Ukrainian authorities have detained a suspect allegedly involved in the murder of Paul Khlebnikov, former chief editor of Forbes' Russian edition. The journalist was shot outside his office in 2004. So who was arrested and who are the organizers? Let's hear from Vitaly Karmazin.
Ukraine's Security Service has arrested two men wanted in Russia. The first one—in Poltava. He was accused of stealing cars, but ran away from the courthouse. The second one—in Kiev where he was profiting from extortion, although his trail in Moscow is a much more serious one. According to Interpol, the foreigner took part in a number of assassinations, in particular that of the chief editor of Forbes' Russian edition, the US citizen Paul Khlebnikov, and the deputy prime-minister of the Chechen Republic in 2001 — 2003.
Irina Volk, Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs: "Magomed Dukuzov, born in 1978, has been arrested in Kiev on November 17. He was put on the international wanted list at the request of Russia's law-enforcement bodies".
The description is still available on the Interpol website. A black-and-white photo and a short list of his charges. Wanted for murder, organization of criminal group, illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage and transportation of firearms. Dukuzov is a suspect in the murder of Chechen deputy prime-minister Yakov Sergunin, which took place in June 2004 in Moscow, and in the killing of Paul Khlebnikov, chief editor of Forbes' Russian edition, who was shot in July 2004. Khlebnikov was leaving his office in the evening when some men in a Zhiguli opened fire at him with a submachine gun. Four bullets hit him in the stomach and chest. The journalist died in the hospital.
The first suspect was Boris Berezovsky, the main character of Khlebnikov's book that exposed the multiple schemes of the oligarch basically for the first time.
Paul Khlebnikov, Journalist: "His career began in the criminal world. His men were involved in gang wars on multiple occasions. And his fortune has been expanding by the means of corruption".
But then the Prosecutor General's Office filed the charges against a man from another Khlebnikov book, the crime boss Khozh-Akhmed Nukhaev. After interviewing him, Khlebnikov wrote his “Conversation with a Barbarian” which Nukhaev didn't like very much.
The detectives believed that he hired several hitmen - Fail Sadretdinov, Musa Vakhayev and Kazbek Dukuzov, a brother of the recently detained Magomed Dukuzov. The investigation believed them to be Khlebnikov's killers but the jury acquitted all three suspects.
Kazbek Dukuzov: "There wasn’t and couldn't be any proof. Killing people for money is not part of my life".
They left Moscow City Court smiling.
When the supreme court overturned the verdict, Kazbek Dukuzov ran. He's still wanted and some sources point at him hiding in the UAE. The alleged organizer of the killing Khozh-Ahmed Nukhaev, according to some sources, was killed back in 2005.
Magomed Dukuzov, who was detained in Ukraine, has never been in court before. But now he'll have to do it. Ukraine's Security Service announced that they have initiated the proceedings to extradite the suspect to Russia where prosecutors are already waiting for him.
Vitaly Karmazin and Yakov Shuygin. Vesti On Call.
