Fragmentation and punishment: why Elena Blinovskaya received five years in a penal colony

Almost 600 million rubles in tax arrears, confiscation of property acquired with her husband for a total of about 2 billion and five years in a penal colony — this is the result of the trial of Elena Blinovskaya. There will be no reprieve from punishment either, although in the last word the blogger asked to be given the opportunity to raise three young children. Blinovskaya will be credited with the time spent under house arrest and in jail, which means she has about two years left in the colony. Lawyers called the verdict harsh. In their opinion, it shows that government agencies intend to actively control the sphere of large incomes of the self-employed, sole proprietors and legal entities related to information products.

What punishment Blinovskaya received

On March 3, the Savelovsky District Court of Moscow found Elena Blinovskaya guilty of tax evasion on an especially large scale, money laundering, and illegal circulation of funds of payments and sentenced her to five years in a general regime penal colony. This is only one year less than the term that the prosecutor requested for Blinovskaya.

At the same time, Blinovskaya was released from criminal prosecution under the article on tax evasion due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. That is, in fact, the five-year term was formed based on the results of two crimes that the court considered proven.

During this period, the court decided to set off the time Blinovskaya spent under house arrest and in jail. One day in jail will be counted for one and a half days in the colony.

Blinovskaya was detained on April 27, 2023 while trying to travel abroad and was initially placed under house arrest. However, in January 2024, at the request of the investigation, the court transferred her to a pre-trial detention center in connection with violations of the conditions of a milder measure of restraint. Blinovskaya spent a total of two years and three months under both types of arrest. Of these, nine months of house arrest and a year and a half in jail.

When asked how long Blinovskaya remained in prison, her lawyer Natalia Salnikova explained that there are subtleties in this topic of offsets and they need to be calculated. According to Izvestia calculations, the blogger will spend at least two years in a penal colony.

In addition to the appointment of a five—year term, the court recovered 587 million rubles from Blinovskaya at the request of the prosecutor's office - this is the same tax arrears that remained with her after partial repayment of almost a billion debt. And he confiscated the blogger's property in the amount of 650 million rubles, which was seized during the preliminary investigation.

Earlier, in the Blinovskaya bankruptcy case, the court seized property belonging to her husband Alexei Blinovsky in the amount of about 1.4 billion rubles. It includes 66 land plots, buildings and other real estate objects in Moscow, Crimea, Adygea, Yaroslavl and Kostroma regions, money in bank accounts, as well as movable property and shares in legal entities. The court also decided to confiscate all this property.

In addition, the court fined the blogger 1 million rubles. with the deprivation of the right to engage in commercial activities for a period of four years. This measure will take effect after serving the term.

What was the blogger accused of

According to investigators, Blinovskaya and her husband created a scheme to split up their large-scale business selling wish marathons and distribute profits to different legal entities and sole proprietors. She transferred each of them to a simplified taxation system, which allowed her to avoid paying taxes by 918 million rubles.

And Blinovskaya legalized 716 million rubles of this amount through the mediation of her husband Alexei Blinovsky, the prosecution believes.

— In addition, Blinovskaya acquired access to the electronic means of payments of two controlled legal entities and, without the knowledge of their general directors, made payments to the accounts of these organizations in order to legalize funds, the UK said.

In fact, taking into account the accrued penalties and fines, the blogger's debt to the state exceeded one billion, but she was able to repay only part of this amount — about 300 million rubles.

Earlier, the blogger's husband fully took the blame for the fragmentation of his wife's business, but the court did not take this into account as a mitigating circumstance when sentencing Blinovskaya. The court also denied her a reprieve from serving her sentence, which the "marathon queen" had requested earlier in her last statement. The blogger has three young children (the youngest daughter was born in 2020), and, according to her, she repented of the crime and even wrote a confession.

"I ask that even in the case of the most severe punishment, we do not exclude the possibility of applying article 82, on postponement," she said in the last word. — My main responsibility is to be a mother to my children and take care of their upbringing.

After the verdict was announced, numerous journalists surrounded Blinovskaya's parents, trying to find out from them whether they considered the verdict cruel and who would raise the blogger's three minor children while she was serving her sentence.

— A man was just torn to pieces, and as if you don't understand it, you ask me questions. It's even funny," the blogger's mother said angrily.

Blinovskaya's father suggested that the issue of children should be addressed to the court. After that, the blogger's parents tried to hide from the media as quickly as possible.

During the arguments between the parties, the blogger's lawyers tried to convince the court to exclude the article on money laundering from the charges and not satisfy the prosecutor's claim for confiscation of property. However, the court did not consider their requests.

— We asked for a postponement, we asked not to choose a punishment related to imprisonment, so in our opinion, the sentence is, of course, harsh, — Blinovskaya's lawyer Natalia Salnikova told Izvestia. — Regarding the appeal of the decision, we need to coordinate our position with the principal. I think the defense tactics will become clear next week.

When asked who the blogger's children would stay with, the lawyer replied that it was "a family matter, they will figure it out."

There will be no delay

Five years in prison is a harsh punishment for such crimes, says criminal defense lawyer Tatiana Pashkevich. Especially considering that Blinovskaya pleaded guilty and partially compensated for the damage.

— Recently, the president expressed support for a bill banning the arrest of pregnant women and those with young children for minor and moderate crimes, the lawyer recalled. — In general, this means a certain bias towards humanization in relation to the accused women. However, this sentence runs counter to such a policy, as it is a real deprivation of liberty for a mother of four children.

Most likely, the verdict will either be overturned on appeal, or the appointed term will be reduced, the lawyer believes. And taking into account the time that Blinovskaya has already spent under house arrest and in jail, as well as the time that the appeal will take, after arriving in the colony she will be able to apply for parole almost immediately.

The verdict can be called quite harsh, especially considering the practice in similar cases, said Maria Yakovleva, director of the Yakovlev and Partners law group.

— Imprisonment for five years in a general regime colony is a serious punishment for an economic crime, given that the defendant had no previous criminal record and admitted guilt, the lawyer said. — However, the court probably took into account not only the amount of damage (more than 900 million rubles), but also actions to legalize illegal income, which qualifies as a more serious crime.

This verdict, Maria Yakovleva added, could be a signal to other bloggers, especially those who earn significant incomes but do not take tax discipline and financial transparency seriously enough. First of all, it shows that government agencies actively control the sphere of large incomes of the self-employed, individual entrepreneurs and legal entities related to information products.

Blinovskaya was accused of serious crimes, and money laundering is also an act that encroaches on the financial system of the state. Courts are less likely to delay such crimes. In general, Blinovskaya's sentence shows a tightening of control over tax evasion and money laundering, but it cannot be said that it goes beyond the scope of Russian judicial practice, the lawyer concluded.