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Minister Ibrahim Kazibekov
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A Dagestani government minister was kidnapped for ransom. Or maybe he wasn't

Source: Meduza
Minister Ibrahim Kazibekov
Minister Ibrahim Kazibekov
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Republic of Dagestan

On the evening of July 20, Ibrahim Kazibekov, the minister of Dagestan’s Construction, Architecture, and Communal Service Department, was reportedly kidnapped. Kazibekov says his captors brought him to an apartment in Makhachkala, chained him to a radiator, and demanded 100 million rubles ($1.7 million) for his release. The Dagestani minister says he managed to talk them down to 70 million rubles ($1.2 million), and police detained both kidnappers the next night when they tried to collect the money. Local news outlets say the abduction is tied to a business dispute in the region’s construction industry. Some reporters even allege that the kidnapping was staged, claiming that Kazibekov’s captors were actually trying to collect on sizeable debts.

Ibrahim Kazibekov was abducted on July 20. According to investigators, the Dagestani minister was kidnapped on the evening of July 20, a week before his 58th birthday, as he was driving home along the highway from Makhachkala to Kaspiysk. The abductors stopped his car outside an old racetrack that was recently torn down to make way for locals being resettled from crumbling housing in the area. Armed with pistols, two men forced Kazibekov into their car, and brought him to a nearby apartment, where the minister was chained to a radiator.

The kidnappers demanded ransom, and the minister agreed to pay it. According to local investigators, they first set the ransom at 100 million rubles ($1.7 million), but later lowered it to 70 million rubles ($1.2 million), threatening to maim or murder Kazibekov if they didn’t get the money. The whole conversation took place in the apartment where Kazibekov was chained up. After seven hours, the minister agreed to pay. He then told his captors where they could go to retrieve the money. Investigators have refused to reveal who prepared the money promised to the kidnappers or say how the handoff was arranged.

The suspects in the abduction were detained on the night of July 21 at the address marked by Kazibekov, while picking up the first installment in the ransom: 30 million rubles ($500,000). The Dagestani minister was later freed by troops from the Interior Ministry, Federal Security Service, and National Guard. The men who nabbed Kazibekov turned out to be brothers, Zalkip and Yakhi Aliskantov, and police promptly charged them with three felonies: kidnapping, large-scale extortion, and illegal weapons trafficking.

According to some reports, Kazibekov’s abduction may have been a “hired job.” A source in Dagestani law enforcement told the news agency TASS that state investigators are looking into the possibility that the Aliskantov brothers may have been working for someone else. In November 2008. Zalkip Aliskantov was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison for attempted murder and illegal weapons trafficking in an organized criminal group.

Police are also investigating the possibility that the kidnapping is tied to a business dispute in Dagestan’s construction industry. Before he became minister, Kazibekov was the head of a local construction company called “Atom” and the board chairman of a self-regulating organization called the “Builders’ Regional Association” — circumstances he hid when he was appointed to work as a minister in June 2015. The Dagestani government has since ignored state prosecutors’ demands to fire Kazibekov. Journalists from the media outlet Chernovik say Kazibekov still has ties to several construction companies, including the large contractors hired to resettle Dagestanis from dilapidated housing.

The Aliskantovs might also have ties to Dagestan’s construction business. Alibek Aliskantov, a third brother in the family, owns 9.5 percent of “Marabi,” a factory that manufactures ceramic tiles. According to Chernovik, Russian soccer player Soslan Dzhanayev owns 16 percent of Marabi, and the company itself is believed to be affiliated with Dagestani Prime Minister Abdusamad Gamidov.

The website Kavkazskaya Politika says the kidnapping never actually happened. Citing two anonymous sources, the outlet claims Kazibekov owes a large amount of money to the Aliskantov brothers for real estate near the demolished racetrack (the same place the minister was allegedly abducted). The Aliskantov family reportedly invested heavily in Dagestan’s local resettlement project, but failed to profit as much as expected. “The dispute has been brewing for a long time… [Kazibekov] repaid about 30-40 million [rubles]. Then they started talking about 80 million rubles. Apparently that’s when he went to the police, and [the brothers] were detained,” one source told Kavkazskaya Politika.

Officially, this information remains unconfirmed. State investigators aren’t discussing the possible motives for the crime, and the case is still underway.

Kazibekov returned to work immediately without any serious injuries. Just hours after the ordeal, he attended a cabinet meeting in the Dagestani government. On July 25, a spokesperson for the local Construction, Architecture, and Communal Service Department told Meduza that Kazibekov is currently traveling for work. The press representative stressed that the government isn’t yet prepared to comment on the incident, and offered to address the issue “after the holidays,” without clarifying what holidays they meant.

Russian text by Pavel Merzlikin, translated by Kevin Rothrock

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