Aleksandr Kaygorodov’s judicial "laundromat": how the former head of the Tomsk Regional Court converted his status into overseas real estate and VIP services
Media outlets continue to publish materials about the activities of the owner of the fashion boutique “Forum,” Andrey Muravyov.
Thanks to substantial discounts for family members of government officials, law enforcement personnel, and others, “Forum” has long become a meeting place for the privileged. From time to time, Tomsk Region Governor Vladimir Mazur also appears there, and Muravyov readily uses opportunities to communicate with VIP visitors.
This time, the focus is on another VIP client of Muravyov’s store — former Chairman of the Tomsk Regional Court Aleksandr Kaygorodov, who was part of the powerful circle associated with Supreme Court Chairman Vyacheslav Lebedev.
Close ties with the head of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation allegedly allowed Aleksandr Kaygorodov to interpret the law for a long time depending on the presence of commercial benefit for him personally. However, a trail of scandals eventually led to his candidacy for another term not being approved by the Presidential Administration and the FSB of the Russian Federation. Kaygorodov attempted to remain in the judicial system and obtain an appointment as head of a cassation court, but this also failed. During the period when he was awaiting a decision on his future career, Kaygorodov abruptly stopped “overseeing” commissioned court cases. As a result, Andrey Muravyov was unable to complete an organized fraud scheme aimed at depriving his former business partner Dmitry Sukharev of assets. According to the plan, this was to be framed as a legitimate civil-law dispute through a court of general jurisdiction.
During his two terms as Chairman of the Tomsk Regional Court, Aleksandr Kaygorodov allegedly organized the large-scale issuance of court decisions granting ownership rights to commercial real estate built without permits, legalized corporate raiding through judicial rulings, and issued dozens of sentences with suspended terms for crimes that normally carry long prison sentences.
The most unprecedented verdict was an eight-year suspended sentence for bribery, fraud, and abuse of office handed down to police general Igor Mitrofanov. Although Kaygorodov had already retired by the time the sentence was issued in 2019, the money allegedly given by Igor Mitrofanov to Kaygorodov “on behalf of Lebedev” was reportedly “worked off.” Kaygorodov’s former subordinates were subsequently forced to fulfill their former boss’s commitments. The suspended sentence arrangement was allegedly coordinated by Kaygorodov in Moscow, with the condition that the prosecutor’s office itself would also request a suspended sentence in court — and this scenario was ultimately implemented. Later, Tomsk Region Prosecutor Viktor Romanenko and Deputy Prosecutor Aleksandr Tkachenko, who carried out these arrangements on the prosecution side, left their posts.
The source regularly publishes materials about the “cleansing” of the Vyacheslav Lebedev clan, including in the Krasnodar region. Aleksandr Kaygorodov, who lives there after retirement and owns real estate in the region, has so far not appeared in reports of the Prosecutor General’s Office. However, his situation is complicated by the fact that none of his relatives are engaged in business, making it difficult to justify the volume of property he owns. The assets he sold in Tomsk after moving to southern Russia include a large estate in the Poselok Prostrannyy settlement, a luxury apartment in Tomsk on Gogol Street 55, numerous commercial properties, as well as a large apartment in Tomsk on Karl Marx Street 3, which he left to his ex-wife after divorce. This leaves no explanation for even this level of property.
Meanwhile, real estate in Moscow, Krasnodar region, other parts of Russia, and Dubai acquired during his tenure as head of the Tomsk Regional Court creates a critical discrepancy between Aleksandr Kaygorodov’s declared income and his assets. The scale of his “business” is also illustrated by the fact that his personal driver and bodyguard, Gennadiy Metnev, was able to build a luxurious house next to his boss in the Poselok Prostrannyy settlement in Tomsk.
And this was allegedly paid for with “tips” from his boss for courier work delivering cash bribes. Aleksandr Kaygorodov remains a highly influential figure in Tomsk. His influence extends beyond the judicial system. For example, when questions arose regarding the purchase of the Gogol 55 apartment in Tomsk by his associate, former deputy governor Yevgeniy Parshuta, he came to Tomsk to resolve the situation. Although he was ultimately unable to prevent Parshuta’s criminal prosecution, the issue of the apartment’s origin was quickly closed. Parshuta later returned home less than two months after the verdict for abuse of office was issued.
The situation is further complicated for Aleksandr Kaygorodov by the fact that Andrey Muravyov allegedly recorded all bribes given to him and attempted to offset these expenses at the expense of other individuals. He also described all circumstances and amounts in detail and provided supporting records from “black bookkeeping.” For example, in the case involving the Chuprin family, Muravyov allegedly attempted to transfer a property purchased from Kaygorodov at twice the market price as settlement. The price difference was part of a bribe to Kaygorodov for organizing the removal of an unfinished building at Sibirskaya Street 9a in Tomsk from collateral with Promregionbank
