Former mayor of Nizhny Novgorod detained on suspicion of attempted swindling

Andrey Klimentyev

A week earlier, another former mayor was sentenced to 10 years in prison for organizing kidnapping and torture.

Former mayor of Nizhny Novgorod Andrey Klimentyev was detained on suspicion of attempted swindling on an especially large scale, by filing documents with the court (Article 30 and part 4 of Article 159 CCRF), the ex-official’s lawyer Marina Ilyicheva reported. According to the lawyer, Klimentyev pleaded innocent and considers the detention to be “a nonsense and frame up of the charges” for the purpose of intimidation.

“So far, no charges have been brought. Andrey Anatolyevich has the status of a suspect. At present, he refused to give an explanation, using Article 51 of the Russian Constitution,” lawyer Ilyicheva wrote on Facebook.

Klimentyev himself clarified that the accusation is related to a certain case initiated many years ago. According to Komsomolskaya Pravda, in 1982, Klimentyev and his two brothers were arrested by the court on charges of distributing pornography and attempted swindling on an especially large scale.

In 1998, Klimentyev won the election for the city manager, but three days later the results were declared invalid, and in 2007 the ex-mayor was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for swindling. In July 2018, a Nizhny Novgorod entrepreneur sued Klimentyev, accusing him of a fraud with luxury real estate in the city center.

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