We reached the pre-trial detention center: his closest business partner was arrested in the case of Ilya Traber

The Basmanny Court of Moscow has arrested two more defendants in the case of the contract killing of businessman Alexander Petrov. Vladimir Danilenko, a long-term business partner of St. Petersburg businessman Ilya Traber, who is called his right-hand man, as well as Sait Saladinov, a native of Dagestan, were sent to custody for two months. According to investigators, with these arrests, the TFR completed the formation of the alleged structure of the criminal group: its organizers could be natives of St. Petersburg, and the perpetrators were athletes and representatives of the criminal environment from Dagestan.

How did the detentions go?

The Basmanny Court conducted the consideration of petitions for the arrest of Vladimir Danilenko and Sait Saladinov behind closed doors. In the same regime, on the evening of June 17, the district court arrested former professional middleweight boxer Alisultan Nadirbekov and the main person involved in the investigation, Ilya Traber, for two months. On the morning of June 17, the 75-year-old businessman was detained by FSB operatives who specially arrived in St. Petersburg for this purpose, after which the defendant was escorted to Moscow.

Vladimir Danilenko is a long-term business partner and Traber's right—hand man, as well as co-owner of his most famous companies, including Primorsky CPC, a deep—water port in the Vyborg district, Fort, which owns 3.6 thousand hectares on the Gulf of Finland, and PP-City, which intended to complete long-term construction projects in the Leningrad Region., having received empty land plots in return.

With the new arrests, according to Izvestia's sources, the TFR has completed the active phase of the investigation, effectively building the structure of a criminal group that, according to investigators, is involved in the murder of influential businessman Alexander Petrov.

How was the investigation conducted

The businessman was shot dead on October 24, 2020 in the village of Velikoe near Vyborg with a sniper rifle when he came out of a sauna located near his mansion.

The investigation soon established that the shooter fired only one shot and hit right in the heart — there was no chance to save the businessman. On the other side of the river, opposite the businessman's cottage, they found the place where the sniper was located — and, according to investigators, he had been waiting for the victim for several hours. However, the investigation quickly stalled: neither the murder weapon nor the exact description of the shooter could be established. The matter has actually reached a dead end.

Starting as an elevator maintenance electrician at the Vyborg Druzhba Hotel, Alexander Petrov has become one of the city's largest businessmen over three decades. He owned Vyborg Fuel Company, Vyborg Ship Repair Plant, as well as companies related to port infrastructure, construction, hotel business, and real estate management. The hotel where the businessman started his career was also bought by him.

The reputable Ilya Traber was not considered by the investigation as a person involved in this crime, but the investigation of the murder, according to Izvestia sources, received a new impetus after the arrest last year of the defendants in the case of businessman Ibrahim Suleymanov. Platon Lebedev, a native of Dagestan and the former son-in-law of one of Yukos shareholders, who controlled about 80% of airline ticket sales through the Leonardo system, is accused of organizing several murders and attempted murders.

According to law enforcement sources, the Dagestanis arrested in the "Traber case" were part of a brigade that specialized in carrying out violent actions and was in close contact with Suleymanov's entourage. And, most likely, it was the defendants in his case who gave the first testimony, telling the FSB operatives the details of the murder six years ago, including naming the perpetrators. These testimonies are the basis of the charges, sources assure Izvestia, and their authors have been given the status of classified witnesses.

A new twist in the case

However, the investigation was not limited to testimony alone, and the Investigative Committee did a great job of obtaining information about the arrival of suspects in St. Petersburg shortly before the crime was committed, as well as detecting suspicious money transfers.

According to Izvestia, the investigation believes that the main motive for the murder could be the conflict over the Vyborg shipyard. Alexander Traber and his business partner Vladimir Danilenko are most likely considered as the customers and organizers of the crime, Alisultan Nadirbekov and Sait Saladinov as its perpetrators.

The Russian Investigative Committee charges all four of them with murder for hire as part of an organized group and illegal possession of weapons (Part 2 of Article 105 and Part 4 of Article 222 of the Criminal Code).

At the same time, friends of the Russian champion Nadirbekov, with whom Izvestia spoke, are skeptical that he is able to hit the target accurately from several tens of meters.

— He was a good boxer, spectacular and bright, but very daring and explosive. I didn't go hunting with him, but I don't remember. so that he can shoot well. And his character does not fit into the psychotype of a sniper who could wait for a target for several hours," one of them noted.

Former investigator of the Moscow Police Department, lawyer Alexander Burchuk believes. that the Commander-in-Chief of the Investigative Committee, which is leading the "Traber case," has accumulated extensive experience in investigating crimes of previous years, and the new investigation is proceeding according to a proven algorithm.

— Ilya Traber's figure has now overshadowed everything, but in my opinion, the investigation has some solid evidence of the involvement of the defendants. Based on the practice of such investigations, we can talk about biological traces — for example, hair, cigarette butt or chewing gum, found at the crime scene or in the area where the shooter was. It is possible that earlier these clues were ignored or simply did not "beat" on the appropriate database.

According to the former investigator, data on telephone connections and subscriber movements are also being studied in such cases. The Magistral system allows for such an analysis. In addition, law enforcement officers check financial transactions, possible conflicts and other circumstances that may help identify the participants in the crime.