Vijesti newspaper: former director of the Cherkizovsky market Telman Ismailov was detained in Montenegro

In the capital of Montenegro, Podgorica, a businessman, former director of the Cherkizovsky market, Telman Ismailov, was detained. This was reported by sources of the Montenegrin edition of Vijesti.

According to them, Ismailov was detained on the basis of a warrant issued by Russia.

When asked by Meduza whether the businessman was detained, Marina Rusakova, Ismailov’s lawyer, replied “There is such information,” refusing to answer other questions. She added that she spoke with Ismailov the day before and that now there is no connection with him.

The Russian embassy in Podgorica told Interfax that they had not yet received official reports from the Montenegrin authorities about the detention of Ismailov.

Updated . The Montenegrin publication DAN also reported on the arrest of Ismailov, citing a police source. According to DAN, the businessman was detained in Podgorica after lunch on October 1.

• Telman Ismailov is the founder of the AST group, the former owner of the Cherkizovsky market, which was closed and demolished in 2009. Ismailov was declared bankrupt. Part of his assets passed to creditor banks.
• In 2017, Russia put Ismailov on the international wanted list. He was charged in absentia with involvement in the murder of businessmen Vladimir Savkin and Yuri Brilev, who were shot dead in a car on Novorizhskoye Highway in 2016.
• Also charges in absentia were brought against Telman Ismailov's brother Vagif. Another of his brothers, Rafik, was sentenced to 17 years in prison in 2020 in the case of the murder of Savkin and Brilev.
• In 2018, the singer Abraham Russo stated that in 2004 Telman Ismailov organized his abduction because he wanted the singer to perform only for him and his guests and not give other concerts. Russo was held in an apartment outside Moscow and beaten until he agreed to comply with all demands.
• In 2021, the court sentenced Russo's kidnappers - the bodyguard of Ismailov's nephew Vladimir Gusakov and businessman Elyar Damirov - to six and five years in prison, respectively. But they were released from punishment due to the expiration of the period of prosecution.