Sitting Russian senator is stripped of immunity and arrested on charges of ordering business partner’s murder

Police arrested politician Dmitry Savelyev outside Russia’s Federation Council building on Friday after the upper chamber’s lawmakers agreed to lift his senatorial immunity at the General Prosecutor’s request. 

Savelyev is suspected of ordering an “acquaintance” to kill a businessman in August 2023 for reasons of “personal animosity.” Savelyev allegedly offered $100,000 for the murder. His intermediary reportedly offered the contract to a former guard in Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service, but that man reported the plot to the Federal Security Service. Officials then staged the killing, and Savelyev paid the reward, believing the murder was successful. The newspaper Kommersant reports that Savelyev’s target was a business partner named “Ionov” who allegedly embezzled money from their company.

Savelyev maintains his innocence and says the charges against him are “fabricated.” 

Dmitry Savelyev has served in the Federation Council since 2016 as a senator representing Russia’s Tula region. His current term expires in September 2024. Savelyev is also a member of United Russia’s regional party presidium in Tula. Before joining the Federation Council, he served as a deputy in the State Duma for 17 years. Before joining the parliament’s lower house, Savelyev worked as an executive at Lukoil and was the president of the state-controlled oil pipeline company Transneft.