Izmestyev, the former senator for the Republic of Bashkortostan, has been charged with the attempted murder of Ural Rakhimov, the son of Murtaza Rakhimov, the president of the southwest Ural republic. He has also been charged with orchestrating a murder and bribery.

He is also suspected of being behind two explosions at an energy company in Ufa which left two men dead and injured another three in November 2003.

Izmestyev was detained on January 16, 2007 at Bishkek airport in the Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan and subsequently extradited to Moscow.