Melnikov was found guilty of fraud on an especially large scale. He admitted guilt and struck a plea deal with investigators, so the case was heard under a special procedure, according to Kommersant, Meduza and The Moscow Times.
The court also upheld a civil claim from the former owners of the Akvamir aquapark in Novosibirsk, ordering Melnikov to pay about 4.2 billion rubles. Counting time spent in custody, he could seek parole as early as July 2027.
According to investigators, in 2019 the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA), which was handling the bankruptcy proceedings of Mezhtopenergobank, took over management of Akvamir, one of Russia's largest aquaparks. The facility was leased to a company called Belaya Sfera-Construction. Proceeds from the complex's operations, investigators allege, went to members of the scheme rather than into the bankruptcy estate, which is meant to repay creditors. The total theft was estimated at more than 4 billion rubles.
On the same day, former DIA deputy head Alexander Popelyukh received four years in a penal colony in a related case over the embezzlement of 200 million rubles. It was Popelyukh who testified against Melnikov. Two other defendants signed contracts with the Defense Ministry, and the investigation against them was suspended.
Melnikov worked at the DIA from its founding in 2004. Until 2016 he served as a deputy head of the agency, then became economy minister of Crimea. He later worked at the Association of Banks of Russia and returned to the DIA in 2019. In 2022 he took over as head of the agency, succeeding Yuri Isayev.
Isayev has also been charged in the same case and put on a wanted list. Investigators believe he patronized members of the embezzlement scheme. Isayev headed the DIA from December 2012 to January 2022, after which he became a deputy chairman of the Bank of Russia. According to Meduza, the FSB helped secure his appointment. In August 2022 he resigned from the Central Bank of his own accord and left Russia.