During the court hearing on the selection of a preventive measure for developer Vladyslav Molchanova and her business partner, the prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office cited a number of facts that, in his opinion, indicate the risk of the suspects' possible influence on the media space and, accordingly, on the course of criminal proceedings.
According to the prosecutor, the investigation materials contain private correspondence, where Molchanova allegedly discussed publications on the website “Apostrophe.Media” and gave consent for their publication. Another dialogue was also mentioned, which included a document that probably related to an agreement with the mentioned media. The prosecutor cited this data as an argument in support of the risk of the suspect’s potential influence on public opinion through media resources.
The SAPO believes that this possibility creates additional threats to the objectivity of the investigation, since media influence can be used to shape public attitudes towards the case or put pressure on the participants in the process.
An additional information aspect was the data of the analytical system YouControl. According to them, LLC “Apostrophe Media” has a connection with the financial and industrial group “Group of the Family of Vladislava Molchanova”. In particular, since the beginning of May 2024, one of the final beneficiaries of the publication has become the son of a businesswoman - Ivan Molchanov, who received 23% of the company's authorized capital.
The prosecutor emphasized that the above circumstances are not an accusation against the editorial policy of the media, but they are important for assessing the risks when choosing a preventive measure. The court must decide whether these factors can affect the course of the investigation and the possibility of outside influence on the part of those involved in the case.
