1/ The late Russian transport minister, Roman Starovoit, is reported to have amassed more than 1 billion rubles ($12.7m) worth of property and luxury watches, likely the proceeds of fraud and bribery. More details of his death on Monday have also emerged. ⬇️ 
2/ Russian investigators are reported to have discovered that Starovoit, who is said to have been facing imminent indictment and a possible 20-year jail sentence, possessed material wealth far in excess of his ministerial salary.
https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1942271564772159634
3/ According to the INSIDER-T Telegram news channel, "His mistress did not want to give the keys to the dacha of the ex-minister who committed suicide, so they had to break down the door. What they saw astonished the security forces."
4/ "The luxurious interiors looked more like a Florentine palace than a Moscow suburban mansion of a civil servant.
5/ "It also turned out that Starovoit was a big fan of expensive watches (apparently, some of these watches were bribes from businessmen) – the entire collection has now been confiscated.
6/ "It is also specified that Starovoit kept huge sums of money at home – all in cash in dollars and euros. All this money has now been confiscated, since (judging by the amount of cash) we are clearly not talking about the labour income of the modest[ly paid] minister."
7/ Starovoit's palatial three-story dacha in the Myakinino district outside Moscow, not far from the park where he shot himself, is worth 260 million rubles ($3.3m). It has its own swimming pool and sauna.
According to the Mash Telegram channel, Starovoit's properties included:
According to the Mash Telegram channel, Starovoit's properties included:
8/ 🔺 an apartment of 50 square meters on Vyacheslav Klykov Avenue in Kursk;
🔺 an apartment of 50 square meters on Admiralteyskaya Embankment in St. Petersburg;
🔺 an apartment of 165 square meters on Malo-Okhtinsky Avenue in St. Petersburg;
🔺 an apartment of 50 square meters on Admiralteyskaya Embankment in St. Petersburg;
🔺 an apartment of 165 square meters on Malo-Okhtinsky Avenue in St. Petersburg;
9/🔺 an apartment of 345 square meters on Klimashkina Street in Moscow;
🔺 an apartment of 140 square meters in an elite residential complex in Shmitovsky Proyezd in Moscow;
🔺 a plot of 18 acres with a three-story house in the Myakinino district;
🔺 a Tesla Model X P100D.
🔺 an apartment of 140 square meters in an elite residential complex in Shmitovsky Proyezd in Moscow;
🔺 a plot of 18 acres with a three-story house in the Myakinino district;
🔺 a Tesla Model X P100D.
10/ While in Kursk, Starovoit lived in a house in the village of Durnevo that was built by the Kursk Oblast Development Corporation, the same company that was responsible for building border defences in the region. Its managers are under arrest for suspected fraud and bribery.
11/ On the morning of his death, according to the VChK-OGPU channel, Starovoit "sent a message to a security guard from a parking lot near Malevich Park, indicating where he could be found. After that, he shot himself."
12/ His body was identified by his girlfriend Polina Kopilova, a 25-year-old medical school graduate turned model from the Kursk region. Starovoit had divorced his wife in 2021 and brought Polina back to Moscow with him when he was promoted to the post of transport minister.
13/ The Scout Telegram channel says that Starovoit found out a few days ago that he was about to be dismissed and charged with fraud.
14/ "Several days ago, the Kremlin called the former Minister of Transport Starovoit with a harsh ultimatum: return everything stolen during the construction of fortifications near Kursk, plus a few extra — allegedly “compensation for reputational damage,” insiders say.
15/ "Earlier, he and the Kremlin had come to an agreement that he would return all the money and work to return in the capital, which is why a criminal case was not opened after his resignation from the governor’s post.
16/ "According to the source, the former minister begged for a deferment, citing the fact that “the person responsible for keeping the money” could not yet hand it over.
17/ "He vowed to work off the debt for years, but in response he heard: “The dismissal on July 7 is the point of no return. After that — a criminal case.”
18/ "The next day, a crushed Starovoit arrived at his daughter’s competition. Witnesses described his condition as “silvery pale”: he barely spoke, hugged the child with a stifled “Forgive me...” — and left 40 minutes later. This was his last public appearance, the insider says.
19/ "In recent days, Starovoit tried to call the accomplice responsible for keeping the money, but he cut off all contact and settled somewhere in the United States, as far as the informant knows from the words of the ex-minister himself in a private conversation."
20/ The accomplice is said to have acted as a 'wallet' for some of the money stolen by Starovoit, which was reportedly held as cryptocurrency. Starovoit had also put his Myakinino mansion up for sale.
21/ Starovoit asked the accomplice "to return at least part of the money for a deal with the investigation - this was his chance to extend the agreement and protect his family."
22/ "The ex-accomplice promised to help, but instead, he zeroed out the crypto wallets, which allegedly contained part of the stolen money, and disappeared without a trace, leaving Starovoit to his fate.
23/ "This deprived the ex-governor of his last trump card in negotiations with investigators."
24/ Scout reports: "Before his death, he asked his loved ones to take care of his family, and his last message to the former accomplice in a secret chat was: 'Give at least part of it to my family, freak. I will get you from the other world and answer for your words.'" /end
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