Russian authorities arrested a former FSB colonel suspected of running the “Kremlin Laundress,” a Telegram channel that is believed to have extorted prominent politicians and businessmen, according to TASS.
The suspect, Mikhail Polyakov, is currently at the Main Investigation Department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, TASS and other news outlets, including RBC and Telegram channel 112, reported.
“The detainee has not yet been charged,” a source from law enforcement said, according to TASS. He is “under interrogation” while an investigation proceeds, Baza reported.
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He was arrested at his apartment in Moscow Friday, 112 reported.
The Kremlin Laundress self-describes as working to air “dirty laundry.”
“Dirty laundry: digging, washing, sorting. I know everything that happens in power and around it. I speak according to my mood,” the account’s description reads.
Polyakov, who admins called “Uncle Misha FSB,” is also suspected of having ties to other Telegram channels, including ones called Nezygar, BRIEF, and Siloviki, according to Russian media reports. All three accounts denied any connection to the suspect, and some of them posted alleged details about Polyakov and his work for the FSB in the aftermath of his arrest.
The Siloviki channel reported that Polyakov was associated with work on Russia’s war in Ukraine and on “anti-terrorist” operations.
According to BRIEF, Polyakov was in charge of Department 2 of the FSB Service for Moscow and the Moscow Region, with culture, education, sports, and healthcare under his purview. His employees were reportedly involved in administrating Telegram channels.
The Telegram channel also indicated that he may have been involved in working to discredit the head of the FSB of Moscow and the Moscow Region, Aleksey Dorofeev.
“We inform you that there was not and is not a person with that name in our team,” BRIEF said in a post on Friday.
We “are not engaged in blackmail and deliberate discrediting of political figures,” Nezygar stated. “We know Colonel Mikhail Polyakov as an honest officer, a hero of the Chechen war. A patriot, an active supporter of the [special military operation], a fighter against the enemies of the Tsar and the Fatherland. We believe they will figure it out. And the truth will prevail.”
Several other arrests have been made in the case, according to TASS. Although the “Kremlin Laundress” Telegram account appears to have gone quiet, the three additional channels Polyakov was accused of helping operate continued to post after his arrest.
