The lawyer of Andrei Saenko, one of the accused on loud case about furniture contraband, stated that his defendant worked for special services and claimed that due to this fact the trial should be made a close one. Experts’ attitude to the statement being skeptical, there are materials in the case that relate Saenko to an FSB officer.
22 November 2000 Vladimir Burkov, former chair of board at Gosresurs and former deputy head of Goskomrybolovstvo, was interrogated as a witness at the investigative committee of MVD. Burkov said that in August 2000 he was contacted by Evgeny Zhukov, that time assistant of Yuri Zaostrovtsev who was deputy director of FSB. Evgeny Zhukov brought Saenko to his meeting with Burkov. Saenko was interested in getting connections in law enforcement bodies working in Moscow region, as his firms were being investigated at that time on suspect of contraband dealing.
Evgeny Zhukov was examined after interrogation with Burkov. A few hours after the examination the case was urgently demanded to be passed to Prosecutor General’s Office, where it was dismissed six months later in the absence of crime in the act. Investigation was renewed only in 2002 as a result of pressing by the State Duma. Active role in that pressing was played by Deputy Yuri Shekochikhin, who was also deputy editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta and who suddenly died in spring 2003. Another investigation of the circumstances of his death was initiated recently by Investigative Committee at the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Pavel Zaitsev, senior special investigator at the Investigative Committee at MVD who investigated the case of Three Whales, is skeptical about claiming by Andrei Saenko to belong to special services.
”Well, all available means are good for salvation” Pavel Zaitsev reflects. “But even if we assume that the accused worked for special services, I think it’s silly to let down one’s curators and no one knows where it all can lead to.”
The investigator believes that belonging to special services does not release from responsibility, but on the contrary it may aggravate the fault.
A former officer of the special services, who agreed to give an anonymous comment, does not believe the statement either.
”Let Saenko present a service certificate or record card of a secret agent. If he is an agent, there must be a secret documentation, written by him reports, and the curator. Besides, planted agents must not be involved in grave crimes as their punishment would be even stricter.”
