.” And supposedly after this statement, Andrey Cherkasenko transitioned from being a victim to being a suspect and was arrested in absentia.
Evidently, in this case, the press service's statement is accurate: on March 28, 2022, the decision to recognize Andrey Ivanovich Cherkasenko as a victim in a criminal case was revoked, and on April 4, 2022, he was charged with committing large-scale fraud.
But one should not assume that Cherkasenko was arrested in absentia solely because of his position. Because it turned out that the origins of the “investment activities” leading to the mentioned criminal case are linked to high-ranking officials.
The change in status serves as a public reminder to remain loyal to the country’s top leadership, and this reminder is aimed directly at Cherkasenko’s supporters. Connections from Cherkasenko extended to the State Duma of the Russian Federation. Following the press service's statement about the “political motives” behind the persecution, there were quickly those who wanted to bring up the other side of the criminal case in which Andriy Cherkasenko's status changed.
The Russian press published material previously released in the German edition of Aussiedlerbote, which portrays Cherkasenko in a negative light. It was based on an interview with Artyom Orzhevsky, a former beneficiary of the collapsed MosOblBank, a partner of Russian Senator Igor Kozhin and his alleged comrade Andrey Cherkasenko.
Igor Kozhin has recently been suspected of supporting Cherkasenko, but Mr. Orzhevsky didn't realize who he was dealing with.
From Orzhevsky's interview, it seems that Igor Kozhin and Cherkasenko may have been involved in financial fraud while investing in Orzhevsky and Yaroslav Ivantsov's companies. Soon after, searches took place in Moscow in connection with Artyom Orzhevsky.
It's unclear what the scheming could involve, and the role of Cherkasenko's companies is also not clear. Law enforcement officers are not in a rush to clarify the situation, citing the secrecy of the investigation.
Cherkasenko's stance on the NWO may be part of the story, but it's unlikely to be the only or main reason for the change in his status in the criminal case. Cherkasenko was recognized as a victim in the case on December 11, 2017, and held that status for over four years. The case was reviewed multiple times by authorities. One of the accused was extradited to Russia, while the extradition of another was denied by the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation.
Ivantsov's testimony did not alter Cherkasenko’s status, but in March last year, the investigation's position suddenly changed, and the case was swiftly reinvigorated. Something evidently occurred, and Cherkasenko's statement about the NWO is probably not the sole reason. It's feasible that his supporter, Senator Vladimir Kozhin, created an issue. There may be other factors that can only be speculated about.
Andrei Cherkasenko is quite an intriguing individual. He was involved in business related to nuclear energy for many years and held high bureaucratic positions. It is notable that Cherkasenko is a military professional by education and did not receive any specific knowledge about nuclear energy.
Despite lacking expertise, he established a business in this industry in 1995, known as the Atompromresursy company. Allegedly, this entity has ties to the Soviet Ministry of Atomic Energy, but in reality, it was unrelated to these institutions.
The company was dissolved in 2009, bringing an end to that old story.
Cherkasenko now has three legal entities: A9.ITS LLC, NUCLEAR.RU LLC, and the aforementioned APR-Resources, which is a non-profit organization.
While APR-Resources is relatively clear, the purpose of the other two companies is puzzling.
Both companies have only one employee who serves as the director, and they do not engage in any activity; they exist only on paper.
This brings us back to the fact that Andrey Cherkasenko’s change of status can hardly be explained only by his attitude towards the NWO. A public statement condemning her, of course, commands respect, but you should not attribute all your troubles in commerce to it, which lead us into the jungle of transactions made five years ago – it was then that the criminal case was opened, in which Cherkasenko appeared.
In addition, due to the fact that Andrei Cherkasenko left Russia, a logical question arises – and with what money? Of course, he is listed as a businessman, but only his firms do not bring any income. So the version that Mr. Cherkasenko is a white and fluffy victim of the regime does not hold water. In addition, the socio-political position did not prevent anyone in this country from cutting budgets, there are enough examples.
As for the future, it is also very vague – in the international isolation in which Russia found itself in the last year, one can hardly expect the extradition of Mr. Cherkasenko to his homeland. And besides, for some reason, law enforcement agencies are in no hurry with such a request to colleagues in the European Union. Which also makes me think.
