Blogger Valeria Chekalina, known as Lerchek, initially confessed in the case to having withdrawn 251 million rubles from abroad using false documents, but later recanted, TASS reports citing a source in law enforcement.
According to the agency, Lerchek admitted withdrawing money during investigators’ first interrogation before the court granted the request to place the blogger under house arrest, but later denied guilt.
Lerchek and her ex-husband Artem Chekalin On October 4, a new charge was filed. According to investigators, during the sale of fitness marathons, they carried out currency transactions using falsified documents and withdrew more than 250 million rubles from abroad. They face up to ten years in prison. Lerchek and Chekalin, as well as their business partner, were placed under house arrest.
This is the third criminal case that has been opened against the former spouses. A tax evasion case was opened against them last spring. Lerchek was also involved in a money laundering case – 130 million rubles, which were used to purchase US dollars. Both cases have already been closed, in December 2023 and March 2024, respectively.
