A preliminary investigation into a criminal case on a particularly large-scale fraud in the design and construction of the metro in Krasnoyarsk has been completed, a source close to the investigation told Vedomosti. As part of this case, Oleg Mitvol, a politician and businessman, former deputy head of Rosprirodnadzor, was arrested. His investigation accuses the FSB of embezzlement of 950 million rubles. fraudulently (Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
The case against Mitvol is being investigated by the investigative department of the Federal Security Service of Russia for the Krasnoyarsk Territory. After the end of the investigation, the accused and his defense begin to familiarize themselves with the materials of the case. When the acquaintance is completed, the prosecutor’s office will study the materials of the case. If the supervisory authority approves the charge, the materials will go to court to consider the criminal case on the merits.
According to investigators, the main contractor for the construction of the subway – Krasnoyarsk TISIZ JSC (100% of the shares in it belongs to Mitvol) – received 950 million rubles. from the budget for unfulfilled engineering surveys and outdated project documentation.
Mitvol is not the only defendant in this case. In early February, it became known that Yury Lapshin, the first deputy governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the chairman of the regional government, was also suspected of abuse of office during the construction of the metro. He is currently under bail. Lapshin has been in office since 2018.
Despite the fact that Mitvol pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him and concluded a pre-trial cooperation agreement with the investigation, he is still in jail. In June 2022, the Krasnoyarsk Regional Court denied him a mitigation of the preventive measure.
His lawyer Alexander Obozov then asked to release his client from the pre-trial detention center, pointing out that Mitvol was in charge of a disabled mother, a young daughter and an unemployed wife. State Duma deputies Alexander Khinshtein and Oleg Savchenko signed personal guarantees for Mitvol. But the prosecutor’s office insisted that the politician could hide from the investigation, since he was detained at the airport while trying to fly abroad. Recently, the ex-official was returned to the pre-trial detention center from the prison hospital, where he was with pneumonia.
In mid-April, Mitvol’s defender said that money had been stolen from his account in one of the UAE banks. Obozov did not name the exact amount, but it is, according to him, “significant”. Media publications claimed that it was about $150,000.
Oleg Mitvol was in charge of the Northern Administrative District of Moscow from July 2009 to October 2010. Prior to that, he was deputy head of Rosprirodnadzor for five years.
On June 8, 2022, FSB officers detained Mitvol at Vnukovo Airport when he was trying to fly to Dubai. Then the security forces escorted him to Krasnoyarsk, where he was arrested. Mitvol’s assistant then claimed that he was going to fly away on vacation. If the guilt of the former official is proven in court, he faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
