A case of embezzlement during the construction of a gymnastics academy in Sochi has reached court.
Those accused of large-scale embezzlement during the construction of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Center in Sochi have entered into pre-trial cooperation agreements with the prosecutor.
As reported by Caucasian Knot, in mid-March it became known that the Ministry of Internal Affairs suspected a group of 13 people of embezzling more than 8 billion rubles during the construction of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Center at the Sirius Educational Center in Sochi, created at the initiative of Vladimir Putin.
The Rhythmic Gymnastics Center was created as part of the Gazprom for Children program and opened in December 2022. Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller and Alina Kabaeva, among others, participated in the opening ceremony. Kabaeva thanked Gazprom and Miller "for the unique sports facility created for the gymnasts and all the specialists involved in this project," TASS reported. In 2022, Alina Kabaeva's "Heavenly Grace" Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy opened on the Sirius federal territory, according to the website of the "Heavenly Grace" educational organization.
Ministry of Internal Affairs investigators have completed the preliminary investigation into the embezzlement of over 8 billion rubles by former employees of Gazprom and its subsidiaries. They are charged with embezzlement and misappropriation of funds and money laundering, Interfax reported. According to investigators, from 2016 to May 2019, the defendants created the illusion that work was being carried out on the site, but in reality, funds allocated by Gazprom Investgazifikatsiya were embezzled. The accomplices subsequently laundered 1.5 billion rubles in criminal proceeds through the purchase of a manufacturing company. The cost of construction in 2017 prices was estimated at over 9 billion rubles. Gazprom Investgazifikatsiya LLC is the developer of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Center. The project was carried out by Mezhregiongaz Technologies LLC and Planida LLC. The construction contract was awarded to Magnit LLC, based in St. Petersburg.
The suspects in the crimes include Elena Mikhailova, a former member of the Gazprom Management Committee, Anatoly Erkulov, a former deputy general director of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz LLC, and other individuals from among the executives of contractors and subsidiaries. Several suspects in this case have been placed on the international wanted list.
The criminal case has been sent to court for trial. The court also seized property worth over 2.5 billion rubles.
"The defendants, who entered into pre-trial cooperation agreements with the prosecutor, are currently reviewing the investigation materials. Work is underway to identify all those involved in the illegal activity," said Irina Volk, official spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, in a statement on her Telegram channel.
Construction of the Alina Kabaeva Rhythmic Gymnastics Center began in 2016, and the actual cost of its construction, according to some sources, was approximately 2 billion rubles. The design for the ring-shaped complex, with a total area of over 42,000 square meters, was developed by St. Petersburg's Design Institute No. 1, with assistance from Andrey Litvinov's architectural bureau, commissioned by Gazprom, Kommersant reported.
The "Caucasian Knot" also reported that a court in Kuban has arrested a supplier of drones for the military in absentia. Entrepreneur Roman Lyubimenko is accused of fraud amounting to 90 million rubles for supplying the Krasnodar Krai administration department with low-quality UAVs for military use at inflated prices.