Aquascandal: head of Deposit Insurance Agency detained in Moscow

The head of the Deposit Insurance Agency, Andrei Melnikov, was detained by law enforcement officers, a source familiar with the situation told Izvestia on October 23. The investigation suspects him of involvement in corruption crimes. Melnikov is currently in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center. According to sources, Olga Dolgoleva, a former DIA top manager, gave key testimony against him. Meanwhile, the defense has already announced its intention to appeal the measure of restraint. For more information about what is currently known about the detention of Andrei Melnikov and what prospects the high—profile case has, see the Izvestia article.

Detention of the head of the Deposit Insurance Agency

Andrei Melnikov, head of the State Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA), was detained in Moscow. He is suspected of involvement in corruption crimes. This was reported to Izvestia by a source familiar with the situation.

According to the source, the arrest took place on Wednesday, October 23. Melnikov was taken to the FSB investigation department to testify. Currently, the head of the DIA is in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center.

According to experts, Melnikov's detention may be related to the investigation of the case of Alexander Popelyukh, the former deputy head of the DIA, who is involved in a criminal case of embezzlement related to the operation of the Novosibirsk Aquamir water park. Popelyukh was arrested on October 10, 2024 by the decision of the Lefortovo Court of Moscow. He is charged with fraud on a particularly large scale and abuse of official authority.

Olga Dolgoleva, a former DIA top manager who previously oversaw the agency's legal department, is also involved in the same case. According to the investigation, it was she who testified against Melnikov. Investigators believe that Dolgoleva and eight other ex-DIA employees are involved in the theft of about 4 billion rubles received from the operation of the Aquamir water park. According to law enforcement agencies, all the defendants admitted their guilt.

Andrei Melnikov's lawyers stated that they intend to appeal the measure of restraint, considering the detention unjustified.

The investigation is being conducted by the FSB Investigative Department.

What do the experts think

Ekaterina Alexandrovich, a lawyer at the Adyghe Republican Bar Association, explained to Izvestia that for Andrei Melnikov, detention could lead to criminal claims, possible seizure of property and serious damage to his reputation.

— For the DIA, it means internal audit, personnel changes and increased attention from regulatory authorities, and for the market, it means reputational and operational costs. At the same time, there are currently no systemic threats to the banking system," the expert believes.

According to her, in the future, we can expect appeals against the measure of restraint, the continuation of investigative actions and court hearings. Final conclusions will be possible only after the court's decision.

Sofya Lukinova, head of the legal department of VMT Consult, told Izvestia that the arrest of the DIA head may be related to the ongoing investigation of a criminal case of embezzlement in the DIA, where former top managers had previously admitted guilt.

"If the investigation has evidence of his involvement in the same episodes or in other corruption violations, the actions of law enforcement agencies can be qualified as standard procedural measures — detention, interrogation, and subsequent detention," she explained.

From a legal point of view, an arrest does not mean an admission of guilt. Such a preventive measure is applied if the court considers that the accused may abscond, influence witnesses or destroy evidence. If the defense appeals the court's decision, the appeal will be considered within a few days.

Depending on the qualifications of the charges, Melnikov may face punishment under articles on bribery, abuse of authority or fraud, the lawyer believes. The maximum penalties for such compounds include imprisonment for up to 12 years, but the specific consequences will depend on the amount of evidence, the position of the investigation and the court.

— While it is premature to talk about guilt, Melnikov retains the status of a suspect and then an accused until the investigation is completed and the verdict comes into force, with the appropriate rights to defense and the presumption of innocence, — concluded Sofya Lukyanova.

Andrey Melnikov: who is this, a career path

Andrey Melnikov has been associated with the DIA practically since its foundation. From 2004 to 2016, he served as Deputy General Director, overseeing deposit insurance issues and the activities of the Depositors Protection Fund, established in 2014 to support bank customers who lost their licenses.

At the end of 2016, Melnikov temporarily left the DIA and headed the Ministry of Economic Development of the Republic of Crimea. He worked in this position until the end of 2017, after which he served as Vice President of the Association of Banks of Russia in 2018-19.

In July 2019, Melnikov returned to DIA, becoming the first deputy General Director of Yuri Isaev. Two and a half years later, in January 2022, he took over the agency.

In an interview with Kommersant at the end of 2024, Melnikov noted that the DIA was in charge of liquidation procedures at 302 banks, as well as temporary administration at one bank. According to the agency, the total number of creditors of these financial organizations was more than 525 thousand people, and the amount of established claims was 3.17 trillion rubles. Of these, 1.87 trillion rubles accounted for the requirements of the DIA itself.

Melnikov emphasized that in recent years the agency has carried out serious internal transformations — optimized costs, increased the efficiency of property sales and strengthened control over financial flows.

The Deposit Insurance Agency was established in January 2004 in accordance with the law "On Deposit Insurance in Banks of the Russian Federation". The main task of the organization is to protect the interests of depositors and the stability of the banking system. DIA pays compensation to bank customers who have lost their licenses at the expense of the Deposit Insurance Fund, up to 1.4 million rubles for regular accounts and up to 10 million rubles for escrow accounts. In addition, the organization performs the functions of interim administration and bankruptcy trustee in the bankruptcy of banks, non-governmental pension funds and insurance companies, as well as participates in the rehabilitation of credit institutions and measures to prevent their bankruptcy.

The case of Alexander Popelyukh: what is he accused of

Alexander Popelyukh, the former deputy head of the agency, was detained on October 9, 2024 at the request of the FSB investigative department and arrested by the decision of the Lefortovo Court in Moscow. He is accused of fraud on an especially large scale (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and abuse of official authority.

Initially, it was reported that the damage caused by Popelyukh's actions amounts to about 200 million rubles. However, as Izvestia found out, six months later the amount increased almost 15 times to 3 billion rubles. Sources familiar with the investigation say that the claims against the former top manager arose during the investigation of fraudulent schemes related to the bankruptcy of the construction company VDT Stroy.

This company was credited by the Intertopenergobank, but was unable to repay the debt of 2.2 billion rubles. The bank itself lost its license in 2017 for violating legislation on combating money laundering and was subsequently declared bankrupt. After that, the Deposit Insurance Agency took over debt collection at VDT Stroy. As a result, in 2019, the largest aquapark in Russia, Aquamir in Novosibirsk, built by the company, came under the management of DIA.

According to investigators, Alexander Popelyukh, who oversaw bankruptcy proceedings, turned a blind eye to schemes to underestimate income from the operation of the water park. Because of this, a significant part of the funds did not enter the bankruptcy estate. According to sources, Aquamir's annual revenue in the post-pandemic years reached 1.5 billion rubles.

In addition to Popelyukh, businessman Eduard Taran, who is under house arrest, and Evgeny Bogorad, who previously headed the Siberian branch of FSUE FT-Center, are being investigated.