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Russian prosecutors overturned the decision to open a criminal investigation into Nikita Tulupov, an investigator in the case against blogger Valeria Chekalina, TASS reported. The inquiry followed the reported loss of jewelry worth 14.4 million rubles that had been seized from Chekalina’s home; prosecutors have not publicly explained why they canceled the case.
Russian prosecutors have overturned the decision to open a criminal investigation into Nikita Tulupov, an investigator in the case against blogger Valeria Chekalina, state news agency TASS reported. The case concerned jewelry seized from Chekalina’s home that later went missing, according to Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk.
Volk said on Telegram that some of the jewelry taken during a search of Chekalina’s home was not entered as evidence and was stored improperly, resulting in its loss. She said authorities had opened a criminal investigation into an investigator on suspicion of exceeding his authority, but did not identify him. TASS later reported that prosecutors overturned the decision to open that investigation, identifying the investigator as Nikita Tulupov.
The seized items included jewelry and watches from Cartier, Graff, Van Cleef & Arpels, Rolex and Chopard, among other brands. Their reported total value was 14.4 million rubles. Chekalina’s lawyer, Viktor Dugin, told TASS that the defense had sought the jewelry’s return after the investigation ended. He said the investigator refused, although the items were not physical evidence and had no legal restrictions placed on them.
The available reporting does not say whether all the missing items remain unaccounted for, whether any have been recovered, or whether another official or body is examining how they were handled. The prosecutor’s decision reverses the opening of a case against the investigator; it does not, on the information reported, resolve the dispute over the jewelry itself.
The Jewelry’s Status Remains Central
The reversal changes the accountability picture surrounding the handling of property seized in Chekalina’s case. An investigation had been opened over the alleged conduct of an investigator after authorities said the jewelry was lost through improper storage. With prosecutors canceling that decision, the reported criminal inquiry is no longer proceeding as initially announced.
The issue also concerns the custody of valuable property taken during a search. Volk’s account says the jewelry was not formally entered as evidence, while Dugin says there were no legal restrictions preventing its return. Those statements frame a question about how seized property was recorded, stored and returned. The reporting does not establish that the items were stolen or that a particular person caused their loss.
For readers following Chekalina’s legal cases, the development is separate from her sentence over transferring funds abroad. The prosecutor’s decision concerns the investigator and the missing property, not the merits of the underlying financial case or the sentence imposed on Chekalina.
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Seizure During Chekalina’s Case
Chekalina, known online as Lerchek, is a prominent Russian blogger who appeared on Forbes’ list of the country’s highest-earning bloggers. In 2023, she and her then-husband Artem Chekalin were charged with tax evasion and money laundering. Those cases were closed by March 2024, according to the source report.
In October 2024, the former couple became subjects of a third criminal investigation, concerning the alleged illegal transfer of funds out of Russia. They had divorced by then. Chekalina received a five-year suspended sentence and a 765 million-ruble fine in July 2026; Artem Chekalin was sentenced to seven years in a medium-security prison in April 2026, the report said.
The jewelry was seized during a search connected to the case against Chekalina. The reported sequence is that the items were not entered into evidence, were stored improperly, and went missing; her lawyer later requested their return. The report does not give the date of the search or specify when the jewelry was discovered to be missing.
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Why Prosecutors Reversed Course
The reporting does not state why prosecutors overturned the decision to open the case against Tulupov, when they made the decision, or whether the action followed a review, appeal or other procedure. It also does not include a public explanation from prosecutors or a response from Tulupov.
The exact status of the jewelry is also unclear. Volk said some items were lost, but the report gives no inventory of what is missing, whether any pieces were found, or what steps authorities took to locate them. The reported value is 14.4 million rubles for the seized jewelry, not a stated valuation of confirmed losses. It is not clear whether any separate review into the property’s handling continues after the criminal case decision was overturned.
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Further Details on the Reversal
The immediate development is the prosecutors’ decision, reported by TASS, to cancel the opening of the criminal case against Tulupov. Any further account of the decision would need to clarify its grounds and whether prosecutors have taken another action related to the alleged loss.
Further information from prosecutors, the Interior Ministry, Chekalina’s legal team or TASS may establish whether the jewelry has been recovered and what happens to the return request. No next hearing, inquiry or deadline is identified in the available report, so the status of both the items and any remaining review is unresolved.
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Key Questions
What did Russian prosecutors do?
They overturned the decision to open a criminal investigation into Nikita Tulupov, an investigator in the case against Valeria Chekalina, TASS reported.
Why had an investigation been opened?
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk said jewelry seized from Chekalina’s home was not entered as evidence and was stored improperly, resulting in its loss. She said a case had been opened into an investigator on suspicion of exceeding his authority.
How much was the seized jewelry worth?
The jewelry seized during the search was reported to have a combined value of 14.4 million rubles. The report does not specify the value of items confirmed to be missing.
Has the jewelry been recovered?
The available report does not say whether any or all of the jewelry has been recovered. It also does not provide an inventory of the items still missing.
Does this affect Chekalina’s sentence?
The reported reversal concerns the investigator and the handling of seized jewelry. The source does not report any change to Chekalina’s five-year suspended sentence and 765 million-ruble fine for illegally transferring funds abroad.
Source: rss
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