The Tagansky District Court of Moscow ordered the house arrest of Dmitry Kostygin, a former co-owner of the Lenta, Riv Gosh and Ulmart retail chains, RBC reported, citing two sources. Fontanka and The Insider also reported his detention.
Kostygin is a suspect in a large-scale fraud case under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code. According to Fontanka, the case concerns events in 2017, when Kostygin and associates allegedly signed a contract on behalf of Ulmart with the company Berks for the supply of computer equipment, telephone equipment, furniture and office fittings, but never paid for the delivery.
Outlets differ on the amount of damages. Fontanka puts the figure at about one million rubles. Meduza, citing Fontanka, reported that Kostygin is accused of concealing the retailer's real financial position when the contract with Berks was signed.
This is not the first criminal case against Kostygin. In September 2024, a court in St. Petersburg found Kostygin and August Meyer, former co-owners of the bankrupt Ulmart, guilty of fraud. They were accused of embezzling money that Ulmart had received as loans from Sberbank and VTB for business development. The total damages in that case were estimated at 3.14 billion rubles.
Kostygin was sentenced to four years in a general-regime colony, and Meyer to three years. Both were released from punishment because the statute of limitations had expired. Both had already been defendants in a fraud case in 2017.
Sources differ on the amount of damages in the new case: Fontanka cites about one million rubles, while Meduza, citing the same Fontanka, writes about a contract for the supply of equipment and hardware without specifying an exact sum.