Head Of Defence Ministry's Military Construction Company Detained In Moscow
- 25.07.2024, 7:58
- 8,378
His work was supervised by former Shoigu's deputy Timur Ivanov.
The law enforcers have detained Andrei Belkov, head of the Military Construction Company (MCC) of the Russian Ministry of Defence. He is suspected of abuse of authority when executing state defence contracts (Article 285.4 of the Criminal Code), says Kommersant.
According to the newspaper, Belkov, 46, was summoned for questioning at the Main Investigative Directorate of the Main Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Moscow. Earlier he had already testified, but as a witness. Now the head of MCC has become a suspect. On July 25, a measure of restraint is planned to be chosen for him. The investigation is going to request arrest.
The criminal case is related to Belkov's previous work in the Main Military Construction Directorate (MMCD) for special facilities: he headed this structure until 2021. In 2019, the MMCD announced a tender for purchasing a tomograph for the 9th treatment and diagnostic centre of the Ministry of Defence for 121 million rubles. The investigation found that Belkov instructed his acquaintance, Stroykhimproekt CEO Yelena Lyakhovich, to find a supplier. She chose a dealer of a major German company, which had left the Russian market due to sanctions and could not fulfil the contract for the Ministry of Defence directly.
Then Belkov came up with a scheme to get a tomograph from this particular company, which cost 76 million rubles, at the maximum contract price. The MMCD concluded a contract for delivering the equipment not with Stroykhimproekt, but with Partner Plus LLC, where Liakhovich was the founder and her authorised person was the head. At the same time, a fictitious tender with pre-allocated roles was held to ensure that the front company won.
As a result, the customer paid Partner Plus the 121 million rubles stated in the contract, part of the amount was divided among the members of the criminal group, and the dealer also received his share for turning a blind eye to delivering sanctioned goods to the Ministry of Defence, says the investigation.
Lyakhovich and her chief accountant Viktor Bilko are accused of fraud (Article 159 of the Criminal Code). They were detained back in October 2023 and put under house arrest. Belkov is charged with abuse of power in the case, as the investigators did not find a selfish intent in his actions.
Belkov is a recipient of the Order of Honour and the medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree. He became head of the Military Construction Company almost immediately after Russia invaded Ukraine - on March 14, 2022. According to Kommersant, his work was supervised by former Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov, who was arrested in a billion-dollar bribery case in April. Despite that the claims against Belkov are now not directly related to his activities at the MCC, the security services continue to check him.
The company was established by presidential decree in 2019. The MCC performs the widest range of works from the building of arsenals, bases, training grounds, airfields and headquarters to the construction of residential buildings and social facilities. In this regard, Belkov's activities are being ‘studied literally under a microscope’ by investigators not only of the police, but also of other agencies, the publication's sources say. According to them, the law enforcers are interested not only in the contracts signed by the MCC, but also in the personal earnings, as well as the official's off-duty relations and so on.
At the moment Belkov has not been dismissed, but is listed as suspended. His position regarding the confession of guilt is unknown.
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