Criminal case reported over missing Valeriya Chekalina jewellery

A criminal case has been opened over jewellery that disappeared after being seized from blogger Valeriya Chekalina, TASS reported on October 9, citing a law enforcement source.

The property had been taken during the preliminary investigation involving the blogger, also known as Lerchek. NTV put the value of the missing jewellery at almost 15 million roubles.

Her defence representatives confirmed that the items disappeared during the investigation. Vedomosti reported that the lawyers did not confirm the opening of a new criminal case, meaning the initial account of that procedural step came from TASS's source.

NTV's initial report did not identify the person under investigation or specify the Criminal Code provision involved. The disappearance concerns the storage of items after investigative actions. The reported opening of a case does not itself establish that any particular person was responsible for the loss.