Witness to the acquittal: why the Traber case has reached a dead end
The Investigative Committee of Russia has dropped the criminal case against St. Petersburg businessman Ilya Traber, finding him completely innocent of the murder of business partner Alexander Petrov. The decision was made just two months after Traber's arrest, and the experts interviewed by the editorial office call this turn unique. However, the prosecutor's office may still cancel the decision of the TFR investigator, although experts do not rule out that this will not happen. What will happen to the high—profile investigation after the main accused has dropped out of the case is in the Izvestia article.
Why was Traber released?
Ilya Traber (also known as the Antique Dealer) was released from the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center on Friday, August 28, and returned home to St. Petersburg on the same day. At first, this extremely unexpected decision of the investigation was explained solely for humanitarian reasons, namely, a sharp deterioration in the health of the 75-year-old detainee. A new measure of restraint for Traber, who at that time was officially still accused of organizing the murder, was not announced. However, sources close to the investigation did not officially state that the person involved would be banned from performing certain actions. Before his release, the TFR also arranged for him to live in an apartment in the Petrogradsky district of St. Petersburg.
However, on the morning of August 31, the TFR radically changed its position, and the businessman's lawyer, Igor Sochiyants, confirmed to Izvestia that all charges had been completely dropped from his client, and the criminal prosecution of Traber had been discontinued. When asked to clarify the wording of the decision, the lawyer stressed to Izvestia that the investigator had terminated the case "due to his client's complete non-involvement" in the crimes of which he had previously been accused.
According to editorial sources, the TFR made this decision after the investigation failed to find evidence of Traber's involvement in the murder of his longtime business partner Alexander Petrov, committed six years ago. The criminal prosecution was terminated under part 1 of Article 27 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation.
Since the charges were dropped on rehabilitative grounds, Traber can now count on the restoration of his rights and compensation for moral and property damage caused by the arrest. His lawyer did not specify whether his client intended to file appropriate lawsuits. In total, a little more than two months have passed since the arrest of the businessman to the complete termination of the case.
What was the Antique Dealer accused of
The Basmanny court arrested Ilya Traber on June 17. A few hours earlier, FSB operatives detained a businessman in his mansion near St. Petersburg. After completing the investigative actions, he was escorted to Moscow, where the Investigative Committee charged Traber with murder for hire as part of an organized group, as well as illegal acquisition and carrying of weapons.
As part of the same investigation, Traber's longtime business partner, Vladimir Danilenko, who is considered his right—hand man, as well as natives of Dagestan, former professional boxer Alisultan Nadirbegov and Said Saladinov, were arrested. According to the initial version of the investigation, all four could have participated in the organization and execution of the murder of Alexander Petrov, a deputy of the Vyborg district of the Leningrad region.
Petrov was shot dead in 2020 on the grounds of his mansion. As investigators later established, the perpetrator took up a position on the opposite bank of the river and waited for the businessman to leave the bathhouse. After that, he shot Petrov in the heart. The businessman died on the spot.
According to the TFR, the main reason for the murder was the conflict over Petrov's assets, primarily the Vyborg Shipyard. At the same time, Igor Lykov, the former driver of Danilenko and Traber, became the main witness for the prosecution. He worked for businessmen for about a year and a half, after which he received another term, this time for fraud. Later, Lykov went to his home country, was captured, and gave an interview in which he spoke for the first time about the alleged details of Petrov's murder.
A year ago, as part of the prisoner exchange, Lykov returned to Russia, and his testimony became the reason for the resumption of the investigation of the crime six years ago. However, according to Izvestia's sources, there are many contradictions in the witness' story, which make it almost impossible to understand where he is telling the truth and where he is thinking up the details. The investigation did not have any other witnesses. This, according to Izvestia's sources, did not allow to restore the full picture of the crime, and the investigation, which had begun loudly, eventually reached an impasse. And the testimony of a key witness for the prosecution, according to the interlocutors of the publication, was one of the reasons for the "complete acquittal of the Antiquarian."
Now the old logic of the accusation has collapsed. According to the editorial's sources, the only way out for the investigation is to find irrefutable evidence of Vladimir Danilenko's involvement in organizing the murder of Alexander Petrov and "lay all the blame on him." According to Izvestia's interlocutors, Danilenko was repeatedly offered to plead guilty, but he always refused.
The task of the investigation became even more complicated. After Traber's exclusion from the case, he actually had no clear motive left to link Danilenko to the murder. He had no personal conflicts with Petrov, and it is almost impossible to believe in independent preparation of a crime without coordination with a senior partner, according to sources.
After Traber dropped out of the case, the other three defendants are also likely to plead not guilty. "They're grated rolls, and no one is going to help the investigator heat them," Izvestia's sources are sure.
Thus, the investigation faced two problems at once: the rigid position of the defendants and their defense, and the shaky evidence base, which is essentially based on the testimony of one witness. Against this background, the Petrov murder case may be suspended in the next three months, the editors' interlocutors do not rule out.
A unique solution of the investigation
Igor Bushmanov, a former investigator in particularly important cases, told Izvestia that for the first time he was faced with such a "rapid dismissal of charges, especially in a high-profile case."
— This is a unique case, especially considering that only two months have passed since the arrest of the accused. I haven't seen the case materials, so I can't comment on it in detail, but the investigation probably already understands that it's simply impossible to go to court with such an evidence base," he added.
Igor Bushmanov also recalled that according to the law, the prosecutor's office can protest and mark the investigator's decision.
"But I don't think that's going to happen," says the lawyer. — Such a non-trivial decision was clearly made only after coordination with the supervisory authority.
Former investigator and lawyer Alexander Burchuk also considers the decision of the Investigative Committee to terminate the criminal prosecution of Ilya Traber unique — and not only because of the short time frame. In his opinion, it looks especially paradoxical against the background of the fact that the higher instance found no violations in the decision of the Basmanny Court to arrest Traber, and the documents submitted by the investigation did not raise any questions among the judges.
Now even cases with incomplete evidence are still being brought to court, so this case stands alone, Burchuk believes. He also recalled that in addition to compensation, the prosecutor should bring Ilya Traber an official apology for unjustified criminal prosecution.
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