TALLINN. Aug 20 (Interfax) - St. Petersburg resident Mikhail Krishyan, wanted by Interpol for organizing murders and illegal takeovers, has been detained in Estonia.
"Krishyan was detained on Thursday, August 15. The court sanctioned his arrest on Saturday," the spokesman of the central criminal police Kaarel Kuusk told Interfax on Monday.
Krishyan was on the wanted list since late 2011 on accusation of organizing contract murder and illegal takeover of a St. Petersburg commercial company. According to the information of the Russian Investigative Committee, Krishyan was involved in the murder of Pulkovo-3 owner Mikhail Karachev on May 7, 2010.
Russia said it did not exclude that Krishyan was related to the disappearance of antique dealer Arkady Tulchin in 2003.
The St. Petersburg division of the central bureau of Interpol of the Russian Interior Ministry has sanctioned putting him on the international wanted list.
It was reported in July that Krishyan was detained in Finland, however the Investigative Committee denied this information. According to Russian Investigative Committee Department spokesman Sergei Kapitonov, the individual detained turned out to be a different man.
Investigators think that in 2010 Krishyan, driven by greed, organized inflicting intentional serious damage to Karachev's health. Krishyan and Viktor Shishkin engaged Vadim Sorokin and Denis Mikhailov in murdering the businessman.
On May 7, 2010, Sorokin and his accomplice Ruslan Aksyanov attacked Karachev at 24, Blagodatnaya Street and beat him violently using items, which have not been determined. The victim was brought to hospital, where he died on the same day due to trauma sustained.
Investigators also determined that earlier in 2010, Krishyan also engaged Sorokin and Mikhailov in murdering another businessman. On October 29, 2010, Sorokin killed the businessman at 29/1, 2nd Zhernovskaya Street, having shot him five times.
In late May 2010, Sorokin killed Aksyanov in the village of Piskovichi in the Pskov region during an argument.
Sorokin and Mikhailov have been sentenced to various prison terms and the criminal case on Shishkin is being considered.