The case filed at the request of President Dmitry Medvedev, which was to “shake up” the entire transportation police force due to the terrorist attack at Domodedovo, is now

closed. Investigators conducted hundreds of examinations, performed dozens of searches, and interrogated three hundred witnesses, but they did not find any evidence against the suspects. It was found that at the time of last year's attack the transportation security system was unregulated. Investigators, however, did identify several instances of fraud at the airport, and identified these for separate proceedings.

On Friday the Investigating Committee of Russia (ICR) announced that it had closed the criminal investigation into the failure of the transportation security requirements at Domodedovo international airport (Article 263–1 of the Criminal Code). The case was filed after Magomed Yevloyev on January 24th, 2011, brought an explosive device unhindered into the airport's entrance terminal and set it off. The terrorist attack killed 37 people and injured another 173. Immediately after the tragedy, the president ordered security officials to “shake up” the entire transportation security police force.

“Just as there were reasonable grounds to initiate a criminal case, there were also reasonable grounds to terminate it,” stated the ICR.

Investigation revealed that the system of security measures at air transport facilities were unregulated at the time of the attack. There were also no regulations defining procedures for transportation security infrastructure. “Transportation security demands by the Russian Ministry of Transport were developed after the terrorist attacks had already been committed,” noted the investigators.

Investigators came to this conclusion after analyzing international and Russian federal laws that govern issues of transportation safety at the time the terrorist attack was carried out, and regulations governing Domodedovo airport. “As a result of study and evaluation of the collected evidence, it was decided to discontinue criminal proceedings for lack of evidence against those held as suspects," said the ICR. The committee's press service would not specify how many ex-suspects this entailed. It is known that two days after the tragedy the chief of security at Domodedovo, Colonel Alexander Trushanin, and his deputies, Alexander Budtsov and Alexander Degterev, were fired. Also sacked was the chief of the Department of Internal Affairs for Transportation for the Central Federal District, Major-General Andrei Alexeyev.

Submissions were made within the framework of the criminal case to the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Health for the Moscow regional government, the Russian Emergencies Ministry, and the Russian Interior Ministry. These agencies are to take steps to eliminate the possibility of another such terrorist attack.

Nonetheless, the case identified criminal activity at Domodedovo airport.

Investigators conducted 35 seizures and 10 searches at the airport, and found out many interesting things. Separate criminal proceedings were initiated in a case against the employees of Commercial Agency of Domodedovo airport (CADA), among others. According to investigators, the staff at CADA learned that Krasnoyarsk Airlines had filed for bankruptcy and that Vnukovo airport was to take charge of it. CADA produced a bogus invoice for delivery of aviation fuel worth over 224 million rubles and asked bankruptcy arbitrators to recover this amount from Vnukovo. CADA won its case and the funds were transferred to its account, but then it vanished. A criminal case was initiated under Part 4 of Art. 159 and Part 1 of Art. 303 (fraud and falsification of evidence).

Administrative officials for the Domodedovo region were also identified in separate criminal proceedings. These officials, according to the investigation, freely sold federally-owned land within the boundaries of the airport. Between 2006 and 2011, land was transferred to foreign offshore companies.

As far as the main criminal case, the terrorist attack on Domodedovo airport, in March the ICR indicated in its final version of events that four persons were involved — Ingushetia residents Islam and Ilez Yandiyev (believed to have met suicide bomber Magomed Yevloyev in Moscow and taking him to the airport), Ahmed Yevloyev (a distant relative of suicide bomber), and Bashir Khamkhoyev (considered by investigators to be one of the leaders of militant camps in Ingushetia where Yevloyev was trained). It was determined that the group was subordinate to the 'Caucasus Emirate' led by Doku Umarov. 17 persons suspected of involvement in the preparation of the terrorist attack were eliminated during counter-terrorist operations in Ingushetia in March of 2011. Another seven are on the 'wanted' list, including Umarov. Investigators conducted 196 examinations (including 180 medical tests, 8 technical computer tests, 2 forensic examinations, 2 document verifications, as well as checks of licenses, documents, fingerprints, accounting materials, and medical and legal billing records).

Gazeta.ru

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