In the Smolensk region, those involved in embezzlement of funds for the modernization of the nuclear power plant were convicted

On March 21, the Desnogorsk City Court in the Smolensk Region convicted two defendants in the case of embezzlement of funds intended for the modernization of the Smolensk Nuclear Power Plant (SAES). This was reported to Izvestia by the regional directorate of the Federal Security Service (FSB).

The crime was revealed in 2024, and the defendants are four heads of structural divisions of Atomenergoproekt JSC (AEP), as well as the director of Atomenergostroyproekt LLC (AESP). They are charged under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of Russia (fraud by an organized group or on an especially large scale).

According to the FSB, the initiator of the criminal fraud was the deputy director of the AEP for the design of nuclear power plants with RBMK type reactors. As part of his scheme, AEP entered into subcontracting agreements with AESP for the preparation of cost estimates for the modernization of SAES power units. However, in fact, all the work was performed inside the AEP itself as part of the regular duties of the company's employees. AESP received the necessary documentation and sent it to the customer. A total of 40 million rubles were stolen.

The court has now sentenced two defendants in the case — the deputy manager of the Desnogorsk Design and Survey branch of the AEP, as well as the head of the Bureau of Integrated Design of nuclear power plants with RBMK and VVER of the Moscow branch of the same company.

The first defendant was sentenced to two years of imprisonment in a general regime colony and banned from performing administrative functions in commercial organizations for 2.5 years. The second received the same ban on activity, but for a period of three years. The other defendants are awaiting sentencing.

"Thanks to the professionalism and competence of the staff of the FSB of Russia in the Smolensk region, even at the stage of investigative actions, it was possible to fully recover the funds stolen as a result of illegal actions," the department said.

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Illegal payments amounted to 4.2 million, the investigation believes, and almost left employees of the State Research Institute of Civil Aviation without salaries.

Earlier, on March 18, five people were arrested in St. Petersburg in the case of embezzlement of 238.2 million rubles allocated from the state budget for the purchase of gas masks. According to the investigation, from September 2023 to October 2024, the agency controlled by one of the suspects agreed with several private companies to purchase gas masks that did not meet the quality requirements.