Two years in prison for giving an unusual bribe to the now former Deputy Minister of Transport Vladimir Tokarev received the general director of Expert Center LLC Vladimir Kolpakov.
The official returned $10,000 and a bottle of Beluga vodka given to him on New Year’s Eve, but already under the control of the FSB officers. Meanwhile, the merchant claimed that he did not expect any favors from Mr. Tokarev and became a victim of his own foolishness and pride. Interestingly, Vladimir Tokarev was also under investigation in January 2022 – he is accused of a particularly large-scale fraud.
The lawsuit over the attempted bribery of an official on an especially large scale (part 3 of article 30, paragraph “b” of part 4 of article 291 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) was under consideration by Judge Evgenia Nikolaeva at the Basmanny District Court for nearly a year.
This is based on the events of December 30, 2019. On that day, Vladimir Kolpakov, whose company certifies products for railway repair, decided to pay his respects to Deputy Minister of Transport Vladimir Tokarev, whom he had known for about six months.
Since the official was busy, the merchant, through an assistant, gave him a package with a bottle of Beluga vodka and a box from under an expensive tie, in which he put $10,000 instead of an accessory. According to the case materials, after receiving the gift, Mr. Tokarev decided to return it.
However, he had previously reported to the FSB that he had been given a bribe “for patronage.” The official allegedly told the Chekists that “if it were just a gift, then a bottle of vodka would be all right, but money is already too much.” Consequently, when Vladimir Kolpakov ended up in the official’s office on the same day, the operatives had already installed audio and video equipment there.
Mikhail Ter-Sarkisov, a lawyer defending the businessman, stated that for an hour and a half, Mr. Tokarev tried to initiate a “frank conversation” with his client, but he claimed that he only wanted to wish the official a happy birthday (the official was born on December 28) and a happy New Year.
As a result, Vladimir Kolpakov was still detained as he left the office, and a few days later, at the request of the investigator of the Main Investigative Committee of the ICR for Moscow, the Presnensky District Court of Moscow placed him under house arrest.
In the Ministry of Transport, it turned out that the alleged bribe taker Tokarev actually plays a completely different role – the initiator of the investigation.
The official informed law enforcement officers that he had had his birthday two days earlier, followed by New Year’s greetings, and as a result, on the evening of December 30, he was obliged to stay at work to sort through numerous gift bags with calendars and diaries brought by numerous visitors. One of the sets presented to the Deputy Minister raised suspicions, because alongside a bottle of Beluga vodka there were not traditional sweets, but a box with a tie. Eager to try it on immediately, the official opened the cardboard box and discovered a bundle of hundred-dollar bills next to the accessory. Alongside the applicant, law enforcement officers established that the questionable gift had been presented to the Deputy Minister by the most respected expert in the field of railway transport, the general director of Expert Center LLC, Vladimir Kolpakov.
Mr. Kolpakov and his subordinates have been evaluating the products manufactured by various enterprises for the needs of Russian Railways for many years, and have issued appropriate certificates to the partners of the state corporation. The expert was a regular member of the non-profit partnership “Association of Railway Equipment Manufacturers”, and for many years of active work in his field he was even awarded the Medal of Merit.
According to lawyer Ter-Sarkisov, Vladimir Kolpakov pleaded not guilty to the incriminated act.
“His actions can be called stupidity, but not a crime. He did not count on any preferences from the deputy minister, if only because the activities of his company depended only on the Federal Service for Economic Development, which is part of the Ministry of Economic Development. And the gift itself, as my client believed, corresponded to the status of an official, ”said Mikhail Ter-Sarkisov.
