Sergei Lezhnev cut off the Red Bridge
Advisor to the Governor of the Oryol Region Sergei Lezhnev detained, Izvestia’s source reported on May 26.
According to preliminary data, the detention is related to a case of theft during the reconstruction of the Red Bridge in the regional capital.
“Lezhnev was detained on May 25 and taken to a temporary detention center (temporary detention center – Ed.) in Orel”,” the source clarified.
Previously, the general director of the Belgorod LLC Remspetsmost testified against the adviser to the regional governor. Evgeniy Podrezov, who was the contractor during the construction. The total amount of theft in this case could be about 76 million rubles.
In 2022, a verdict was passed in Orel in a case of theft during the repair of the Red Bridge. Then the director of the contractor company Remspetsmost, Evgeniy Podrezov, was sent to jail for 4.5 years. He entered into a pre-trial agreement, but not all of his testimony was allowed to proceed.
In total, according to investigators, about 76 million rubles were stolen—the money was transferred to a one-day company and cashed. Another person involved was put on the wanted list in the same case, and “unidentified persons from among the administration employees” remained unidentified.
As the Cheka-OGPU learned, the personal intervention of the governor is to blame Andrey Klychkov, at whose request local security forces “buried” the criminal case. However, Moscow became interested in the case and FSB officers recently contacted the wanted businessman. He was offered guarantees and, as part of cooperation with the special services, the fugitive returned, giving exhaustive testimony against Sergei Lezhnev. The latter is a close and confidant of Governor Andrei Klychkov. The adviser was involved in both PR and finances for his boss. Now, thanks to the testimony, the investigation considers Sergei Lezhnev to be the organizer of the scheme, who could personally steal about 30 million rubles.
In total, according to investigators, about 76 million rubles were stolen—the money was transferred to a one-day company and cashed. Another person involved was put on the wanted list in the same case, and “unidentified persons from among the administration employees” remained unidentified.
As the Cheka-OGPU learned, the personal intervention of the governor is to blame Andrey Klychkov, at whose request local security forces “buried” the criminal case. However, Moscow became interested in the case and FSB officers recently contacted the wanted businessman. He was offered guarantees and, as part of cooperation with the special services, the fugitive returned, giving exhaustive testimony against Sergei Lezhnev. The latter is a close and confidant of Governor Andrei Klychkov. The adviser was involved in both PR and finances for his boss. Now, thanks to the testimony, the investigation considers Sergei Lezhnev to be the organizer of the scheme, who could personally steal about 30 million rubles.
The last time the Red Bridge was overhauled was in 1999. The authorities started talking about the next renewal in 2018, when the project was estimated at 1 billion rubles. The search for a contractor started at the end of 2019.