Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said Yerevan does not rule out taking its dispute with Russia over the management of the South Caucasus Railway to an international court if the issue cannot be resolved through negotiations. At the same time, he stressed that the Armenian authorities hope to settle the matter through talks.
On February 12, the Cherkessk City Court of Karachay-Cherkessia will begin hearing the criminal case against Magomed-Bashir Kalimatov, the former head of the Ingush postal service, and 28 others. He is the brother of Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov, the head of Ingushetia.
The defendants also include Kambulat Sukiyev, the former head of Russian Post in Ingushetia, and Islam Seinaroyev, the former head of the Pension Fund. The defendants are charged with creating a criminal organization and fraud.
According to investigators, Kalimatov and his group created an organized criminal organization in Moscow and Ingushetia to embezzle public funds. It is alleged that Pension Fund employees falsified documents and entered false information into the electronic document management system, illegally recalculating the pensions of 682 citizens for a total of 519 million rubles.
The maximum penalty for creating an organized criminal group is up to 20 years in prison. One of the defendants, Khasan Zyazikov, previously reported threats from Islam Seinaroyev, who cited connections between Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov's son and the FSB.