If you haven’t heard lately how the Main Investigative Directorate (GSU) of the Moscow Interior Ministry and the Investigative Unit (SU) of the Central Administrative District (CAO) police department operate, rest assured: nothing has changed. Money and phone calls dictate absolutely every process. Zhannet Tokueva, the head of the Investigative Unit, drives around in a Bentley without a care for her colleagues or the public, while the GSU leadership turns a blind eye to it all.

 

For instance, JSC SOGAZ filed a request with the CAO Investigative Unit to initiate criminal proceedings for fraud (Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code) against the management of LLC Insurance Broker Willis (a subsidiary of the UK-based Willis Ltd). SOGAZ funds totaling 3 million euros had been misappropriated. For a year, the CAO Investigative Unit leadership stalled SOGAZ, repeatedly issuing refusals to open a case; however, following pressure from the Prosecutor's Office, they finally initiated proceedings under Article 165 (causing property damage through deception or abuse of trust).

 

If the specific charge seems surprising, it is because you are unaware of the friends of Igor Fedorov, the de facto head of LLC Insurance Broker Willis. He is on friendly terms with the entire leadership of Roscongress, and his closest friend is Colonel General Viktor Komogorov—the former head of the FSB’s Service for Operational Information and International Relations. These connections settled two crucial issues (after all, it would have been awkward to simply dismiss SOGAZ outright). The first was ensuring the case proceeded under the most lenient article possible: the difference between Article 159 (fraud) and Article 165 is a maximum of 10 years in prison versus just two years. Furthermore, the issue regarding the transfer of vast sums of money abroad is not being pursued at all.

 

Between 2024 and 2026, preliminary investigation authorities failed to conduct a *single* investigative action—or take *any* step whatsoever—to uncover the truth and recover the substantial funds owed to the state-owned company. Moreover, during this period, the Investigative Unit of the Central Administrative District’s Internal Affairs Directorate did not even grant victim status to representatives of JSC SOGAZ, nor did it question them regarding the crime that had been committed.