The Dzhako case in North Ossetia. Gang leader accuses politicians of contract murder

Dzhako case in North Ossetia

In North Ossetia, a republic in the North Caucasus within Russia, a scandal has sparked over the trial of the famous gang leader. Defendant Aslan Gagiev, in his speech, accused the current deputy of the Russian State Duma and other top officials of involvement in the murder of the former Deputy Prime Minister of North Ossetia in 2008. The deputy denies the charges.

On October 6, Gagiev made sensational statements at the trial, which is taking place in the Rostov military court.

Pagiyev was shot in 2008, two days after his resignation from his post as deputy head of government.

Killer Gagiev or Dzhako, as he is better known in criminal circles, said that it was Deputy Makiev who ordered the murder of Pagiev, adding that the “prime minister” and “senator” were interested in the physical elimination of the politician.

“I confess to the murder of the Deputy Prime Minister of North Ossetia – Alan Pagiyev. I admit it. And the customer of this murder is State Duma deputy Zurab Gayozovich Makiev and his accomplice, the prime minister and the senator, “Gagiev said at the trial.

Who exactly does Jaco mean by these statuses? North Ossetia is currently represented by two politicians in the Federation Council.

This is the ex-head of the republic Taimuraz Mamsurov and the leader of the regional branch of the party “Fair Russia – For Truth – Patriots of Russia” Arsen Fadzaev

As for the words about the “prime minister” – this, according to users of social networks in North Ossetia, may be arrested for fraud on an especially large scale in August this year, ex-head of the republic’s government, Sergei Takoev.

All four politicians knew the late Pagiyev closely and worked side by side in the North Ossetian government.

Makiev’s answer

A few hours after Gagiev’s assertions thundered out of the blue, Zurab Makiev also broke the silence, who just recently was given the mandate of a deputy of the State Duma of the seventh convocation.

Zurab Makiev denied Gagiev’s statements.

Development of events: State Duma deputy Zurab Makiev denies the accusations and calls on businessmen not to pay Gagiev and not to pay his lawyers

The deputy said that Gagiev imposed his services on him, i.e. offered a “roof”. But Makiev rejected the offer, which is why the killer allegedly is now taking revenge on him and trying to discredit him.

According to the politician, he wrote a statement to law enforcement agencies, asking them to deal with the illegal proposals of the criminal authority. However, observers note some inconsistencies in the words of Makiev.

The conversation with Gagiev took place in 2015, and the deputy filed a complaint with the investigating authorities two years later, in 2017. A number of questions arise. Did Makiev turn to the security officials voluntarily, and if so, why did he wait for two years, and did not do it right after the scandalous offers of cooperation from Gagiev?

On October 7, Makiev continued his monologue and on the air of Ossetia News appealed to all major businessmen in Ossetia, who, according to him, still finance Aslan Gagiev, to stop it: “It is time to turn off the power to him (Aslan Gagiev). Stop paying him and his lawyers. “

How the murder was planned – the killer’s story

Back in April 2021, details of Gagiev’s testimony to the investigation appeared in the media. As Gagiev allegedly said then, in 2008, Deputy Makiev came to meet him at the Ossetian representation in Moscow, who asked to kill Pagiev, and the deputy speaker of the North Ossetian parliament, Totoonov, who was also interested in the removal of the deputy prime minister. After that, the conversation moved to the “Ararat Hyatt” hotel.

During interrogation, this was confirmed by Artur Dzhioev, one of the leaders of the gang and the adopted son of Gagiev. According to the man, he gave his father a lift and saw how Makiev and Totoonov entered the hotel.

Sergei Takoev in 2008 was the rector of the Institute of Civilization and a close friend of the head of North Ossetia. Sources referring to the testimony claim that Pagiyev was ordered to take revenge. Allegedly, he himself had previously tried to organize the murder of Takayev, but he did not succeed in bringing his plan to the end, so the trio decided to remove him.

As a result, Dzhako accepted the order and handed it over to another leader of his gang – the namesake and South Ossetian counterintelligence officer Oleg Gagiev, nicknamed Bote. On the morning of December 31, 2008, Pagiev’s car was shot by two unknown persons in a narrow passage between high-rise buildings.

Makiev, Totoonov and Takoev deny all charges. Makiev claims that he himself wrote a statement against Gagiev because of threats and moved in an armored car with security.

Takoev does not deny that he met with Dzhako at that time, but they allegedly discussed not the murder, but the Beslan airport, which Gagiev wanted to buy.

Who is Deputy Makiev

There are many questions in this whole story. The public is interested in why Gagiev “hits” precisely on Zurab Makiev.

In May of this year, Makiev was in the spotlight when he won the primaries of the ruling United Russia party and once again became a candidate for deputy. The results of the preliminary voting and the victory of the politician living in Moscow were then called into question by both experts and the public of North Ossetia.

Makiev has been a State Duma deputy since 2016. It rarely happens in the republic, and as a rule, on visits in the midst of the election campaign or during the celebration of Easter, when it delivers the blessed fire from Jerusalem to the republic.

In North Ossetia, many believe that Makiev owes his political career to his father’s influential connections. Gayoz Makiev is the head of the North Caucasian branch of the Glavgosexpertiza of Russia, the department responsible for the examination of construction work. In the past, he was the head of the North Caucasus Highway Administration.

According to the republic, it was he who provided a “bright future” for his son Zurab in the Russian legislative branch.

Gagiev’s gang

The activities of the organized criminal group of Aslan Gagiev began in the mid-2000s. At the moment, almost 50 episodes of serious crimes committed in Moscow, the Moscow region and North Ossetia have been investigated.

According to the investigation, the gang members killed at least 60 people, including law enforcement officers, officials, businessmen.

The alleged victims of the group are the owner of Sodbiznesbank and Kredittrast bank Alexander Slesarev and his family members, the owner of the National Capital bank Dmitry Plytnik and the chairman of the board of Kutuzovsky bank Oleg Novoselsky.

In North Ossetia, Dzhako’s gang was responsible for the shooting of the head of the republican department for combating organized crime, Mark Metsaev, and the murder of the head of the first department of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for North Ossetia, Vadim Cheldiev, and his son Zaur was shot along with him in the car.

In addition to the murder of ex-mayor of Vladikavkaz and ex-deputy prime minister Kazbek Pagiev, investigators blame Gagiev’s accomplices and the shooting of another mayor of Vladikavkaz, Vitaly Karaev, Pagiev’s successor.

The defendant is charged with organizing at least five murders, creating an organized criminal group and trafficking in arms.

During the very first meeting, Gagiev said that he was ready to give confessions and demanded a more complete investigation in order to bring to criminal responsibility those who ordered the crimes.

When the security forces tracked him down, Gagiev fled Russia and was put on the international wanted list in 2014. A year later, he was detained in Austria, as a result of a lengthy extradition procedure in 2018, Aslan Gagiev was extradited to Russia.