Former senator from Karachay-Cherkessia Rauf Arashukov and his father, ex-adviser to the general director of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Raul Arashukov were sentenced to life imprisonment in the case of the murder of two people and the creation of a criminal community. It is reported by RBC.
Earlier, the jury found the Arashukovs guilty on all counts. On December 5, the prosecutor demanded that they be sentenced to life imprisonment. The Arashukovs pleaded not guilty. The jury found it proven that the Arashukovs organized the murder of Aslan Zhukov, deputy chairman of the Adyge-Khase youth movement, and Fral Shebzukhov, adviser to the head of Karachay-Cherkessia.
The criminal community that they organized was engaged in the theft of gas. The amount of theft was estimated at 4.4 billion rubles.
According to investigators, Zhukov and Shebzukhov could interfere with the criminal activities of the community, so the Arashukovs killed them.
The Arashukovs were detained in January 2019 after the Federation Council approved the removal of immunity from Rauf Arashukov. The senator was detained on January 30 directly in the building of the Federation Council, charged with participation in a criminal community, pressure on a witness and murder, after which he was arrested. Later it became known that the senator's father, Raul, had been detained. According to the investigation, Raul Arashukov and his nephew Ruslan were involved in the theft of natural gas from Gazprom in the amount of more than 30 billion rubles for several years. In total, more than ten people were brought to justice in the “Arashukovs case”. All of them are charged with embezzlement and participation in an organized criminal group.