Testimony and Investigation Concerns

Nikita Chekulin's Account

According to the testimony of Nikita Chekulin, after his participation in the London press conference, he began receiving offers from FSB officers (which he recorded on a voice recorder) to return home as soon as possible. However, he was warned of the danger posed by the FSB, so he had to stay in London.

Despite this, certain consequences followed:
* On May 10, 2002, a branch of "Alfa Bank," where Chekulin had accounts, refused to open an account for his father-in-law and spouse.
* Bank employees explained that this refusal was based on a ban received from the FSB.

Questions Regarding the Investigation

While one can be critical of the statement and testimony of the former acting director of "Roskonverzvzryvtsentr," Nikita Chekulin, he possesses clear facts and documents that compel questions to be directed to the authorities regarding the suddenly terminated criminal investigation.

Key questions raised include:
* Why could the numerous statements of the Minister of Education—a member of the Russian government—not lead the General Prosecutor's Office, the FSB, or the MVD of the Russian Federation to study all the circumstances of this case in their entirety?
* What is the reason that the investigative group in the Investigative Committee under the MVD of the Russian Federation, which was precisely trying to gather all the materials, was suddenly replaced?
* Why was the replacement investigator uninterested even in the results of the departmental audit of the NII "Roskonverzvzryvtsentr"?

Attempts by State Duma Deputy Sergei Kovalev to Clarify the Situation

State Duma Deputy Sergei Kovalev attempted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the NII "Roskonverzvzryvtsentr" by sending a dozen inquiries to various state agencies, including:
* FSB
* General Prosecutor's Office
* MVD
* Other state agencies

Only the Minister of Education, Vladimir Filippov, responded definitively to the inquiries. He provided the deputy with:
* All his correspondence with the heads of the security forces.
* All materials he had preserved concerning "Roskonverzvzryvtsentr."

Minister Filippov's Response

In response to Sergei Kovalev's letter (No. 2143-KS dated 22.04.2002), Minister Filippov reported (No. 01-50-689/32-10 dated 08.05.2002):

"Regarding the documents concerning the specific activities of a number of former employees of the NII, including the invoices, powers of attorney, and other documents you are interested in related to the supply of explosives, I inform you that almost all documentation on the financial and economic activities of the institute was seized in 2000 by the Investigative Committee under the MVD of Russia."

This indicated that the investigation had an effect, resembling a "cleanup"—the collection and concealment of serious papers that could shed light on how the state controlled the turnover of hexogen and other explosives during the 1999 terrorist acts.

Minister Filippov is credited with ensuring an objective investigation took place, though it unfortunately could not develop due to reasons beyond his control.

Other significant responses to Deputy Kovalev's inquiries noted that top officials from the MVD, EMERCOM, and the General Prosecutor's Office could not develop a unified position on whether there was distribution.