A former deputy CEO, flight director, and lead flight instructor at S7 Airlines (S7, Novosibirsk) will be tried in Moscow for bribery, while the flight director is also accused of fraud, the state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti and newspaper Izvestia reported.

The Moscow Oblast branch of the Investigative Committee of Russia said on its Telegram channel on January 17 that it had completed an investigation into the three individuals, who it did not name, and who “are accused of commercial bribery on a large scale or facilitating it. In addition, the flight director is accused of fraud and one of his friends of attempted bribery.”

According to Izvestia, the troika consists of former deputy chief executive for flight operations Boris Kamyshev, flight director Mansur Badrakov, and flight instructor Mikhail Gusev.

The Investigative Committee alleged that in June 2021, the two higher officials accepted a bribe amounting to RUB1.5 million roubles (USD22,000) through an intermediary in exchange for employing someone as a co-pilot. On receiving the money, the flight director was detained by officers of Directorate T (Technological Intelligence) of Russia’s Federal Security Service.

The committee also claimed that in September 2020, the same flight director promised an acquaintance, for a fee, that he would resolve an issue with officials from the Medical Flight Expert Commission at Russia’s civil aviation regulator (Rosaviatsiya) related to a medical opinion on her son’s fitness for pilot training. The woman transferred RUB350,000 (USD5,100) to his bank account for further transfer to the medical officials, but he “kept the money for himself.”

“The evidence collected in the criminal case, including the conclusions of an examination of forensic identification preparations, and phonoscopic and linguistic examinations formed the basis of the prosecution,” the statement concluded. “The criminal case, with the indictment approved by the prosecutor, was transferred to Domodedovo City Court for consideration on its merits.”

S7 Airlines told Izvestia that Badrakov was arrested on June 24, 2021, was immediately removed from his post, and has been under house arrest since June 2022. Gusev resigned from the company in 2021 at his own request and in June of that year signed a legal document pledging not to flee and good behaviour. Kamyshev was removed from his post in July 2022 and is also under house arrest and awaiting a decision from the courts.