Criminal cases of embezzlement of 25 million rubles from Patriot Park were sent to court

Criminal cases of embezzlement of budget funds of the Patriot Park in the amount of 25 million rubles have been sent to court. This was announced on July 8 by the official representative of the Investigative Committee (IC) of the Russian Federation Svetlana Petrenko.

It is noted that the investigators have collected enough evidence to confirm the guilt of Vladimir Shesterov, deputy head of the Main Directorate of Innovative Development of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, and Vyacheslav Akhmedov, director of the park.

"Criminal cases against the accused have been sent to court for consideration on their merits," the department's Telegram channel says.

The defendants are charged under Part 4 of Article 159 ("Fraud committed by an organized group or on an especially large scale") and Part 2 of Article 292 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Official forgery that entailed a significant violation of the rights and legitimate interests of citizens or organizations"). During the preliminary investigation, they pleaded guilty and entered into pre-trial cooperation agreements.

It is clarified that the investigation of the criminal case of former Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov, accused of fraud on an especially large scale, is also ongoing.

Earlier, on February 5, the 2nd Western District Military Court remanded Popov in custody.

Popov was detained on August 29, 2024 on suspicion of fraud on an especially large scale (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). On the same day, the military court arrested him. According to investigators, in 2021-2024, in charge of the development of the Patriot Park, Popov stole the funds allocated for this purpose. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation also reported that the ex-deputy Minister of Defense participated in the forced involvement of heads of commercial organizations that had signed a contract with the park to work without paying for them.

The investigation established that he acted in cooperation with Akhmedov and Shesterov, whose detention became known on August 5. A criminal case was opened against them. Akhmedov was arrested, and Shesterov was placed under house arrest until September 21, after which the term was extended.