Burden case: accounts of business partner of former Supreme Court judge arrested

On October 8, the Ostankino District Court of Moscow arrested the money accounts of businessman Andrei Marchenko, a business partner of former Supreme Court judge Viktor Momotov, chairman of the Council of Judges of the Russian Federation. These are the results of the first meeting on the claim of the Prosecutor General's Office, which demands the seizure of assets worth a total of 9 billion rubles, allegedly belonging to the former judge. Marchenko and Momotov have been business partners since 2007. At that time, he was not yet a judge, but when he received this status, he continued to engage in business, re-registering it with nominal owners, the Prosecutor General's Office believes. For example, he transferred part of the property to his elderly mother. In addition, prosecutors believe that prostitution flourished in the hotel chain owned by Marchenko and Momotov, and the former judge used his status to cover up this business. The details of the case are in the Izvestia article.

What is Viktor Momotov suspected of?

On October 8, the Ostankino Court of Moscow hosted the first hearing on the claim of the Prosecutor General's Office against Viktor Momotov, ex-judge of the Supreme Court, Chairman of the Council of Judges of the Russian Federation, and 22 other persons affiliated with him. According to the supervisory authority, the former judge, despite his status, was engaged in entrepreneurial activity — he actively participated in the hotel business in Moscow, Krasnodar Territory, Rostov, Voronezh, Volgograd, Nizhny Novgorod and Kaliningrad regions. Momotov's assets are estimated at 9 billion rubles, and the Prosecutor General's Office demanded their withdrawal by filing a lawsuit on September 23, 2025.

Moreover, the department insists that it was the judicial status that helped Viktor Momotov to realize his business interests.

According to the case file, the cooperation between Momotov and Krasnodar businessman Andrei Marchenko began back in 2007 with the purchase of a building in Krasnodar for the Marton Pashkovsky hotel. Then the partners acquired the object in equal shares. After becoming a judge of the Supreme Court in 2010, Momotov transferred the share to his mother, born in 1935. At the same time, the woman changed her last name from Momotova to Laryanova. The Prosecutor General's Office pointed out that due to her age and lack of knowledge and experience, the woman could not manage the hotel — therefore, the agency considers the change of ownership to be nominal.

"Momotov decided to use his status and immunity to cover up his assets," the prosecutor said during the hearing. — There was something to cover up. These are not only hotels, but also illegal activities, namely the provision of sex services, hourly rooms and saunas.

In addition, the judge used his official position to develop a personal business, the case file notes. Momotov allegedly interacted with the leaders of the Pokrovsky organized criminal group, Andrei Korovaiko and Oleg Chebanov, who are now on the international wanted list in the case of organizing a criminal community and attempted fraud. According to the supervisory authority, they have formed assets through the corrupt use of power, forceful seizures and the issuance of unlawful judicial acts.

According to the prosecutor's office, Momotov and Marchenko received land plots and two non-residential buildings in Rostov-on-Don in 2010 for their help to the Pokrovskys, on the site of which the ten-storey Marton Sedova Hotel was built. The share in it was registered to the judge's mother, and then nominally re-registered to his partner.

"The hotels were built on sites that were being withdrawn from municipal ownership, and the hotels themselves were built in violation of fire safety," the prosecutor emphasized. — Momotov used his patronage to adopt the necessary judicial acts.

Later, according to the plaintiff, the judge decided to register his property on Marchenko or on trusted persons from his entourage. At the same time, in fact, the defendants continued to own and manage the property complex jointly, according to the prosecutor's office.

In total, 44 land plots and 51 real estate objects — hotels, bath complexes and hookah bars - were registered for Marchenko and the persons under his control. The ex-judge and entrepreneur created a network of 40 Marton business hotels in the Krasnodar Territory, Rostov Region, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kaliningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Vologda and Moscow. At the same time, the hotels were put into operation under the guise of individual residential buildings and in violation of the intended purpose of the sites.

It also follows from the case file that in 2018-2019 Momotov and Marchenko initiated legal proceedings and collected more than 100 million rubles from the budget of Krasnodar in a fictitious dispute. They received compensation for the loss of the land plot, which in fact did not belong to Marchenko and could not be used for its intended purpose.

What the court decided

The appointment of Momotov to the post of judge of the Supreme Court was facilitated by the former chairman of the Krasnodar Regional Court, Alexander Chernov, the prosecutor's office said. According to a representative of the supervisory authority, at the time of his appointment, Momotov had no experience working in the judicial system or law enforcement agencies. Subsequently, Momotov provided patronage to Chernov.

In August 2025, the Krasnogorsk City Court of the Moscow Region, at the request of the Prosecutor General's Office, confiscated assets worth about 13 billion rubles from Chernov, including 25 land plots, 19 commercial buildings, 18 office premises, 12 apartments and 13 parking spaces. A total of 87 properties were converted to federal ownership.

At the court hearing, Viktor Momotov said that it was Marchenko who approached him with an offer to buy an unfinished building, which was then supposed to be completed.

— I invested 2 million rubles, these were my accumulated funds, as I received good money, — said the ex-judge. — Marchenko completed the facility and, as a hotelier, opened a mini-hotel. I received a share, which I gave to my mother, which in turn was bought by Marchenko. Since 2018, my mother is not an owner. I have never been involved in entrepreneurial activity.

According to him, "there is no evidence in the case file that he was involved in patronage."

— I did not break the laws and did not enrich myself. I have nothing to do with Marchenko's property," Momotov said. — This lawsuit was just a blow, including for health reasons. It's a simple blow, my life is crossed out.

The Prosecutor General's Office also believes that Momotov and Marchenko evaded taxes. The damage amounted to 500 million rubles, the prosecutor said during the hearing.

— Momotov artificially fragmented the business and evaded taxes. The damage has not been repaid yet," the prosecutor said.

The result of the first meeting was the arrest of all Marchenko's money accounts, his representative Gayane Harutyunyan told Izvestia. Shortly before that, on September 30, the Oktyabrsky Court of Krasnodar sent Marchenko under arrest in a particularly large-scale fraud case, his lawyer Ivan Dvorovenko told Izvestia.

"We hope to take a break for a few days to study additional materials, as well as for the possibility of concluding a settlement agreement," Nikita Filippov, Momotov's lawyer, said at the meeting.

The next meeting is scheduled to take place on October 10, 2025.

What threatens Viktor Momotov

The case of Viktor Momotov attracts attention because of the scale of the claims, said Timur Akmalov, a lawyer at the Protector law firm. The expert recalled that cases against judges have a number of specific features.

"Financial and property issues are often considered especially carefully, since judges should not have significant unreasonable sources of income according to the law," he said. — The income of judges, even in high positions, does not allow them to legally accumulate a fortune of 9 billion rubles.

The peculiarity of the cases involving judges is that there is a double contour of guarantees of status and responsibility, said Alexey Gavrishev, lawyer and managing partner of AVG Legal.

"On the one hand, disciplinary and personnel issues are resolved through the qualification authorities, and Momotov is already retired, retaining some of the guarantees of the status of a retired judge," he said. — On the other hand, an anti—corruption civil lawsuit is possible regardless of the existence of a criminal case and is aimed specifically at a property result: to show the discrepancy between expenses and legitimate income and to seize assets, including those registered to affiliated companies, if their actual control by the defendant is proved.

The law explicitly prohibits the judge from entrepreneurship and participation in the management of business entities, therefore, any significant property mass arising through "trusted persons" or partners naturally raises questions and becomes the focus of the lawsuit, Alexey Gavrishev added.

— The scheme is often typical for high—profile anti—corruption disputes: a network of objects formally registered with third parties and the thesis of actual control - we have seen similar designs in recent cases of the seizure of large blocks of real estate and assets from other public figures, - said the expert.

In Momotov's case, the word "corruption" means "direct influence on some court decisions through pressure from a higher level in his person," Timur Akmalov noted. Not only Russian business entities are interested in such decisions, but also officials.

"The persons who formalize the businesses themselves and carry out any operations on the accounts are quite strongly sheltered by the subjects of criminal activity," he noted. — In a particular case, it can be quite difficult to detect such criminal elements, even for a supervisory authority.

In the future, if sufficient evidence becomes available, criminal cases on corruption charges may be initiated, experts say. As punishment, Momotov faces fines, criminal punishment, deprivation of the right to hold certain positions, and actual imprisonment for up to 18 years.