The Moscow Nikulinsky District Court has begun examining a criminal case involving the former head of Penza region, Ivan Belozertsev, and several other defendants accused of large-scale bribe taking and giving, including mediation of bribes by an organized group. The proceedings are being conducted off-site at the Matrosskaya Tishina pre-trial detention center, according to a source close to the matter. The decision to move the case into the prison environment stems from health issues affecting a second participant, Boris Spiegel, a businessman and former senator who is undergoing treatment and cannot participate directly in court at this time.
The court reportedly extended the detention terms for all defendants by six months. Besides Belozertsev and Spiegel, the lineup includes Spiegel’s spouse, the chief executive of PHARMACIA OJSC, and a relative and Belozertsev’s personal driver, who appeared before the court on the case’s schedule.
The investigators established that between June 3, 2019 and September 29, 2020 Belozertsev accepted bribes in cash and more than 30 million rubles in Swiss watches from Boris Shpigel, the founder of the Biotek pharmaceutical group. In return, Belozertsev allegedly ensured favorable terms in state contracts awarded to PHARMACIA OJSC.
Authorities also confirmed that Belozertsev illegally procured short-barreled firearms and ammunition, keeping the weapon in his office within the Penza regional government building.
At present, all defendants remain in custody, and property linked to the case totaling around 1.8 billion rubles has been seized. The defendants maintain their innocence and deny any wrongdoing.
Information indicates that FSB officers had begun operational measures nine months before the arrest of Boris Shpigel and Ivan Belozertsev, signaling a long-running investigative phase into the alleged illicit activities surrounding the Biotek group and related state contracts.