Ex-Krasnoyarsk Investigator Stole Over 1.5M Rubles

Former senior investigator of the Krasnoyarsk police spent years appropriating money seized from defendants in drug cases. When it all came to light, it turned out she had stolen more than 1.5 million rubles (approximately $16,700 at current exchange rates) — and even forged a receipt to hide it. The Sovetsky District Court sentenced Tatyana Chuvasova to 2.5 years in a penal colony, but released her to go home — to raise her young child.

The scheme was simple: during searches, cash was seized from defendants in drug cases. Chuvasova, who handled these cases, did not register the money as material evidence, did not submit it to the MVD accounting department, and did not return it to the owners. She simply took it for herself.

This went on from 2021 to 2023. During that time, the investigator appropriated money from five criminal cases: 135,000 rubles (approximately $1,500), 107,000 rubles (approximately $1,200), 6,550 rubles (approximately $73), 462,000 rubles (approximately $5,100), and the largest amount — 684,460 rubles (approximately $7,600) plus 1,421 US dollars. Total — more than 1.5 million rubles (approximately $16,700).

Seven people whose money was seized during searches were recognized as victims in the case, as well as the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Krasnoyarsk Territory — the agency suffered damages of 11,000 rubles (approximately $122), which were supposed to be confiscated from a convicted drug trafficker under the court«s verdict.

It all came to light by chance. Bailiffs tried to enforce a verdict in a drug case: they needed to transfer 11,000 rubles to state revenue. They requested the money from the MVD accounting department, but it had never been there.

At the same time, the case file contained a receipt for depositing the money. The accountant immediately realized: the document was fake. The form was wrong — the MVD issues receipts through the 1C program, not by hand. And the chief accountant and cashier listed on the receipt turned out to be fictional — such employees had never worked in the accounting department.

Handwriting analysis established that one of the entries on the fake receipt was made by Chuvasova herself. Another detail: in the forged document, the amount was listed as «684 rub.» instead of 684,460 — whether a typo or an attempt to confuse the trail.

When an internal investigation began, officers from the Operational Investigative Unit of Internal Security conducted an examination in the investigator«s office. Chuvasova herself took a package with 1,421 US dollars out of her handbag — evidence that, according to documents, should have been stored in the accounting department.

On the investigator«s computer, a file with a resolution to deposit money was found — only it was unsigned. In fact, the money was never deposited anywhere.

At trial, the investigator fully admitted her guilt. According to her, she initially kept the seized money in her office safe, «which was accessible to an indefinite circle of persons, since the keys to the safe were constantly left in the lock.» Then she took it home — «for safekeeping.»

«Since at that time she urgently needed a large sum of money, she decided to take the funds entrusted to her, and then return them as needed, but because she was experiencing financial difficulties, she could not do so in a timely manner,» the verdict states.

The woman was found guilty under Part 4 of Article 160 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — embezzlement on an especially large scale using one«s official position. The sentence — 2 years and 6 months in a general-regime penal colony.

The court took into account mitigating circumstances: having a young child, admitting guilt, partial compensation for damages, and the health condition of relatives. Part of the money was returned by Chuvasova to the victims after the criminal case was opened.

Service of the sentence is deferred — until the child turns 14.

Chuvasova was dismissed from the internal affairs bodies for committing an offense discrediting the honor of a police officer.

Earlier, the NGS24.RU editorial team reported on a Krasnoyarsk resident with a prior conviction for extremism who defrauded Samokat. The damages to the delivery service were paid by the convict«s mother.