A criminal case concerning the so-called ‘postal-pension’, in which defendants are accused of defrauding hundreds of pensioners, has been transferred to the Cherkessk City Court. One of the defendants in the case is Magomed-Bashir Kalimatov, the elder brother of the Head of Ingushetia, Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov.
The transfer of the case was reported by the joint press service of the courts of Karachay–Cherkessia on Tuesday. The case will be heard in Cherkessk following a change of territorial jurisdiction ordered by the Fifth Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction.
According to the press service, 29 defendants will stand trial. They are charged with creating a criminal community or participating in it using their official positions, as well as with fraud committed by an organised group on an especially large scale. According to the investigation, the accused acted within a stable structure, with roles distributed among participants depending on their functions.
Investigators believe that the criminal community was created by the leadership of the Federal Postal Service Directorate of Ingushetia.
According to law enforcement agencies, it consisted of two subdivisions, conventionally referred to as ‘pension’ and ‘postal’. Case materials state that participants in the scheme organised illegal recalculations of pensions for residents of Ingushetia without their knowledge or consent. The funds obtained as a result of these operations were allegedly transferred to bank accounts of the Ingush branch of Russian Post.
According to investigators, the criminal community operated from 2020 to 2023. During this period, according to the prosecution, eight episodes of fraud on an especially large scale were committed. Within the framework of the criminal case, Russia’s Pension and Social Insurance Fund has filed a civil claim seeking compensation for damages in the amount of ₽371 million ($4.7 million). This claim will be considered by the court during the substantive hearing of the case.
As reported by Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office, employees of the Pension Fund prepared forged documents and entered false information into the electronic document management system regarding the recalculation of pensions for 682 pensioners. Members of the ‘postal’ group organised the collection of cash from a bank and the receipt of funds into main cash offices, from where they were directed to post office branches.
The defendants then prepared forged documents confirming the receipt and disbursement of payments and created the appearance that the pensioners had received the money. In reality, the funds were stolen, investigators believe. The total amount stolen may reach ₽2 billion ($25 million).
The statement by the joint press service of the courts also noted that the Fifth Cassation Court extended the term of the preventive measures imposed on the defendants until 31 January 2026. Three defendants are under house arrest, while 26 others are being held in custody. The official statement does not indicate whether the defendants have pleaded guilty.
Magomed-Bashir Kalimatov’s brother, Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov, was appointed Head of the republic in 2019 by a decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Elizaveta Chukharova
