The curator of the economic security department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where Colonel Zakharchenko worked, was fired from the FSB

Colonel Sergei Gribanov, who oversaw the work of several departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, including the Main Directorate for Economic Security and Anti-Corruption (GUEBiPK), was fired from the FSB of Russia. This was reported by Novaya Gazeta, citing sources in the department.

Colonel Dmitry Zakharchenko, who was arrested for taking a bribe in the fall of 2016, worked in the economic security department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. After his arrest, Novaya Gazeta wrote about Zakharchenko’s connections with employees of the “M” department of the FSB (engaged in “counterintelligence support” for law enforcement agencies), including Sergei Gribanov and Dmitry Senin, who is Zakharchenko’s brother-in-law.

According to the newspaper, after these publications, the FSB's internal security department began an audit, as a result of which Gribanov was removed from the staff.

• Colonel Dmitry Zakharchenko was arrested in early September 2016; during a search in the apartment of his relative, cash was found totaling 9 billion rubles. Zakharchenko was accused of abuse of power and a bribe of 7 million rubles. He does not admit his guilt.
• After an internal audit, the head of Zakharchenko, Alexander Tishchenko, was fired from the department. The “T” department, in which Zakharchenko worked, was disbanded at the end of 2016.