Gang of Kidnappers of Armenian Descent Sentenced in Moscow

A Moscow court has sentenced to various terms of imprisonment members of a gang (some of Armenian descent) involved in kidnapping and extortion,  Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (SK) spokesperson Vladimir Markin on Tuesday told RIA Novosti news agency.

According to him, in 2009, entrepreneur Armen Yepremyan with his friend Aleksei Karmanov, a former Interior Ministry employee, established a criminal syndicate comprised of 9 people, which included 2 former and 3 current Interior Ministry OMON staff. The group was armed with Kalashnikov rifles, guns with silencers, as well as grenades.

The group’s first victim was CEO Hrachik Aroyan, who they kidnapped, asking for a $20,000 ransom. But the businessman didn’t have the money and was subsequently released.

During this time, Aroyan’s relatives managed to seek assistance from notorious mafia boss Hakob Meliksetyan. He found Yepremyan; however, appreciating his criminal talent, offered to collaborate on executing another crime — kidnapping the brother of Eureka Abrahamyan who owns a chain of hotels in Sochi.

“In Sept. 2009, armed riot police raided Abrahamyan’s home, tying up anyone who was in the house, stealing jewelry, money and weapons. The OMON police personally took the victim by car to another location where they kept him for one month, demanding $6 million ransom from his brother,” said Markin.

The kidnappers turned out to be unlucky a second time as police had managed to get on their trail. In Oct. 2009, the abductee was released.

Gang members have been found guilty under several articles of Russia’s Criminal Code, kidnapping among them. The court has sentenced Meliksetyan to 17 years in prison; Konstantin Dozorov, 15 years in prison; Sergei Kotov, 14; Sergei Otrakovski, 11; Samvel Voskanyan and Aleksei Karmanov, 10; Andrei Demidenkov, 9.