Guelder-rose Novel Isaakovich

Guelder-rose Novel Isaakovich

2023

Arrest in the case of embezzlement of 40.9 million rubles

On July 17, 2023, it became known about the arrest of the former deputy head of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Information and Analytical Center for Support of the state automated system" Justice "of the Judicial Department" (Federal State Budgetary Institution "IAC of the Judicial Department") Roman Kalina. This was reported by the Kommersant newspaper^[1]. He is charged with embezzlement of more than 40 million rubles. when supplying software for the department in 2014 through the Wintegra Security company controlled by the defendant. Together with Kalina, the ex-general director and co-owner of Vintegra Security Taras Ponomarev is also involved in the case.

Criminal case on the fact of embezzlement of budget funds (part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation; fraud on an especially large scale) was initiated by the main investigation department of the TFR in Moscow in September 2022. According to the preliminary investigation, on September 3, 2014, Roman Kalina, who was then the deputy head of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "IAC of the Judicial Department," together with the general director of Vintegra Securities Taras Ponomarev, in the premises of the budgetary institution, prepared project and tender documentation for the participation of this company in the tender for the supply of software for the needs of the judicial department. When preparing the documents, Kalina and Ponomarev, according to the investigation, compiled them in such a way that it was Vintegra Security that won the upcoming auction.

As a result, according to the materials of the investigation, on October 29, 2014, Kalina concluded a state contract with Ponomarev worth 196 million rubles. for the supply of software and consumables to the department. As part of the implementation of this agreement, investigators established, in November 2015, Wintegra Security supplied the judicial department with software worth 67.9 million rubles. Meanwhile, according to the data operated by the investigation, the real cost of the supplied computer programs is almost 27 million rubles. By their actions, according to the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee, the defendants in the case caused damage to the budget institution in the amount of 40.9 million rubles.

On July 12, 2023, investigators and operatives arrived at the office of Vintegra Security, located in the 2nd Roshchinsky passage of the capital, where they detained 50-year-old Roman Kalina, who currently works for this company as executive director, as well as Taras Ponomarev. They were taken to the GSU and questioned. So far, both remain in the status of suspects - they have not been charged, Kommersant clarifies. Nevertheless, the investigation decided to petition the court to choose a preventive measure for the defendants.

In his petition, the investigator indicated that the former deputy head of the Federal State Budgetary Institution Roman Kalina is suspected of committing a serious crime, for which punishment is provided for over three years in prison. Kalina's involvement in fraud, the representative of the Main Investigative Directorate noted, is confirmed by the testimony of witnesses, confrontations, material evidence, as well as materials of operational-search activities.

In addition, the investigator had other arguments in favor of the arrest of the defendant. In particular, the representative of the Main Investigative Directorate recalled that Kalina himself had previously worked in the structure of the judicial department under the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, and his father Isaac Kalina was in the past a member of the government of the capital, where he headed the Department of Education and Science, and is now the president of the Academy for the Implementation of State Policy for the Professional Development of Education Workers of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation. According to the investigation, the father and son have large informal ties in law enforcement and other state bodies, which can lead to pressure on witnesses, the investigation and even the court.

Taking into account all these circumstances, the investigator summed up, the election of a preventive measure not related to detention is not possible for Roman Kalina. The representative of the Main Investigative Directorate added that the defendant regularly, on average once a month, travels abroad, according to the investigation, he has about two dozen accounts in foreign banks, for example, in Turkey and Kazakhstan, and the United States has its own business and real estate. The family of the defendant - a wife and three children - has been living in the UK for a long time, according to the investigation. These circumstances, according to the investigation, speak in favor of the fact that Kalina, if he continues to be at large, has all the opportunities to hide from Russian justice.

The investigator also noted that not all persons who may be involved in the crime have been identified, and the suspect, remaining outside the pre-trial detention center, can enter into a conspiracy with them to agree on a position on the case. And the defendant himself, according to the representative of the GSU, is checked for involvement in the commission of similar crimes in the execution of state contracts.

The defense was against satisfying the petition of the investigation, indicating that the arguments of the representative of the Main Investigative Directorate were not supported by evidence. However, the court agreed with the arguments of the investigator and arrested Roman Kalina for two months. Now, according to the law, within ten days after the election of a preventive measure, the defendant must be charged. Taras Ponomarev was placed under house arrest.

Attempt to leave the pre-trial detention center

On September 19, 2023, in the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow^[2] is scheduled] for a hearing on a complaint about the extension of the term of detention of Roman Kalina, who was arrested in July. It goes through Part 4. Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud committed by an organized group or on an especially large scale).

Earlier, the defenders of Roman Kalina had already tried to rescue him from custody by appealing the decision of the Presnensky District Court of Moscow, which sent him after being detained in a pre-trial detention center at the request of the investigation. From the appeal decision published in the database of the courts of general jurisdiction of Moscow, it follows that the accused has three lawyers - Bakradze A.A., Troshin A.A. and E.A. Kuznetsov. All three filed appeals and asked the court to apply a milder preventive measure to their client.

From the published^[3] of the appeal decision, it follows that initially a criminal case was initiated back in September 2022 against unidentified persons on the grounds of a crime under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The investigated events in the case in which Roman Kalina appears relate to the period 2014-2015. and are related to the contract for the performance of a set of works, including the supply of software and hardware. At the same time, the period of the preliminary investigation at the time of Kalina's detention was 8 months.

The lawyer's complaints indicate that for all this period of time Roman Kalina did not attempt to hide, exert pressure or influence on anyone in another form in order to persuade him to testify in a light favorable to him, did not try to impede the proceedings in the case. From there it follows that during a search in his home, foreign passports were seized from him, which makes it impossible to hide abroad.

Lawyer Troshin, in particular, in his complaint drew the court's attention to the fact that a milder preventive measure was chosen in relation to the second suspect in the same criminal case - in the form of house arrest. According to the defense, this approach does not meet the requirements of the criminal procedure law, violates the constitutional principles of justice and equality before the law and the court.

Together with Roman Kalina, we recall that the co-founder and ex-general director of the IT company "Wintegra Security" Taras Ponomarev is being held in the same criminal case.

The defense also asked to release Roman Kalina on bail. So, the lawyer Kuznetsov in the appeal noted that the suspect himself is ready to pay the amount of bail covering the amount of property damage incriminated to him.

The court, however, did not agree with the arguments of the defenders and upheld the decision of the Presnensky District Court to detain Roman Kalina, and on September 11, both defendants extended the preventive measure.

2024: Roman Kalina was transferred from the pre-trial detention center to house arrest

In January 2024, the Moscow City Court replaced Roman Kalina with a preventive measure for house arrest instead of detention. This happened based on the results of the consideration of appeals of three of his lawyers^[4].

With house arrest, Roman Kalina has a number of prohibitions, such as, for example, a ban on communication with persons involved in a criminal case as witnesses and suspects, as well as on the use of communications and the Internet, with the exception of a limited number of cases.

The defense insisted that Roman Kalina would not hide from the investigation if the court softened his measure of restraint. Among the arguments in favor of this - his passport was previously seized from him; he did not live abroad for a long time, but always returned to the Russian Federation; there are accounts in foreign banks, but they were opened for economic activities in connection with the international situation, etc.

The Moscow City Court considered that when determining the preventive measure in the form of detention, not all circumstances were previously taken into account, including data on the identity of the accused and his family situation. In this regard, the Moscow City Court decided to change the measure of restraint to house arrest.

The ex-general director and co-owner of Vintegra Security, Taras Ponomarev, who is in the same criminal case, was immediately detained under house arrest with bans. At the same time, in January 2024, he and his defenders also challenged the measure of restraint chosen for him - they asked to change it to another, allowing presence at the workplace, linking this to the fact that the client was deprived of material support. In addition, the defense requested to allow presence at the workplace in connection with the need to fulfill its obligations under contracts, including with state organizations and enterprises.

However, the court upheld house arrest. In the January appeal decision of the Moscow City Court, citing lawyer Taras Ponomarev, it is said that the latter "wrote a confession, pleaded guilty."^[5].

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