Security forces detained blogger Lerchek (Valeria Chekalina), her ex-husband Artem Chekalin and co-founder of the cosmetics company Letique Roman Vishnyak for 48 hours in a criminal case for illegal transfer abroad of more than 251 million rubles. This was reported by TASS citing a source in law enforcement agencies.
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The agency’s interlocutor clarified that the three are suspects under Part 1 of Article 193.1 of the Criminal Code (transfer of currency to non-resident accounts using forged documents). The maximum penalty provided for in this article is up to three years in prison.
According to the Baza Telegram channel, it was Vishniac who suggested that bloggers organize marathons and took on all organizational activities, for which he received about 25% of the income.
At the same time, channel sources say, Vishnyak and Chekalin opened Letique together, after which the former left for the United States and began to receive dividends. When income increased, detainees decided to accept money directly through Dubai banks. Payment was made via a link and directly to the UAE bank; This fact was what investigators considered to be a currency transfer using fictitious documents.
On October 2, 2024, a confrontation took place, Baza’s interlocutors reported, adding that initially the investigators planned to detain only Vishnyak, but after interrogations and confrontations they decided to also detain the bloggers.
On October 2, 2024, sources close to the TASS and RIA Novosti investigation reported that a criminal case was opened against the Chekalins for transferring currency using forged documents.
The TASS interlocutor clarified that the investigators will not request the arrest of bloggers, since this article does not prescribe a preventive measure in the form of detention.
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In March 2023, a criminal case was opened against the Chekalins for tax evasion worth 300 million rubles. As part of the investigation, a preventive measure was imposed on the bloggers in the form of a ban on certain actions.
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In November, the Chekalins’ defense announced the payment of 500 million rubles to the Federal Tax Service: thus the bloggers paid off the debt and sanctions.
- In December, investigators lifted the ban on certain actions by the couple and dismissed the criminal case against them.
Author:
Bogdan Muzychenko
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
