Moscow Court Sentences Ex-Business Partner of Blogger to 2.5 Years

Former business partner of Valeria and Artyom Chekalin — Roman Vishnyak — has been sentenced to 2.5 years in a penal colony and a fine of 500,000 rubles (approximately $5,000 at current rates). This was reported by the capital«s prosecutor»s office.

He was found guilty under clauses «a, b» of part 3 of Article 193.1 of the Russian Criminal Code (conducting currency operations to transfer funds in Russian currency to non-resident accounts using forged documents, as part of an organized group, on a particularly large scale). It is reported that he was the one who transferred funds to the accounts of the former spouses in the UAE.

It has been established that Vishnyak, together with Artyom and Valeria Chekalin, and other accomplices, from September 2021 to February 2022, conducted currency operations to transfer funds amounting to over 251.6 million rubles (approximately $2.5 million at current rates) to a non-resident«s bank account, presenting to the credit organization, which has the authority of a currency control agent, documents related to such operations containing knowingly false information about the grounds, purposes, and designation of the transfer,» — as stated in the message.

Vishnyak fully admitted his guilt and cooperated with the investigation. Because of this, his case was considered separately from the Chekalins«. The convicted was taken into custody in the courtroom.

Earlier, the Gagarinsky Court began hearing the case of Artyom and Valeria Chekalin on the merits. At the first hearing, two witnesses in the case were questioned, both representatives of the Federal Tax Service (FTS).

After the hearing, Valeria Chekalin came out to journalists with her boyfriend and the father of her fourth child, Luis Squicciarini. She said she wanted to retrieve the seized jewelry to sell it — currently she has no income. She also spoke about how her pregnancy is progressing.

Recall that pregnant Valeria Chekalin complained that she could not get to the hospital due to court restrictions. After that, she was urgently hospitalized twice with a threat of miscarriage. She also told how her children reacted to the news that she would become a mother again.