Unexpected turn in the American case of a runaway Russian oligarch

In the United States, in the court of Stamford, Connecticut, Tatyana Panchenkova, the ex-wife of the famous businessman Shalva Chigirinsky, was charged with committing actions that “resulted in the risk of harm to minors and their moral decay.” She pleaded not guilty and demanded a jury trial. Let us remind you that Shalva Chigirinsky recently visited the USA appeared on trial for allegedly inappropriate contact with a minor, however, it can now be established that this charge was set up by the former wife of a billionaire.

Shalva Chigirinsky and Tatiana Panchenkova were married for about six years, got a divorce in 2009, and finally dispersed a year later. Since then, the former couple has been loud, even for the United States.

This year, property and family disputes related to guardianship issues, rather unexpectedly, went over to the criminal plane. In March, once one of Russia's largest developers, Chigirinsky, was charged with “obscene touches of his own daughter”. In court, the businessman said he was innocent. From the case file of Tatiana Panchenkova, it follows that the charge brought against the 66-year-old billionaire may turn out to be false.

Charge to Tatiana Panchenkova, announced on 3 in May, was put forward in court last Friday on the basis of the testimony of Greenwich police sergeant Mark Zatserella. The case file states that Panchenkova manipulated her children to incite hatred towards their father Shalva Chigirinsky.

The former spouses have four young children: daughters 15, 10 and 8 years, as well as an eight year old son. The burden of custody of them still lingers. The testimony on the basis of which an arrest warrant had been issued for Tatiana Panchenkova (the court released her without bail before a verdict was issued), in particular, based on the opinion of psychologist Arnold Shinewold, who was brought in as an expert.

In a report prepared in February 2016 of the year, on page 75, it is indicated that:

“Tatyana Panchenkova must stop inciting children against her ex-husband.” The psychologist's report states that the daughters and son were exposed to "significant exposure to negative statements about the father" - in particular, a witness claimed to have heard the mother tell the children that the father "stole money from her, beat her and was very dangerous."

It should be noted that in the framework of the custody proceedings, it was established that the children were instructed by Panchenkova in advance how and what to answer to the questions about the father.

As it turned out, regular statements by children about poor care for them while staying with their father are not true or greatly exaggerated. And the eldest daughter’s detachment from a businessman is largely due to the fact that from an early age her mother suggested to her that Shalva Chigirinsky was not her father's native.

Mr. Chigirinsky’s defense believes that his ex-wife is guided by greed in all trials. "The problem lies in the fact that Panchenkov fraudulently kidnapped Shalva Chigirinsky's work of art and other valuables worth over $ 100 million and manipulated children, cultivating their hatred for their father in order to keep the stolen goods," lawyer George Benaur said in a written comment.

It remains to add that in 2012, Tatyana Panchenkova filed a claim in Connecticut for compensation of $ 2 million for allegedly systematic beatings to which she had been subjected since 2001, but the jury unanimously refused her.

The Stamford court has appointed a hearing in the case of Tatiana Panchenkova on 30 June. If she is found guilty, she faces up to ten years in prison.