The Investigative Committee refused to clarify the fate of Abramova's report on the embezzlement.

The victim in the case of embezzlement of funds from shareholders in Sochi, Ekaterina Abramova, did not receive a response from the Investigative Committee regarding the whereabouts of her crime report submitted in person to Alexander Bastrykin in June 2025.

As reported by “Caucasian Knot”, Muscovite Ekaterina Abramova was recognized as a victim in the housing fraud case in Sochi only five years after her first appeals to law enforcement agencies. In early August, the woman complained about the delays: the Prosecutor General's Office and the Investigative Committee did not make a procedural decision on her report for a year, and an employee of the Krasnodar Prosecutor's Office even blocked Abramova on WhatsApp*.

On August 19, Ekaterina Abramova contacted the official community of the Investigative Committee on “VKontakte”, trying to find out where her crime report from June 4, 2025, is and whether the fact of its receipt by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to which it was forwarded, has been confirmed.

The duty investigator of the Main Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia for Moscow, Rinat Murtazin, outlined the agency's position: “Reports and appeals that do not contain information about circumstances indicating signs of a crime are not subject to registration in the book and do not require procedural verification.”

Abramova believes that the agency treated her report of a particularly serious crime as a regular citizen's appeal. “My report of a particularly serious crime and the activities of an organized criminal group were effectively classified under the federal law 'On Citizens' Appeals', without even reading its content,” she told a correspondent of “Caucasian Knot”.

Inspector of the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee for the Krasnodar Territory, Oleg Uvarov, reported that Abramova's appeal from August 27, 2025, was forwarded to the investigative department for the Central District of Sochi, and from there, on September 10, 2025, it was sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for Sochi. Abramova requested the incoming number KUSP, confirming the receipt of the document by the police. According to her, employees of the district police department previously verbally and in writing informed her representative that they do not have the appeal.

“You can find out the incoming number at the police department only by personally contacting the specified agency (...) We recommend that you submit a similar appeal to the supervising prosecutor,” Uvarov replied.

In response to Abramova's objection that Article 210 of the Criminal Code of Russia pertains to the jurisdiction of the Investigative Committee, and that the outgoing number only confirms the sending, but not the receipt, the responses were “You have been given explanations” and “Your arguments regarding disagreement with the procedure for considering appeals have been accepted for organizing consideration.” There was no substantive response to the question of where the report is, according to the correspondence reviewed by a correspondent of “Caucasian Knot”.

Assessment by lawyers

The agency's responses do not contain a substantive answer, agreed lawyer Sergey Lapshin. “The responses from the employees of the Information Center of the Investigative Committee came down to formal replies, which is unacceptable. Such a reply does not provide a direct answer to the substantive question posed,” he said.

The procedure for registration and determination of jurisdiction has been violated in the case, believes lawyer Anton Morozov. “Crimes falling under Article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are within the competence of the Investigative Committee. Forwarding an appeal regarding the activities of an organized criminal group to the Ministry of Internal Affairs without conducting its own procedural verification directly contradicts the norms of the law,” he stated.

Classifying a report of a particularly serious crime as a regular citizen's appeal deprives the applicant of procedural rights, Morozov continued. “Without issuing an official decision to refuse to initiate a case or to transfer it by jurisdiction, the applicant is deprived of procedural rights to appeal,” said the lawyer.

The requirement to independently search for the incoming number in the Ministry of Internal Affairs he called unlawful. “The Investigative Committee's reference to the fact that a citizen must independently search for the incoming number in the Ministry of Internal Affairs is unlawful. The transferring agency is obliged to obtain confirmation that the materials have been accepted for processing,” concluded Morozov.

Recommendations from lawyers

It is possible to achieve a procedural decision through the court, believes Morozov. “Only judicial appeal of the Investigative Committee's inaction can make them work. A complaint should be filed at the location of the central office of the Investigative Committee or in the district court of Sochi regarding the inaction of officials of the Investigative Committee, expressed in the failure to make a procedural decision on the report. The court is obliged to consider the application within three days, and no state duty is required,” he said.

The lawyer also recommended sending a complaint to the Prosecutor General, requesting to obtain materials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, conduct an investigation into the fact of non-registration of the report, and issue an order to the Investigative Committee to accept the report for its own processing. At the same time, he advises sending an official request to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Sochi regarding the procedural status of the appeal based on the outgoing number provided by the Investigative Committee.

The departmental forwarding has become a major obstacle for the victims, notes Abramova. “The Prosecutor General's Office sends applicants to the Investigative Committee, which forwards materials to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and when trying to find out the fate of the documents, again sends all victims back to the prosecutor's office. Many are simply tired of these merry-go-rounds and have given up the fight,” she stated.