Mercenary alcohol: the perpetrators of poisoning with "Mr. Cider" were sent to the colonies

On September 22, the Krasnoglinsky District Court of Samara announced the verdict in the criminal case of mass poisoning with the drink "Mr. Cider", which contained deadly methanol. As a result of its use, 50 people died. The liquid was stolen from the Interior Ministry warehouse. The perpetrators received long prison terms. On the same day, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a bill aimed at preventing such tragic stories: they plan to confiscate products, equipment and raw materials from all violators of the methanol turnover. But most often, methanol is produced underground to reduce the cost of producing surrogate alcohol. The details are in the Izvestia article.

How the producers of "Mr. Cider" were punished

A court in Samara has sentenced Mr. Cider beverage producer Anar Huseynov to nine years in prison for making and distributing a toxic drink that caused mass poisoning. Artyom Hayrapetyan, who supplied alcohol—containing liquid with methanol content, was sentenced to eight years.

Anar Huseynov, an individual entrepreneur and founder of Andi LLC, has been producing Mr. Cider since 2022 in the village of Vintai in the Samara region, the Investigative Committee reported. The drink was sold in bottling in the Samara and Ulyanovsk regions, as well as in chain stores in Udmurtia. According to investigators, in May 2023, two more defendants in the case, Dmitry and Alexey Egorov, together with police officer Ivan Grebenkin, stole 6 tons of methyl alcohol from the warehouse of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the Samara region. It was stored there after it was seized by law enforcement officers during inspections. Grebenkin was guarding the warehouse at the time.

The Egorovs sold the stolen alcohol to Artyom Hayrapetyan, who sold it to Anar Huseynov. He used it in the production of the alcoholic drink "Mr. Cider". According to the investigation, the manufacturers of cider deliberately refused to comply with the natural technology of making the drink. This is how they tried to reduce costs and production time.

After a series of poisonings, Rospotrebnadzor seized 66.5 thousand liters of "Mr. Cider" in 15 regions of the country. Its supplies were blocked throughout Russia. Huseynov and Hayrapetyan were detained immediately after the emergency and charged with the production and sale of alcohol-containing products that do not meet safety requirements, resulting in mass deaths due to negligence.

Of the 116 people injured after drinking the drink, 50 received life-threatening poisoning.

During the debate, the prosecutor demanded that the businessman be sentenced to nine years and nine months in a penal colony, and when passing a verdict, take into account the degree of public danger of the crime committed — it is considered grave and directed against public health. The defendants did not admit their guilt.

"Given the exceptional severity of the consequences, I consider it necessary to impose a punishment close to the maximum for the defendants," the prosecutor said. — I ask you to consider the presence of minor children among the defendants as a mitigating circumstance.

The relatives of the victims filed several lawsuits against the defendants for compensation for moral damage. In February 2024, the Egorovs and former policeman Grebenkin were sentenced by a court in Samara to terms ranging from three years and three months to three and a half years in a general and strict regime penal colony. Then the defendants admitted their guilt.

How will methanol turnover be tightened

After the mass poisoning with methanol in Russia, the rules for the turnover of this alcohol-containing liquid began to be gradually tightened. For example, they plan to confiscate products, equipment, and raw materials from all violators. Such amendments to the draft law on amendments to the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes were approved on Monday, September 22, by the government commission on legislative activity, a source in the Cabinet of Ministers told Izvestia.

The amendments propose to introduce a special procedure for the sale of methyl alcohol seized in the framework of a criminal case, as well as equipment intended for its production, Vladimir Gruzdev, Chairman of the Board of the Russian Bar Association, told Izvestia.

"According to the initial draft law adopted by the State Duma in the first reading, methyl alcohol, methanol—containing liquids and items used for their turnover seized as part of a criminal investigation will be transferred for destruction, disposal or sale by court order after the necessary research," he recalled.

At the same time, according to the expert, the materials of the criminal case will include photo and video recordings of such physical evidence, as well as a sample sufficient for comparative research.

The implementation of the bill will make it possible to quickly destroy counterfeit methanol and reduce federal budget expenditures on its storage, according to the explanatory note. Now counterfeit goods can be stored in warehouses for years.

Two more bills related to methanol are also under consideration. For example, in Russia they plan to create a special register of organizations producing and selling methyl alcohol. It will also include carriers and companies using methanol and liquids containing it.

The Code of Administrative Offences is planned to include a new article 14.68 on non-compliance with the requirements for the turnover of methanol and methanol-containing liquids. For the first violation, the fine for officials will be 30-50 thousand rubles, for companies — 100-150 thousand. For a repeat case, officials will have to pay 50-70 thousand rubles, enterprises — 150-200 thousand rubles. We are talking about companies included in the register.

How to produce surrogate alcohol

The case of poisoning with the drink "Mr. Cider" is a blatant case of negligence in the production of the product, said Maria Susskaya, adviser to the criminal law practice of the Sokolov, Trusov and Partners law Firm.

— Unfortunately, unfair treatment is often found among manufacturers, — she noted. — Speaking about the theft of methanol from the warehouses of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it is necessary to understand that these are exceptional cases. Such facilities are protected, and strict records of seized products are kept. As a rule, methanol is produced in clandestine industries.

The share of the illegal methanol market is estimated in different ways, said Ekaterina Kosareva, Managing Partner of the analytical agency VMT Consult. In some categories, up to half of all products are counterfeit. For example, among the "frost-free" ones.

"The proposed mechanism for getting rid of illegal volumes of methanol from law enforcement warehouses is effective," she believes. — There will be a real procedure that will prevent situations with the consequences of using "Mr. Cider". There are two advantages to the initiative: the global clearance of warehouses and the elimination of temptation for senior staff.

However, the initiative will not solve the global problem of the illegal methanol market, since the substance is stolen not only from warehouses of confiscated property, but also from chemical enterprises, refineries, and paint and varnish factories. Also, a batch of methanol can be stolen, for example, during transportation, especially by rail.

— The human factor is often to blame: as a rule, one of the employees or officials is to blame for collusion with intruders, - Ekaterina Kosareva believes. — A set of actions is needed to reduce the share of illegal methanol in Russia. So, in 2025, high fines were introduced for those who produce illegal methanol and those who sell it. Individuals are also subject to the law.

Maria Suska reminded that it is forbidden to buy goods of questionable quality, for example, if the tightness of the packaging is broken. Alcohol must have the appropriate labeling, which can be used to verify the authenticity of products in a special mobile application. If low-quality food and beverages have already been purchased, it is necessary to send an appropriate appeal to Rospotrebnadzor, since timely verification of the manufacturer can prevent more severe consequences.