A Moscow court hearing unfolded around a former high-ranking official, the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the DPR, Alexander Timofeev. He faces charges tied to allegedly forging a letter attributed to Alexander Bortnikov, the director of the FSB, in an attempt to extract 4.5 million dollars from Railtransholding’s former president, Sergey Shpak, with the aim of ending a pending criminal matter. The story has been detailed by the business press in Russia, including Kommersant, which has tracked the allegations and the evolving legal narrative surrounding the case.
Earlier reporting indicated that, in April 2021, a large fraud case was opened against Timofeev. The public record also mentions Igor Sosnovsky, a businessman who once advised Ukraine’s former Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, as a person connected to the unfolding events, with the scenario drawing additional attention from observers and the media.
According to investigative materials, the sequence began in the summer of 2020, when Sosnovsky and Timofeev allegedly learned that a criminal case was already active against Sergei Shpak, the former head of Railtransholding. Shpak faced charges over the embezzlement of 1.8 billion rubles from VEB-Leasing. The plan, as alleged in the case file, involved Timofeev offering assistance to Shpak through a formal letter purportedly from Alexander Bortnikov to Vladimir Kolokoltsev, the minister of internal affairs. The objective was to secure the case’s termination and to reclassify Shpak as a witness rather than a suspect, effectively stalling the proceedings and shifting the legal narrative in Shpak’s favor.
As events unfolded, Shpak reportedly realized he had become entangled in a financial scheme and reached out to the FSB for help. In parallel, money was transferred among the parties under arrangements associated with the security service, and Timofeev and Sosnovsky were detained as part of the investigation. Sosnovsky later pleaded guilty and supplied testimony against an accomplice in the case, while Timofeev maintained his stance of innocence, framing the situation as a slanderous accusation rather than a criminal act. The dual path of alleged deception and subsequent legal proceedings drew sustained attention from investigators and observers alike, highlighting concerns over influence, accountability, and the integrity of the oversight processes involved in high-level economic cases.
In the months that followed, the Moscow City Court made a decisive ruling by denying Timofeev’s request for release from pretrial detention. The decision kept him in custody as the legal process continued to unfold, with prosecutors and defense counsel preparing further filings, witness testimonies, and potential evidence submissions. The ongoing case reflects broader debates about how administrative power, business interests, and state security agencies intersect in complex financial matters within the region. Observers note that the outcome could have repercussions for similar cases involving prominent corporate figures and former government officials, underscoring the importance of transparent judicial procedures and careful handling of charges that touch on national security institutions and high-stakes finance. As the proceedings continue, the parties involved remain under scrutiny, while the public and media follow updates with a mix of skepticism and interest, seeking a clear account of responsibility and the legal standards applied in these serious allegations.