Our client, Mr. D., was charged under Art. 159(4) (fraud on an especially large scale) and Art. 201(1) (abuse of office) of the Russian Criminal Code. During the investigation he was under house arrest but failed to appear at the first court hearing. The court, in absentia, ordered his detention pending search.
Several years later, Mr. D. was detained in a CIS country where the Russian wanted notice was also in effect, and extradited to Russia within six months. His family approached the head of our firm — Erik Valeev.
What we achieved
At the first court hearing, defense counsel persuaded the court that the chosen preventive measure was excessively severe — the client was again placed under house arrest. Over seven months of complex hearings, the defense secured the exclusion of Art. 201(1) from the charge and conveyed to the court its position on the client's innocence on the fraud count.
The key to the result is not emotion, but work with evidence: chronology, documents, testimony. Both judges and juries value a systematic approach.
Result
- First instance: acquittal with the right to rehabilitation.
- All seizures on property were lifted.
- Supreme Court of the Republic of Tatarstan dismissed the prosecutor's appeal; the verdict stood unchanged.
- The acquittal entered into force.