Case on embezzlement of state defense contracts in 20 regions of Russia goes to court

The criminal case against the CEO of a commercial organization Tatyana Alyabieva and eight other co-conspirators who committed embezzlement on defense contracts of the Ministry of Defense in 20 regions of the country has been sent to the Moscow court. This was reported on January 27 in the Telegram channel by the press service of the Moscow department of the Investigative Committee (IC) of Russia.

"More than 100 witnesses have been identified and questioned, more than 10 forensic examinations have been conducted, the property of the defendants over 1.5 billion rubles has been seized," the statement reads.

Charges of fraud, abuse of power in the performance of the state defense order, as well as the organization of a criminal association or participation in it have been brought against the defendants in the case.

The investigation found that the organizer and members of the group not earlier than 2013 united to receive illegal profits on the fraudulent conclusion of favorable contracts and receive advances on them. Thus, causing substantial harm to the interests of the state in the fulfillment of the state defense order.

In particular, as part of the criminal actions, from 2013 to 2022, the JSC "Main Department of Troops Construction" and LLC "VSK" (renamed to LLC "SD Atrium"), headed by one of the defendants, concluded contracts for the reconstruction of an apartment building of a military unit in Irkutsk and the construction of facilities of a military camp in Ulyanovsk.

The firm transferred funds under the general contractor contracts in advance. After that, fictitious subcontractor agreements were concluded with controlled legal entities and the following amounts were transferred, "which were embezzled and spent for purposes unrelated to the execution of the contracts". The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation noted that the criminal association's activities flourished in 20 regions of Russia, including Moscow and Smolensk regions and Sevastopol.

Earlier, on January 20, the Russian Ministry of Defense filed claims for more than 4 billion rubles against the Military Construction Company (MCK). According to the Arbitration Court of Moscow, the total amount of claims is 4 billion 021 million 508 thousand 717 rubles. Details are not disclosed yet. Consideration of part of the claims has already been scheduled.

Also on December 25, 2024, the Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia conducted searches at three plants and in the homes of their management in the case of fraud in the implementation of the state defense order, reported in the department of the agency in the Rostov region. Prior to that, on December 23, military investigative bodies of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation reported that a criminal case had been opened against Olga Burlakova, the head of a structural unit of the Central Housing and Utilities Directorate (CHUD) of the Russian Defense Ministry. She is suspected of abuse of power in the performance of the state contract. The damage caused by the actions of the suspect amount ed to over 27 million rubles/.