FSB agents are carrying out a search at the home of Roman Anin, the editor-in-chief of the investigative outlet iStories Media.
iStories reported the raid on their Telegram channel on the evening of Friday, April 9. At the time, Anin couldn’t be reached, the post said.
In a another post, iStories wrote that a lawyer had already arrived at Anin’s home, and that a second lawyer was on her way.
The reason for the search remains unknown at the time of this writing.
iStories speculates that raid could be linked to a 2016 lawsuit filed by Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin against Roman Anin and the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
Update: Anin’s home is being searched under criminal code article 137, section 2: Invasion of personal privacy committed by a person through his official position, his lawyer told iStories. Whether Anin is a witness or a suspect in the case has yet to be confirmed.
Update II: After searching Anin’s home for almost seven hours, police questioned him as a witness. He declined to provide any evidence in the case, invoking the Russian Constitution’s self-incrimination clause. He is ordered to return for further questioning on Monday, April 12.
iStories specializes in investigative journalism. On April 9, they published a story about the Federal Penitentiary Service officials in the Vladimir region, who have continued to receive promotions despite being accused of crimes ranging from torture to murder. Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny is currently being held in a penal colony in the Vladimir region.
iStories has published a number of high-profile stories, including an investigation into Vladimir Putin’s alleged former son-in-law, Kirill Shamalov, who obtained a major stake in Russia’s largest petrochemical company for just $100. They also published an investigation into Russian oil giant Rosneft buying a stake in the Italian tire manufacturer Pirelli.
In March 2021, iStories published an investigation by Roman Anin into the FSB’s deputy director Sergey Korolev and his connections to organized crime bosses.