15:59, 16 April 2015

Putin does not know whether there are customers of Nemtsov's murder

Queue for the memorial service for Boris Nemtsov. Moscow, March 3, 2015. Photo by Vyacheslav Feraposhkin for the "Caucasian Knot"

The names of alleged killers of Boris Nemtsov became known to law enforcement bodies just a day or a day and a half after the crime, the Russian President Vladimir Putin said today in the annual question-and-answer session with Russians.

Boris Nemtsov was shot and killed in Moscow on February 27. Five persons, including Zaur Dadaev, Anzor and Shagid Gubashev, Khamzat Bakhaev and Tamerlan Eskerkhanov, were detained on suspicion of involvement in the murder and put under arrest.

"I can state that maximum in a day or day and a half, both the investigators, and the FSB and the MIA (Ministry of Internal Affairs) knew the names of the perpetrators of the murder. The only problem was where and how to arrest them," said Putin.

He explained that investigators possess objective data associated not only with surveillance cameras, but also with the great capabilities of special services that have appeared in recent years.

A parallel investigation conducted by several power agencies gave same results, said the president. "Various services used several channels and reached same result," Putin said as quoted by the RIA "Novosti".

However, the president said that he had no information on whether there is a customer of Nemtsov's murder.

"I don't know yet whether there are any customers and whether they'll be found. This, of course, will be known in the course of that work now underway," said Vladimir Putin.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.