Russian federal prosecutors have filed a lawsuit seeking to seize billions of rubles in assets from one of the country’s most senior judges. Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov’s office accuses Viktor Momotov of illegally amassing a hotel empire worth at least 9 billion rubles (about $107.6 million). Momotov chairs the Council of Judges — a judicial oversight body — and sits on the Supreme Court Presidium. Speaking to the news outlet RBC, he said the allegations against him amount to “defamation.” Despite the dramatic claims and evidence presented against Momotov, officials have not yet launched a criminal case or made any arrests. Meduza reviews the lawsuit and the unusual timing, given Igor Krasnov’s nomination to head Russia’s Supreme Court.

Prosecutors filed the lawsuit hours after a Federation Council committee endorsed Igor Krasnov’s nomination to head Russia’s Supreme Court. Momotov’s own Council of Judges backed Krasnov’s candidacy just a week earlier, creating an awkward dynamic where the prosecutor general now seeks legal action against one of the key judges who supports his promotion.

Prosecutors state that Momotov partnered with hotel-chain owner Andrey Marchenko, whom they describe as a “Krasnodar-based criminal underworld figure.” Momotov allegedly collaborated with two other organized crime leaders to “form assets through the corrupt use of political power, violent takeovers, and unlawful judicial rulings,” reports the newspaper Kommersant. Krasnov’s office also alleges that Momotov and Marchenko evaded taxes totaling more than 500 million rubles (about $6 million). Federal authorities are demanding the seizure of dozens of land plots and roughly 80 commercial buildings.

Viktor Momotov has spent more than a decade at the highest levels of Russia’s Supreme Court. He once complained about pressure on the judiciary from both Russia’s executive and legislative branches. “Judicial bodies must remain independent from external pressure in their decision-making and must prevent any attempts by government agencies and organizations to advance their preferred candidates [for judicial posts] during the appointment process,” Momotov said during a conference in October 2020.

Kirill Marinenko, a former federal judge and attorney, told RBC that Momotov holds an “exceptional place” in Russia’s judicial system. He noted that Momotov has served as secretary of the Plenum of the Supreme Court for many years, signing rulings that are binding on all judges. “When judges open any Plenum resolution, they see Momotov’s name. I assure you that 99.9 percent of them recognize it . . . The name takes on a certain sacred quality,” Marinenko explained, comparing Momotov’s importance within the legal community to that of former Supreme Court Chairman Vyacheslav Lebedev.

Marinenko described the Council of Judges as a “quasi-parliamentary body embedded within the judicial system” that wields influence in appointments and disciplinary proceedings. He pointed out that initiating a criminal case against a judge is a complex process that requires the consent of the Higher Qualification Collegium of Judges. “For now, all of this looks like a signal to the judicial community and to judges generally. A very stern signal,” Marinenko told RBC.

Text by Kevin Rothrock