MOSCOW, October 16 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Federal Migration Service chief Konstantin Romodanovsky has called for bringing employers who hire illegal migrant workers to criminal responsibility.
“Today the effective laws envision only administrative responsibility, but probably, this does not fear employers and they feel themselves relaxed,” he said, adding owners of a vegetable warehouse in Moscow’s Biryulyovo district, which was attacked by rioters targeting migrants, “had felt themselves calmly after a raid on September 26 and only now went into hiding and probably, would be put on the wanted list.”
The rioting began after a 25-year-old Muscovite was killed in the capital’s Biryulyovo district by an Azerbaijani migrant.
Romodanovsky also urged a ban on resale of migrant quotas. “At present, the Moscow region has issued 250,000 work permits for migrants. In 160,000 cases we received notifications from other employers, not those who had participated in quota distribution. We have to eradicate such practices,” he said.
Biryulyovo murder suspect
Suspected killer in the Moscow district Biryulevo Orkhan Zeinalov was staying in Russia in violation of migration legislation, head of the Federal Migration Service said.
“He was staying in Russia illegally. If he had been traced down by the law enforcement agencies, he would have been deported from the country. If he had left Russia himself, he would have been banned to arrive in Russia,” Romodanovsky said.
Migration officials sacked
Head of the Federal Migration Service (FMS) department in the Southern Administrative District of Moscow, her deputy and the head of the FMS department in the Moscow district Zapadnoye Biryulevo were dismissed.
Several personnel decisions were taken after the situation in Zapadnoye Biryulevo had been examined.
“Head of the FMS department in the Southern Administrative District Grozovskaya and her deputy, the head of the FMS department in Zapadnoye Biryulevo are dismissed,” Romodanovsky said.
Illegal Immigration
A criminal case was opened for conducting illegal migration at a vegetable base in the Moscow district Biryulevo on the materials received from the Federal Migration Service.
According to the materials gathered by the FMS “a criminal case was opened under Article 322.1 of the Criminal Code for conducting illegal migration at the vegetable base in Biryulevo. This is an extremely positive issue for us,” the official noted.
The owners of a vegetable base in the Moscow district Biryulevo were named as defendants in the criminal case, said the spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee Vladimir Markin.
“The head investigation department of the Russian Investigative Committee in Moscow opened a criminal case against the general director of CJSC Novye Cheremushki and the chairman of the board of this closed joint stock company over conducting illegal migration,” Markin said.
Warehouse executives detained
The chief executives of a vegetable base in the Moscow district Biryulevo were named as defendants in the criminal case over illegal migration, two of them were detained, one of them was put on the wanted list, Vladimir Markin announced.
“The main investigation department of the Russian Investigative Committee in Moscow opened a criminal case against the general director of CJSC Novye Cheremushki and the chairman of the board of this closed joint stock company over conducting illegal migration,” Markin said.
The detectives found that general director Aliaskhab Gadzhiyev, chairman of the board of this closed joint stock company Magomed Churilov and other officials on the premises rented by Novye Cheremushki recruited people staying in Russia illegally.
“Now this is two Uzbek citizens and one Muscovite, to whom the suspects paid the salary and provided the residence place,” the spokesman said.
At the present moment of time sweeping investigative actions are being taken at the vegetable base. The detectives are looking for new violations of migration legislation and people to whom the jobs were provided illegally.
“During the searches a large amount of produce without proper documentation on it was found,” the spokesman noted.
Magomed Churilov was detained, Viktor Kotelevsky, the director general of the security agency, which was guarding this vegetable base, was detained either.
“Investigative actions are being taken with their participation. Aliskhab Gadzhiyev is put on the federal wanted list. I can say that the directorate of the vegetable base actually stepped away from the investigation and does not give any aid to the investigation, but this factor will not affect efficiency and fairness of investigative actions, which are being taken actively at this vegetable base,” Markin added.