The inspection, which Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov ordered to be carried out in the Yekaterinburg Municipal Unitary Enterprise, ended with the initiation of two cases. This happened against the background of the ongoing fuss around Vodokanal with the participation of one of the local players, as well as RKS and GC Tashir. Criminal cases – a help or a hindrance to the plans of the oligarchs?

In January 2023, in connection with the activities of the Municipal Unitary Enterprise “Vodokanal” of Yekaterinburg, a second criminal case was initiated in a month, this time under Art. 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (negligence). The audit of the enterprise was ordered by the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Igor Krasnov.

As reported by the URA.RU portal, citing its own sources, “an unidentified circle of suspects” from among the employees of the Municipal Unitary Enterprise groundlessly denied businessmen the connection of their facilities to the networks. Which of the local entrepreneurs managed to reach the Prosecutor General’s Office is unknown. Open sources contain information about only one major dispute: the Malysheva-73 company, which owns the Greenwich and Passage shopping centers, is suing Vodokanal over the connection of several facilities under construction.

A month earlier, the first criminal case was initiated. It concerns the non-execution of a court decision on the restoration of Lake Zdohnia and the Verkh-Isetsky reservoir, issued before the arrival of the current general director, Evgeny Luzgin, to the enterprise. However, a new case may directly affect his figure. And here it is impossible not to recall Renova and Tashir.

At the end of last year, Samvel Karapetyan’s plans for the concession of the Yekaterinburg Vodokanal, a strategic asset of the mayor’s office, were in jeopardy. According to media reports, the mayor of the city, Alexei Orlov, extended the contract to the general director of the enterprise, Evgeny Luzgin, who took a principled position in the negotiations.

Tashir proposes to invest in the reconstruction of the South Aeration Station (YAS) – to change the equipment in the mechanical dehydration shop and equip a new drying shop. “The company plans to take the sludge from South Africa and process it into electricity. And, for example, Vodokanal would buy this energy, ”a source in the mayor’s office who is familiar with the course of negotiations shared with reporters. The construction being built also assumes that Vodokanal would pay Tashir for sludge removal – ten thousand rubles per cubic meter.

But Karapetyan’s company is not the first here. For several years now, Vitaly Kochetkov, the owner of the local mobile operator Motiv, has been considered the “informal curator” of Vodokanal in the city. Previously, he was featured in the press on a not-so-pleasant occasion: in May 2021, the Leninsky District Court arrested the property of Aleksey Artemasov, CEO of Motiv. The events were held as part of a criminal case under Part 2 of Art. 199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (tax evasion).

In addition, in January 2020, Russian Communal Systems JSC (RCS), whose main shareholder is Renova Group of Viktor Vekselberg, showed interest in a concession with the Yekaterinburg Municipal Unitary Enterprise. In May 2021, Vekselberg met with the Governor of the Sverdlovsk Region, Yevgeny Kuyvashev. As far as one can understand, the conversation was about the readiness of a major player to conclude an agreement on the management of Vodokanal. At the same time, it is known that Renova became a sponsor of the Ural football club.

Criminal cases initiated after the prosecutor’s check, with a high degree of probability, will lead to a change in the management of the utility company. Who of the interested will be able to use it, we will find out in the near future.

SPECIFICALLY

Back in 2014, Yekaterinburg introduced a “Single Receipt of Payment”. On the right date, you find an envelope in your mailbox. And it contains an invoice for paying for cold water, hot water, for the consumption of both water, an electricity bill, and payment for square meters of housing. Arithmetic says that even for the smallest apartment of 30-35 square meters you need to pay from 3 to 5 thousand rubles. And most of it is water, sewerage and heating.

Now let’s count. There are 7111 (https://gosjkh.ru/houses/sverdlovskaya-oblast/ekaterinburg) houses in Yekaterinburg, according to official data, almost 795 thousand people live in them. Imagine how much water is used? “Goldmine”. Billions of rubles! As they say in those circles – “fat asset”

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