Moscow court returns General Malkov to pre-trial detention in fuel theft case
In short
Investigators asked a Moscow court on 21 October to send Sergei Malkov, a former deputy head of the Moscow Region Interior Ministry directorate, back to pre-trial detention from house arrest. Later that evening the court did so and he was taken into custody in the courtroom. His defence says it will appeal.
Read the full story 1 min read
A Moscow court returned Sergei Malkov, a former deputy head of the Moscow Region Interior Ministry directorate, to pre-trial detention on the evening of 21 October, RIA Novosti and TASS reported. TASS said he was taken into custody in the courtroom, and RIA Novosti cited his lawyer for the same. A RIA Novosti headline said he was sent to detention for violations of house arrest. [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
Earlier in the day, RIA Novosti reported that investigators were asking the court to move Malkov, a major general of the internal service, from house arrest to detention. His lawyer, named in that article as Andrei Grivtsov, said the hearing would be held at the Meshchansky court in Moscow. A TASS summary names the lawyer as Sergei Grivtsov. [ 1 , 3 ]
TASS reported that the Interior Ministry wanted him returned to detention because he lived with his wife, who is a witness. The lawyer noted that Moscow City Court had permitted this. RBC reported that the defence called the demand unfounded and in breach of the court's decision. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
According to RIA Novosti, the Meshchansky court arrested Malkov in early September in a case over theft of fuel. Moscow City Court later moved him to house arrest. The ex-head of the directorate's economic and service support centre, Colonel Alexei Suyarov, and his subordinate, Lieutenant Colonel of internal service Anna Levina, were arrested with him, and Moscow City Court moved all three to house arrest on 23 September. [ 1 ]
RIA Novosti wrote that Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk had earlier reported identified cases of theft of motor fuel belonging to the Moscow Region directorate. The defendants are charged with embezzlement on an especially large scale under Part 4 of Article 160 of the Criminal Code. RIA Novosti reported late on 21 October that the defence would appeal Malkov's repeat arrest. [ 1 , 9 ]
Why it matters
The ruling reverses the house arrest that Moscow City Court set on 23 September in the fuel theft case. The documents do not say what happens next in the case beyond the planned appeal.
Key facts
- Investigators asked the Meshchansky court in Moscow to move Sergei Malkov, a former deputy head of the Moscow Region Interior Ministry directorate, from house arrest to pre-trial detention. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- The request cited his living with his wife, who is a witness; his lawyer said Moscow City Court had permitted this. [ 3 , 4 ]
- The court returned Malkov to pre-trial detention and he was taken into custody in the courtroom. [ 5 , 6 , 7 ]
- Malkov is accused of embezzlement on an especially large scale (Part 4 of Article 160 of the Criminal Code) in a case over theft of fuel belonging to the Moscow Region Interior Ministry directorate. [ 1 ]
- Moscow City Court moved Malkov, Alexei Suyarov and Anna Levina from custody to house arrest on 23 September. [ 1 ]
- The defence will appeal the repeat arrest. [ 9 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The court sent Malkov back to pre-trial detention on 21 October and he was taken into custody in the courtroom. [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- Investigators had asked for this measure, according to RIA Novosti, TASS and RBC. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The Meshchansky court arrested Malkov in early September; Moscow City Court later moved him to house arrest, and on 23 September did the same for Suyarov and Levina. [ 1 ]
Still unclear
- What violations of house arrest Malkov is said to have committed. A RIA Novosti headline says he was sent to detention for violations of house arrest; TASS and RBC summaries point to living with his wife, a witness, which the defence says the court allowed. The documents give no court reasoning.
- The first name of Malkov's lawyer. The RIA Novosti article names him Andrei Grivtsov, while a TASS summary calls him Sergei Grivtsov.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- RIA Novosti reports that investigators are asking the court to send Malkov to pre-trial detention. [ 1 ]
- TASS reports the reason as living with his wife, a witness, and his lawyer's remark that the court had allowed it. [ 3 ]
- RIA Novosti reports that the court sent Malkov back to pre-trial detention. [ 5 ]
- TASS reports he was taken into custody in the courtroom. [ 7 ]
- RIA Novosti reports that the defence will appeal the repeat arrest. [ 9 ]