For a month now, the Savelovsky Court in Moscow has been hearing the criminal case of Elena Blinovskaya, a 43-year-old businesswoman, blogger and, as she is often called, “the mother of marathons.” Recall that she is accused of tax evasion (initially the amount was 900 million rubles, then, taking into account sanctions and fines, it amounted to 1.5 billion) and money laundering (more than 700 million). According to investigators, Blinovskaya was involved in this from 2019 to 2021. But the thing is that in July of this year the statute of limitations for tax crimes committed by a businesswoman expired; By law, it is limited to three years.
If we subtract the non-payment of taxes, only the articles “Large-scale money laundering” (up to 7 years) and “Illegal circulation of means of payment” remain (there are two episodes in the case in which, according to investigators, Blinovskaya used the electronic keys of the controlled companies to transfer money to their personal accounts (they can give up to 6 years for this. But during the hearings, state prosecutors continue to talk more frequently about tax crimes: the income division scheme, the legal entities involved in it, etc. Why, if it is no longer possible for the law to punish Blinovskaya for this?
“This is the procedure,” Elena Blinovskaya’s lawyer, Natalia Salnikova, explained to KP.RU. – A case whose statute of limitations has expired comes to court. The court must consider this case, find her guilty or not find her guilty. If the accused is found guilty, the court must release her from punishment due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
– But couldn’t the investigator simply close the case already in the investigation phase?
– Yes, at that time the investigation could have stopped the criminal prosecution, but for this the consent of Elena herself was necessary. But we gave no such consent.
– Because?
– This is our position. Because we still have a change in the amount of debt with the tax authorities.
– What will this give? Can Elena Blinovskaya be forced to pay the debt if the crime has already prescribed?
– If we prove to the court that the amount of tax evasion was much smaller, this will significantly affect the next crime. Tax crime is the father of “money laundering”. Consequently, if the amount of tax arrears is less, then the amount of legalization will be less.
At the same time, the businesswoman’s lawyer clarifies that Blinovskaya is still trying to settle her debt to the tax office. The second apartment, from which the court allowed the arrest to be lifted, should be sold in the near future. After this, another 90 million rubles will be sent to the accounts of the Federal Tax Service.
