Moshkovichs Legal Troubles Deepen with New Bribery Allegations Unveiled

New information has emerged regarding the ongoing criminal investigation involving Vadim Moshkovich, as reported by the business daily Kommersant on Sunday.

Moshkovich, who established the agricultural powerhouse Rusagro, was taken into custody at the end of March on allegations of significant fraud and misuse of power.

On May 20, authorities opened a new case against Moshkovich, although specifics about the case were not disclosed at the outset.

According to Kommersant, the new allegations claim that in 2019, Moshkovich presented Sergei Ivanov, the former deputy governor of the Tambov region, with a German-made Blaser R8 hunting rifle valued at 2.6 million rubles (approximately $33,000).

This rifle was reportedly given to Ivanov in exchange for what investigators have termed “general patronage.”

At that time, Moshkovich was the owner of Tambov Bacon, one of the dominant businesses in the region, and is accused of benefiting from Ivanov’s political leverage in Tambov.

If convicted in the new case, Moshkovich could face up to 15 years in prison for large-scale bribery. Both he and Ivanov have insisted they did nothing wrong.

Previously, Moshkovich was arrested for defrauding businessman Vladislav Burov during the acquisition of his company, Solnechnye Produkty, in 2018.

Moshkovich is accused of not fulfilling investment commitments related to the deal, leading to damages estimated at 48 billion rubles (around $610 million).

In a related matter, the Russian branch of Syngenta AG, now owned by China’s Sinochem Holdings, has filed a civil lawsuit against Moshkovich seeking nearly 1 billion rubles (about $12.7 million).

At the time of the 2018 deal, Syngenta was among the creditors of Solnechnye Produkty.