Former advisor to head of Investigative Committee sentenced to 20 years for conspiracy to kill Volgograd governor
In 2016, there was an arson attempt at the house of regional head Andrei Bocharov. One of the defendants later claimed that behind the incident was Lieutenant General Mikhail Muzraev, a former head of the regional department of the Investigative Committee.
Muzraev and his accomplice, businessman Vladimir Zubkov, were detained in 2019. According to the prosecution, Muzraev, through middlemen, organized the arson at the governor’s house.
Bastrykin's adviser and the businessman were charged with committing a terrorist act, while Muzraev was also charged with abuse of power and illegal trafficking in ammunition.
The lieutenant general had insisted on his innocence until the very last. Vladimir Zubkov was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Muzraev served as head of the Volgograd department of the Investigative Committee from 2007 to 2018, and in January 2019 he was appointed advisor to the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin. Muzraev claimed that he had no motive for committing the crime. Bocharov, according to Kommersant, confirmed during interrogation that he had no conflicts with Muzraev and did not know anyone else involved in the case. However, the prosecution believed that Muzraev wanted to demonstrate his influence in the region and organized the arson because he did not like Bocharov's independent governing.