Going under the hammer: the most anticipated court decisions of 2025

The past year was remembered for high-profile trials. The criminal case of blogger Elena Blinovskaya, who is accused of tax evasion and money laundering, is coming to an end. In 2025, a number of other well-known defendants are preparing to hear the verdict - from ex-rector of Kazan Federal University Ilshat Gafurov to Major General Ivan Popov and the leader of Tagan organized crime group Igor Zhirnokleyev. A court decision is expected on the fate of the long-suffering elite apartment of singer Larisa Dolina, who sold it after believing the swindlers. On what other outcomes of court proceedings to expect in the coming year - in the material "Izvestia.

"Queen of marathons" and her wishes

One of the most expected verdicts of 2025 should be the verdict of Elena Blinovskaya. "Queen of marathons" is accused of non-payment of taxes on 733 million rubles, laundering of most of these funds and illegal turnover of means of payment.

Blinovskaya was detained in April 2023 on suspicion of fraud for non-payment of taxes and splitting the business. She was under house arrest for about a year, but after a New Year's Eve party at her cottage, the investigative committee petitioned the court to take the blogger into custody. According to investigators, Blinovskaya continued to lead an active social life even under house arrest and invited a witness in her own case to her party.

Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow agreed with the investigation that Blinovskaya violated the conditions of house arrest, and on January 22, 2024 changed her measure of restraint, placing her in pre-trial detention. Blinovskaya has spent a year there, including the last New Year's Eve night.

The trial over the blogger started in the Savelovsky district court of Moscow in August 2024. According to the version of the Investigative Committee, she divided her vast business into 21 legal entities, including individual entrepreneurs, through which she withdrew the money she earned from selling online courses.

As Blinovskaya's former employees told witnesses in Savelovsky court, the heads of these legal entities and sole proprietorships performed their role only nominally, and their settlement accounts were under the full control of the Blinovsky family. They received funds from participants of "wish marathons" and then - in tranches of up to 35 million rubles - were transferred to the accounts of Elena and Alexei Blinovskikh.

Last year, the court already questioned key witnesses in the Blinovski case - the advertising and smm manager, nominal managers of the companies under her control, and the chief accountant. According to the witnesses, they agreed to register legal entities under threat of dismissal, and they gave all the data of their digital signatures to Blinovskaya's assistants.

The blogger partially pleaded guilty to tax evasion, and repeatedly tried to challenge the amount imputed to her by the tax authorities. However, the courts of various levels refused to do so. The last instance to which Blinovskaya appealed was the Supreme Court - she filed a complaint there on December 12, her tax lawyer Ivan Morozov told Izvestia.

On November 29, 2024, it became known that Blinovskaya repaid her debt to the tax authorities in the amount of 1.173 billion rubles. Now, due to penalties and fines, Blinovskaya's account is again in arrears - just over 400 thousand rubles.

The practice of punishment for tax crimes is most often not connected with imprisonment, but Blinovskaya is charged with a combination of three crimes at once, explained the lawyers interviewed by Izvestia. The maximum punishment for them may be 10.5 years. At the same time, the court may take into account Blinovskaya's full repayment of tax debts as a mitigating circumstance, the lawyers said.

KFU Rector and "shadows of the past"

Another high-profile trial that may end in a speedy verdict is the trial of Ilshat Gafurov, former rector of Kazan Federal University (KFU). The professor is accused of ordering the murder of Aidar Israfilov, a deputy of the Yelabuga council of deputies, who was shot dead in Moscow in 1999.

According to the investigation, the motive for the crime was an alleged public conflict between Israfilov and Gafurov, who at the time held the position of mayor of Yelabuga. According to the case materials, as well as open sources, Israfilov repeatedly criticized Gafurov and accused him of corruption. The prosecution believes that this was the reason why Gafurov decided to "order" Israfilov.

Gafurov was detained in December 2021, and the court chose a measure of restraint in the form of detention. This happened after one of the leaders of the organized crime group "29th Complex" Adygan Salyakhov (known in the criminal world as Alik Bolshoi) testified against him. In November 2020, Salyakhov, by then already convicted of a number of serious crimes, confessed to organizing Israfilov's murder and pointed to Gafurov as the customer.

He told the investigation that Gafurov "ordered" Israfilov twice, but the first time the deputy survived. The second attempt proved fatal. Both times, according to Salyakhov, Gafurov turned to the "29th Complex" for the execution of the murder and offered $100,000 for the crime. The prosecution believes that in the 1990s Gafurov, who was engaged in business, was under the patronage of this organized crime group.

In May 2023, the case went to court. The witnesses questioned at the hearing confirmed the prosecution's version of the conflict between Gafurov and Israfilov. They also characterized Gafurov as a mayor who, more than anyone else, cared about the city.

Ilshat Gafurov faces 15 to 20 years in prison for two episodes of crimes - a failed assassination attempt and a completed murder - the lawyers believe.

Larisa Dolina and her apartment

In 2025, the Khamovnichesky Court of Moscow is likely to rule on the counterclaims of singer Larisa Dolina and the buyer of her apartment, Polina Lurie.

In August 2024, the popular artist became a victim of fraudsters - she began to receive calls allegedly from "law enforcers" who warned the singer that her savings and property in danger. Larisa Dolina believed them, sold her elite apartment in 236 square meters in the center of Moscow for only 112 million rubles (at a price of at least 180 million rubles), gave the courier attackers this money, as well as transferred to a number of cards. In addition, she gave the fraudsters several tens of millions more rubles from her own savings.

When the scam was uncovered, Dolina refused to move out of the sold apartment and filed a lawsuit to recognize the deal as bonded. In turn, Lurie filed a lawsuit to evict the singer, her daughter and granddaughter from the sold apartment.

The process on the claims of Dolina and Lurie started in October 2024. The court combined both lawsuits in one proceeding, sessions on it are held in closed mode. The lawyers of the parties do not comment to journalists on what is happening in court. It is only known that at one of the last sessions the court questioned witnesses. And Pauline Lurie's defense told Izvestia that a settlement agreement would be a desirable outcome for her.

What decision the court will make will largely depend on the outcome of the criminal fraud case, which is currently being investigated by the Investigative Committee, lawyers told Izvestia. Almost six months later, new defendants are still appearing in the case. To date, there are four of them- they are couriers and drops: 53-year-old Angela Tsyrulnikova, 43-year-old Dmitry Leontiev, 27-year-old previously convicted resident of Tatarstan and 20-year-old resident of Togliatti (the latter was detained under the curtain of 2024, December 25). The next hearing in the civil case is scheduled for January 14.

Major General Ivan Popov and the theft of humanitarian aid

In 2025, the Tambov Garrison Court is very likely to sentence one of a number of high-ranking Defense Ministry officials arrested in 2024 - former commander of the 58th Army of the Russian Armed Forces Major General Ivan Popov.

According to the investigation, Popov is suspected of embezzling over 1.7 thousand tons of rolled metal products, which the military-civil administration of Zaporizhzhya Region purchased for humanitarian aid. The materials, the theft of which is attributed to General Popov, were intended for the equipment of engineering defensive structures on the line of contact. Their value is estimated at 130 million rubles.

Ivan Popov was detained on May 24, 2024 and charged with fraud committed by an organized group of persons on a particularly large scale with the use of official position. In the latest version of the charges, the IC added a charge of official forgery.

The court has been hearing his case since September 2024. The former commander of the 58th Army of the Russian Armed Forces did not admit his guilt, the defense insists on his innocence.

In addition, last November, the Investigative Committee announced the completion of the criminal case against Ivan Popov's colleague, former Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov.

Timur Ivanov was detained on April 23, 2024. Investigators charged him with three episodes of crimes at once - embezzlement of 200 million rubles in the purchase of two ferries for the Kerch crossing, embezzlement of over 3 billion rubles of Interkommerts Bank and receiving a bribe of 1.185 billion rubles in the provision of services of a proprietary nature during contract and subcontract work for the needs of the Ministry of Defense.

In the near future, the case of the former Deputy Minister of Defense will be submitted to the court, he did not admit his guilt.

OPG Taganskaya and "skeletons of the nineties"

The case of the oldest Moscow criminal group - Taganskaya - can be called long-lasting: it came to the Moscow City Court in July 2021 and continues until now. In the dock - 10 defendants, all of them are accused of grave and especially grave crimes committed in the capital in the 1990s and 2000s.

Among the imputed "Tagansky" episodes are several particularly brutal murders - the general director of JSC "Rospischeprom" Valery Zhuravlev, businessmen Armen Avanesov, Alexei Pokrovsky, lawyer of the department store "Moscow" Andrei Bralyuk, lawyer Natalia Vavilina. Vavilina was killed in 2017 on the orders of her former client, in whose favor she was unable to recover the property pledged in the bank.

The leader of the organized crime group Igor Zhirnokleev (Zhirny) and his right-hand man Grigory Rabinovich (Grisha Tagansky) were arrested in January 2019. Along with them in the dock were also ordinary members of the group - Oleg Rusanov, Boris Tretyak, Dmitry Yukhnevich, Igor Balashov, German Grishin, Gennady Lukyanov, Sergei Shcherbakov, Sergei Shchukarev and Marat Yanbukhtin.

Depending on the role of each , they were charged with banditry, organization and participation in a criminal association, murder, kidnapping, extortion, robbery, illegal trafficking of weapons and ammunition, illegal manufacture of explosives and weapons, as well as fraud and theft.

As a representative of the prosecution told the court, the OCG traditionally gathered in the restaurant "Zakarpattya Uzory" in the Tagansky district of Moscow. That is why the gang was given such a name.

Just two months after the beginning, the trial of the "Tagansky" was interrupted due to a lack of jurors. As some media claimed, some jurors were afraid to try members of one of the most dangerous groups in the capital and sought to drop out of the panel.

At the moment, the case of the "Taganskys" is being considered by the second jury panel. During its selection, one of the main defendants in the case, Grigory Rabinovich, died in the pre-trial detention center. However, the court did not stop his case - Rabinovich is still listed as a defendant.

At the end of last year, the process was noticeably accelerated, and now the court is questioning key witnesses - the next hearing is scheduled for January 13.

Igor Zhirnokleev has not pleaded guilty to any of the episodes. As the organizer of the organized crime group, he faces a life sentence, while his subordinates face 15 to 20 years in prison, lawyers believe.