Confiscation of desires: Elena Blinovskaya was asked for six years in prison
Elena Blinovskaya may receive six years in a general regime colony and lose most of her, and not only her, property. This was requested by the prosecutor in Savelovsky court during the arguments of the parties. Blinovskaya's lawyers insisted that the blogger's guilt was immeasurably less than the prosecution tried to prove, and asked for a suspended sentence for her. In addition, in a conversation with Izvestia, the defendant's lawyers denied the information previously circulated in the media about the blogger's full repayment of the tax debt. According to them, 1.73 billion rubles of debt disappeared from her personal tax account in connection with the bankruptcy recognition, and not with the actual payment.
What the prosecution wants for Blinovskaya
Scandalously famous blogger Yelena Blinovskaya faces six years in a general regime colony in the case of non-payment of taxes - such a term requested for her by the prosecutor. The case of the "queen of marathons" is nearing its finale - during the debate of the parties on February 13 in Savelovsky district court of Moscow, the representative of the prosecution insisted on full proof of Blinovskaya's guilt. And, in addition to the real term, asked to sentence her to a fine of 1.5 million and a ban on commercial activity for five years.
The prosecutor also asked the court to confiscate the property, which was seized during the preliminary investigation. We are talking not only about the property of the defendant and her husband Alexei Blinovsky, but also all other close relatives, including parents and brother. These are cash in accounts, more than 50 land plots, buildings and premises, parking lots, cars Bentley Continental and Lamborghini Urus.
Blinovskaya was detained in April 2023 on suspicion of fraud for non-payment of taxes in the amount of about 918 million rubles. In addition, she was charged with laundering of most of these funds and illegal turnover of payments. January 16, Savelovsky district court extended Blinovskaya's preventive measure in the form of detention until May 2. The blogger appealed the decision, but the Moscow City Court left it unchanged.
In November last year, the media, citing data from the portal "My Tax," reported that Blinovskaya had allegedly paid the state 1.17 billion rubles, which consisted of the principal debt and accrued penalties and fines. However, Ivan Morozov, Blinovskaya's tax consultant, denied to Izvestia the rumors about the blogger's full repayment of her tax debt.
At the end of November last year, the amount imputed by the state disappeared from Blinovskaya's personal account. According to Ivan Morozov, the enforcement proceedings against her have indeed been terminated, this fact was confirmed to "Izvestia" and in the press service of the main interregional department of the Federal Bailiff Service. But according to the lawyer, this is not due to the repayment of debt, but to the recognition of Blinovskaya as bankrupt - the decision was made last November by the Arbitration Court of Moscow and began the realization of her property.
In bankruptcy, enforcement proceedings are terminated automatically, the lawyer explained. The blogger tried to appeal the decision to declare her bankrupt, but the Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal recognized it legal and upheld it.
- Elena partially repaid the debt in the amount of 300 million rubles. The tax debt today amounted to Br587.6 million," said the lawyer.
This was confirmed at the hearing by the prosecutor - she asked the court to specify the new amount of the debt, taking into account the partial repayment.
To complete the gestalt
Before the debate of the parties, the blogger's bankruptcy trustee asked to remove the arrest from some of Blinovskaya's property, but the court refused her. And the blogger's lawyer Natalia Salnikova handed the court a message from the Moscow Center for Gestalt Therapy about its readiness to employ Blinovskaya as a teacher if the court chooses a non-custodial sentence for her.
Natalia Salnikova, lawyer of blogger Elena Blinovskaya
The blogger's lawyers also asked the court to exclude the tax expertise conducted as part of the case from the case file, as it, according to them, "contains a huge number of errors and inconsistencies". This, the lawyers said, was due to the fact that the investigators did not hand over some of the evidence confirming the legality of Blinovskaya's income to the experts for examination.
- There are 12 boxes of such evidence, but the experts have not seen them," the defense lawyers said. - They examined only Blinovskaya's current accounts, so the evidence, which is now in the case, is incomplete and unreliable. An expert examination, in which only current accounts were examined, cannot be considered complete.
The prosecution strongly objected to this, claiming that Blinovskaya's lawyers were trying their best to delay the trial. The defense lawyers insisted on the need to appoint a second expert examination, but the court denied them both requests.
During the debate, which began immediately afterwards, the prosecutor said that based on the results of the study of the evidence presented, it is absolutely clear that Blinovskaya committed all three crimes. With the complicity of her husband, she evaded taxes, knowingly knowing that the money was obtained as a result of illegal actions.
- Was Blinovskaya really just a fairy and a celebrity whose job was only to write marathons? - asked the state prosecutor. - We are sure she was not. She knew everything and had intent.
According to the prosecutor, Blinovskaya acquired a number of legal entities, each of which operated under the simplified taxation system as independent enterprises. But this independence was imaginary: all legal entities acted as a single business entity, the "copyrights" to which belonged to Blinovskaya. Therefore, the prosecutor concluded, only the blogger, not her employees, should be held responsible for all actions.
What the lawyers said
In their response, the lawyers said that Blinovskaya did not have a direct intent to commit a crime and that part of the guilt imputed to her also lies with her employees, as well as her husband.
- How could Blinovskaya, being pregnant and raising three children, still keep track of what loans her husband was taking? - the defense lawyers asked.
They asked for a suspended sentence for the defendant.
The husband of blogger Elena Blinovskaia Alexey Blinovski
Earlier, the husband of Elena Blinovskaia Alexei fully took the blame for the crushing of his wife's business. Speaking in court, he said that he himself proposed to formalize each marathon on a separate legal entity. At the same time, Blinovsky added, he had no intention of tax evasion - he was sure that these actions would "simplify accounting."
The blogger's husband explained the opening of various legal entities and Elena's rapidly growing business, which was difficult to predict. Because of this pace, Blinovsky said, he and his wife did not have time to train personnel on their own.
In court, Blinovskaya fully admitted guilt, assured that her position was sincere, and admitted that from the very first day of the investigation she had written a confession of guilt. The blogger said that she had been engaged in online marathons since 2014 and started this activity with her friends, and then her husband joined her, who had to quit his job and help.
Will there be a suspended sentence
If Elena Blinovskaya had repaid the debt in full, the court would have had the legal right to release her from criminal liability, said Oleg Sopotsinsky, managing partner of the MILL Law Office, in a conversation with Izvestia.
- However, in addition to tax evasion, she is also accused of committing two other serious crimes - money laundering and illegal circulation of means of payment," the lawyer said. - The law does not provide grounds for exemption from criminal liability under these offenses.
Blinovskaya's husband's admission of guilt in crushing the business is not in itself a direct mitigating circumstance, explained Yury Mirzoev, general director of the Mitra National Law Company.
- If her husband's guilt is proven, he will face his own punishment," the lawyer said. - Blinovskaya's sentence may be affected indirectly, if the court considers that she acted under the influence of her husband. However, given that Blinovskaya herself pleaded guilty, this impact may be considered immaterial.
Anton Emelin, senior partner at Aronov & Partners, a Moscow-based law firm, believes that Blinovskaya's confession of guilt and partial repayment of the tax authority's claims are certainly mitigating circumstances in the case.
- I have no doubt that Elena Blinovskaya has other mitigating circumstances," he said. - For example, the presence of minor children, dependent relatives.
Given the non-violent nature and economic nature of the imputed crimes, the sentence to the blogger should not be very harsh, said the interviewed lawyers. At the same time, they believe that Blinovskaya should not expect a suspended sentence either.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
