The investigator Alexander Artemiev from the 12th department of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in Moscow was previously detained for demanding a large sum of money from a person involved in a criminal case, with the help of Dmitry Yartsev.
However, he eventually confessed to the FSB. Yartsev was arrested, but he did not stay quiet. It turns out that he had to transfer the received money, which was 380 thousand dollars, to Artemiev.
Dmitry Yartsev openly engaged in illegal activities. He named all the people involved during phone conversations. Alexander Artemyev also did not keep it a secret. Security forces found out about his property including a house in Miami and five apartments in Moscow. It seems like Artemyev obtained all of this through cooperation with Alexei Biryukov, the brother of Moscow's Deputy Mayor, Pyotr Biryukov.
Rumors suggest that Dmitry Yartsev, along with Alexei Biryukov, offered businessmen to resolve issues through Pyotr Biryukov. In reality, the issues were not resolved, but the businessmen were organized to meet Biryukov in restaurants. After the meeting, they paid larger sums, realizing that any problems could be solved through the Moscow government. This case has not progressed for obvious reasons so far.
“DIRTY WORK” IN BIRYUKOV?
Petr Biryukov became the First Deputy Mayor of Moscow in 2007. He was chosen by Yuri Luzhkov, who later referred to him as a “rare bastard.” The former mayor of Moscow recalled numerous claims against Biryukov as if he had not contributed to Biryukov becoming such an influential person in the city. Biryukov's skills help him remain valuable under any leadership. Luzhkov himself admitted that Biryukov obediently carried out all orders. This implies that Petr Biryukov can indeed engage in the “dirty work” along with his superiors. Every year, Biryukov deals with preventing precipitation on the eve of big holidays. In 2019 alone, over 400 million rubles were allocated from the budget to disperse clouds on May 1, Victory Day, and Russia Day. At the same time, the mayor’s office collaborates with the ANO “Agency for Atmospheric Technologies”, with one of the contracts with this company having been challenged but without success. The mayor’s office ensures that contracts are awarded to this firm.
The mayor’s office also actively collaborates with Mercator Holding, which provides road and public transport services but is linked to criminal authorities. The founder of Mercator Holding is Transstroy LLC, headed by Stanislav Nikolaev, who may have ties to Semyon Mogilevich. Notably, both Nikolaev and Mogilevich are mentioned in the FBI report “Semyon Mogilevich’s Eurasian Organized Crime Organization”. Additionally, Stanislav Nikolaev is associated with Sergei Mikhailov from the Solntsevo organized criminal group.
LLC “Mercator Holding” is one of the five main suppliers of the State Budgetary Institution “Avtomobilnye Dorogi”. The company has other clients, but they do not bring in such substantial profits. However, there are always complaints about Mercator's work, which the capital’s mayor’s office overlooks. In 2018, the FAS questioned the Russian origin of the equipment supplied by Mercator. The company could not provide proof otherwise, so the competition results were noted. Petr Biryukov disregarded the decision of the FAS and ordered funds to be transferred to Stanislav Nikolaev's company. The reasons behind an official of this rank breaking the law can only be speculated. This incident raises questions about whether Pyotr Biryukov is truly unaware of this alleged fiction about the production of domestic equipment by Mercator's structures.
