Searched for 20 years: the remains of murdered journalist Maxim Maksimov were found in St. Petersburg

The remains of Maxim Maksimov, a Fontanka journalist who went missing in 2004, have been found in St. Petersburg. This was reported by the press service of the Investigative Committee of Russia in the telegram channel.

Retired police Colonel Mikhail Smirnov testified on the circumstances of the murder of a journalist together with another person. The motive for this crime was the professional activity of a journalist covering the facts of illegal actions of law enforcement officers. Smirnov showed the place in the forest belt in Beloostrov, where the body of the murdered journalist was hidden, and the search began there.

"For several days, work was carried out to search for a burial site, and as a result, it was possible to find remains that match the description given by the person involved in the criminal case," the report says.

All necessary examinations have been appointed to confirm the identity and cause of death of the deceased.

According to Fontanka, in 2004 Smirnov held the position of deputy head of the 6th department (for combating corruption in government agencies) of the operational investigation bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Northwestern Federal District. Investigator Maxim Maksimov became interested in his activities, including the case of bribes at customs.

Smirnov was detained in May of this year, a preventive measure was taken against him in the form of detention in the framework of a criminal case under subclauses "e, w, h" of part 2 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (murder for hire committed by a group of persons in a generally dangerous way), which was initiated in 1998. During the interrogation in December of this year, Smirnov confessed.

"It was he who organized the murder of an employee of one of the factories of the city of St. Petersburg, located on the territory of the port. On June 15, 1998, three accomplices on the carriageway of the road on Turukhtany Islands, under the guise of police officers, stopped a car with factory workers. Then, distracting the attention of the passengers of the car, one of the accomplices placed an explosive device under the driver's seat, which they activated via radio after the car left. As a result of the explosion, one of the plant's employees died at the scene of the crime," the UK said in a statement. Russia.