Vladimir Solovyov allegedly presented $20,000 to ex-FSB officer for contract hit on crime boss

Throughout the early Nineties, Otari Kvantrishvili and Iosif Kobzon co-founded the Protect and Lyre Legislation Enforcement Help Basis and the XXI Century Affiliation. Kvantrishvili additionally established the “Sportsmen of Russia” political birthday celebration, which consisted of Olympic champions, sambo wrestlers, and boxers. Along with his political and social ventures, Kvantrishvili had monetary pursuits in quite a lot of industries within the capital, together with casinos, banks, and oil transportation. Along with legal mastermind Silvester, he managed the extraction of treasured metals.

The investigation into Kvantrishvili’s homicide used to be temporarily labeled as a “chilly case” because of a loss of particular suspects and proof, except a handful of cigarette butts. On the other hand, the killer had deliberately picked up the cigarette butts from bus stops with the intention to misinform investigators. Legislation enforcement companies have been plagued via ongoing leaks in regards to the motives and perpetrators of the crime. Georgy Zhavoronkov, a former officer and biathlon grasp of sports activities, used to be named as a possible murder-for-hire consumer, along with Silvestr. Moreover, participants of the FSB’s Alfa and Vympel particular devices, who were eager about different contract killings, in addition to St. Petersburg Chekists who sought to stop Otarik from gaining keep watch over of the seaport, have been additionally investigated.

A revelation via Ivan Vorontsov, a co-founder of the Russian Federal Bureau of Investigation (FSBI) and previous Presidential Management worker, led to a stir. Vorontsov, who used to be arrested for unlawful ownership of guns, claimed that Alexander Shokhin, a Russian deputy top minister, and his brother Gennady may were concerned within the murder-for-hire. The alleged purpose used to be Otarik’s call for for a big amount of cash to be transferred to his basis. On the other hand, right through confrontations, the terrified Vorontsov didn’t determine somebody and used to be therefore despatched to a psychiatric medical institution.

It used to be no longer till 12 years after the assassination of Otarik that the investigation received momentum with the arrests of participants of the Medvedkovo gang. The infamous hitman, Alexei Sherstobitov (Sharayabgetov), often referred to as Lesha-Soldat, who had already been charged with 12 murders and makes an attempt, used to be printed to be the killer of Kvantrishvili. Throughout interrogation, Lesha-Soldat disclosed that Silvestr had ordered the hit as a result of Otarik had refused to proportion the earnings from the Tuapse oil refinery. The middleman for the contract killing used to be Grigory Gusyatinsky (Grisha Severny), a former senior lieutenant of the KGB, who had grow to be a legal after his dismissal. Gusyatinsky, alternatively, used to be shot lifeless via Lesha-Soldat in Kyiv in 1995 sooner than he might be interrogated. Silvestr had additionally been killed sooner than the trial. Sherstobitov testified that he were given a three-room condominium and a style seven Zhiguli for wearing out the homicide of Kvantrishvili.