Customs will give good: Prosecutor General's Office asks to seize 25 mln from ex-FTS official

Almost 25 million rubles belonging to the arrested colonel of the Federal Customs Service Alexander Aleyev may be converted to the state income. The corresponding suit of the Prosecutor General's Office will be considered by the Nikulinsky Court of Moscow on November 20. According to the supervisory agency, the civil servant could illegally charge these funds for the clearance of cars and other goods. Now the ex-customs officer is a defendant in the bribery case. Russia lacks a service that would systematically check the income and expenditures of officials, so often information about their excessive incomes can be found only as part of criminal investigations into corruption cases, experts said.

Who is Colonel Aleyev?

Arrested in a criminal case of bribery, the former head of the Electronic Declaration Center of the Central Excise Customs of the Federal Customs Service Alexander Aleyev risks losing the funds, which, according to the investigation, he illegally received during his service, a source in law enforcement agencies told "Izvestia".

The claim to seize the income of $91 thousand and 16 million rubles, which the law enforcement agencies consider corrupt, was filed in the Nikulinsky district court of Moscow by Anatoly Razinkin, the first deputy prosecutor general. This claim will be considered on Wednesday, November 20, follows from the data on the court's website.

Colonel FCS Aleyev was arrested on March 23, 2023. Together with him on the same case of bribery was detained deputy head of the Central Customs Directorate Major General Alexander Beglov.

As previously reported by the source of "Izvestiya" in law enforcement agencies, it was about the amount of 3.8 million rubles. However, according to the information in the lawsuit (Izvestiya has it), now Aleyev is charged with 2.5 million rubles, which is a large and especially large amount (paragraphs 5 and 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Beglov, in addition to the bribe, is also charged with mediation in its receipt.

Then, in 2023, law enforcers searched the workplaces, apartments and country houses of the suspects and seized more than 40 million rubles, as well as documents, information media and expensive items, in particular watches.

As follows from the lawsuit, from 2001 to 2022, Alexander Aleyev declared an income of Br18.7 million. During the search in his house in Odintsovo near Moscow, $91 thousand and 16 million rubles were found and seized (i.e. about 25 million rubles in total). This clearly does not correspond to the official income received by the defendant, the lawsuit says.

The origin of part of this money, namely about 6.5 million, Aleyev tried to explain by a gift from his retired father. However, the reliability of this fact remained unconfirmed, the document of the supervisory agency says.

It also follows from Aleyev's testimony that he received the money seized during the search from another defendant in the case, Alexander Beglov, "as a loan for personal purposes, as well as for the needs of the SVO". However, in a conversation with the investigators, Beglov denied this version of his colleague in the customs shop. He explained that from December 2022 to March 2023, he, together with Aleev, received two bribes totaling about $50 thousand from businessmen for "unimpeded customs clearance of consumer goods and cars imported into Russia.

This fact was confirmed by the businessmen during the interrogation.

Significant income from illegal sources

Colonel Alexander Aleyev took the post of head of the Electronic Declaration Center (EDC) of the Central Excise Customs in February 2019. And on May 13, 2024, he was relieved of his post due to loss of confidence.

The Central Excise CED was set up for remote declaration of goods by legal entities and entrepreneurs. Among its powers is the performance of customs clearance, that is, "customs clearance" and "customs clearance" of any excisable goods. This includes, in particular, alcohol, tobacco products, medicines, vehicles, and petroleum products. Transportation can be made by any means of transportation.

"The verification of information Aleyev on income established the fact that he committed a corruption offense and conflict of interest in the service," - stated in the lawsuit. It also states that before entering the service in the FCS of Russia in 2001, the defendant did not have expensive property and savings.

"These circumstances in the aggregate indicate that during the period of occupation of a position in the federal civil service Aleyev systematically violated the prohibitions and restrictions established for this category of employees. It is established that in addition to salary, he received significant income from illegal sources", - stated in the lawsuit of the Prosecutor General's office.

It specifies that "by his actions, Aleyev entered into a conflict of interest in the service and did not resolve it, as well as did not provide complete and accurate information about his property, sources of his income, its size and legality".

The Prosecutor General's Office asked the court to return nearly 25 million rubles of Aleyev to the state income "as property obtained from sources not provided for by law.

In recent years, in connection with investigations into corruption offenses at customs, supervisory authorities have repeatedly filed lawsuits in courts to seize illegal property from the defendants, Nikolai Titov, co-founder of a.t.Legal, told Izvestia.

- For example, in September 2023, the prosecutor's office through the court demanded that the real estate and vehicles worth more than 50 million rubles seized from the head of the customs department in Svetlogorsk be returned to the state," the lawyer said.

Denis Talyzin, a lawyer with Klishin & Partners, confirmed to Izvestia that customs officials are periodically involved in such lawsuits.

- Many of the current customs officials started their careers in the 90s, when customs in general was quite corrupt, and most goods were imported into the country with the replacement of the customs code to reduce their value, - said the lawyer.

Change of ownership

The money seized from Colonel Aleyev has already been seized as part of the criminal proceedings. This means that the accused cannot dispose of them, but continues to be the owner, explained Nikolai Titov. In accordance with the law on combating corruption, prosecutors are obliged to react to the fact that a public servant has undeclared money and file a lawsuit to return it to the state, the lawyer added.

There is no service in Russia that would systematically check the income and expenses of civil servants and their compliance with the information provided in their declarations, Denis Talyzin added. In this regard, as a rule, information about the excessive income of officials can be found out only within the framework of criminal investigation of corruption cases against them.

- Given that the investigation of a criminal case and its consideration in court may be delayed, the seizure of already seized property within the framework of the prosecutor's action is much faster, - said the lawyer.

At the same time, he added, if there are victims in a criminal case, who were harmed by the actions of the official, the seizure of property will be maintained until the resolution of their civil claim. And first the damage is compensated to the victim, after which the remaining property is recovered in the state income.

According to lawyers interviewed by Izvestia, there are several reasons that push businesses to bribe customs officials.

- As a rule, it is easier and cheaper for businessmen to negotiate on the spot than to defend their rights in accordance with the law," Nikolai Titov believes. - And this can be used by unscrupulous customs officers.

Thus, business may be interested in applying reduced customs duties or exemption from customs duties to imported goods. With regard to cars, it is relevant to draw up documents confirming the payment of customs duty in full, but with the actual payment of a smaller amount - for example, when using a scheme of temporary or transit importation, the lawyers summarized.