MOSCOW, December 25 (Itar-Tass) — The Investigative Committee /SK/ has asked to strip two lawmakers of their immunity, Konstantin Shirshov /Communist faction/ and Oleg Mikheyev /A Just Russia faction/ in order to arraign them on charges of fraud.
SK spokesman Vladimir Markin said a procedural check had ascertained their involvement in the commission of crimes.
"The SK's main office for Moscow, in investigating the criminal case over fraud where the wrongdoers demanded 7.5 million euros from a business person in exchange for the mandate of State Duma lawmaker, obtained information about the involvement in this crime of lawmaker Konstantin Shirshov. Acting together with Vadim Gurzhiy, Vladimir Myasin and Leonid Karagodov, he received part of the sum in the amount of 66 million roubles from the entrepreneur on July 7, 2011, for his promise to put him on the list of candidates to the 6th State Duma," Markin said.
He reminded that Myasin and Karagoda had already been convicted while the case against Gurzhiya was on trial.
"Also, the SK's main office ran a procedural check into the illegal takeover of 14 real estate facilities belonging to the Volgograd engine-making plant, worth over 500 million roubles, attempted theft of 2.1 billion roubles from Promsvyazbank and obstructing justice. It ascertained the involvement in the above crimes of lawmaker Oleg Mikheyev," the spokesman said.
He reminded that due to the special procedure for prosecuting State Duma lawmakers, the SK sent the necessary documents to the Prosecutor General's Office /PGO/ on stripping K.Shirshov and O. Mikheyev of their immunity and giving consent to arraign them on criminal charges.
Oleg Mikheyev is deputy chairman of the State Duma committee for energy. He was elected from the Volgograd region. Konstantin Shirshov is a member of the house committee on land and construction, elected from the Krasnodar territory.
Meanwhile, Sergei Popov /United Russia faction/ said the house would address the PGO's inquiries regarding Mikheyev and Shirshov after the New Year holidays.
"All the issues will be handled next year," the parliamentarian confirmed,"there are no such documents at the State Duma; we'll review them as they come. Under the procedure, the PGO sends a statement to speaker Sergei Naryshkin who forwards it to a dedicated committee or commission. The chairman of the commission for control over lawmaker’s incomes Nikolai Kovalyov has priority in this case," Popov added.
He added that an emergency session of the house to consider the issues before the New Year was unlikely.
Chairwoman of the house committee for security and combating corruption Irina Yarovaya called for stripping Shirshov and Mikheyev of their immunity. "There is no place for criminals in politics," she told reporters "all the facts exposed by the Investigative Committee, regardless of the faction or party they /lawmakers/ belong to, should be a subject of criminal and procedural actions and investigation. I believe the immunity status should be taken away from Mikhyev and Shrishov. The state and the society only have one way to ensure law and order; the equality of all before the law," Yarovaya said.