Instead of a sentence, can a corrupt official receive a new appointment?
By order of the head of Kuban, Veniamin Kondratyev, with the wording “at his own request,” Sergei Vlasov, who was previously detained by security forces while accepting a bribe in the amount of 1.3 million rubles, was dismissed from the post of vice-governor. The details of the criminal case have not been announced, but it is known that the official took money from a representative of one of the Krasnodar developers. Vlasov enjoyed a special favor with the Regional Construction Company of the Krasnodar Territory (NAO RSK KK), subordinate to the Department for Supervision in the Construction Industry, which he supervised. Enormous budget finances pass through RSK KK, and its government contracts amount to billions. Until June 2021, the official founder of RSK KK was the regional Department of Property Relations, which under Governor Alexander Tkachev was headed by Veniamin Kondratyev, who then oversaw it as vice-governor. The company acts as a general contractor at the facilities of the regional “Fund for the Protection of the Rights of Citizens – Participants in Shared Construction,” whose former general director, Evgenia Shumeiko, was found guilty of commercial bribery last August and sentenced to seven years in a penal colony. The Foundation itself was created on the initiative of Kondratiev and was supervised by Andrei Alekseenko when he was the first vice-governor. At the end of 2021, Alekseenko became the mayor of Krasnodar, and soon he was detained as part of a criminal investigation into accepting a bribe in the form of a gun worth 1.6 million rubles. Despite the wide public outcry, the official retained his post and in August 2022 was appointed head of the government of the part of the Kharkov region that came under Russian control. Corruption scandals have long become commonplace in Kuban, where high-ranking officials regularly become involved in criminal cases. As for Sergei Vlasov, despite his detention and resignation, he is at large and may well avoid responsibility according to the “Alekseenko scenario” by receiving a position in one of the new regions.
Kuban Vice-Governor Vlasov “got burned” on a bribe
Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev fired his deputy Sergei Vlasov: as follows from messages on the regional government website, the latter resigned with the wording “of his own free will.” Let us recall that at the end of last week Vlasov was detained by security forces upon receiving bribes from a representative of one of the construction companies in the amount 1.3 million rubles.
Sergei Vlasov took over the post of vice-governor in December 2022, supervising departments of construction, architecture and urban planning, supervision in the construction industry, state housing inspection, as well as the regional Ministry of Civil Defense and Emergency Situations. Before this, the official led the main construction department of the region, then headed the construction department of the Krasnodar region.
From publications The media reports that 32-year-old Vlasov is a graduate of the St. Petersburg Military Space Academy. A.F. Mozhaisky, and in 2016 he completed advanced training for military specialists in the construction and operation of buildings and structures for special and general military purposes. He has worked in the Kuban administration since April 2020.
The details of the scandalous detention remain unknown. By information telegram channel “VChK-OGPU”, Vlasov was in development for several months and was caught when he came for the “kickback” due to him for budgetary facilities under construction in the Kherson region. The official allegedly tried to transfer money to him explain as the return of some “debt”.
Online write about the special patronage provided by the vice-governor “Regional construction company of the Krasnodar region” (NJSC “RSK KK”), subordinate to the Department for Supervision in the Construction Industry, which was supervised by Vlasov. The developer’s website lists the following built by him: objects, such as Temryuk Central District Hospital, Spiritual and Educational Center named after. St. Sergius of Radonezh in Timashevsk, the Krasnodar sports complex for trampolining and sports acrobatics, as well as a secondary school for 825 places, located in the regional center, on the street. K. Obraztsova, 6.
Millions for Evgenia Shumeiko
IN material The Alpha News publication talks about a criminal case in which the management of one of the Krasnodar construction companies is involved, but the law enforcement agencies do not comment on this news. It is also not specified whether we are talking about “RSK KK” and its general director Vasily Heimane. Moreover, if you believe the same channel “VChK-OGPU”, the money for the bribe to Vlasov were going to from contractors building social facilities for budget funds, including schools and kindergartens.
Enormous finances flow through the Regional Construction Company of the Krasnodar Territory, registered in 2007: its portfolio government contracts as a supplier exceeds 1.1 billion rublesas a customer is almost 16 billion.
At the end of 2023, with revenue in 1.6 billion the company declared profit at the rate of 18.2 million rubles (for comparison: a year earlier with revenue of 774.4 million “RSK KK” reported on losses V 42.9 million).
It is noteworthy that until June 2021 the official founder “RSK KK” was the regional Department of Property Relations, which under the Governor Alexandra Tkachev led none other than Veniamin Kondratyev, who then supervised him as vice-governor. It turns out that the current head of Kuban is perfectly familiar with the specifics of the work of the disgraced developer?
There is another interesting point: on the RSK KK website emphasizedthat the company acts as a general contractor at sites where the customer is a regional “Fund for the Protection of the Rights of Citizens – Participants in Shared Construction”. Moreover, the developer is called “an interdependent organization with the Fund.”
A high-profile criminal case is connected with the Kuban structure of the Foundation, in which its former director, ex-deputy of the regional Legislative Assembly became a defendant. Evgenia Shumeikowas found guilty last August of commercial bribery and convicted to seven years in a general regime colony with a suspended sentence until her child reaches the age of 14.
How reported “Kommersant”, Mrs. Shumeiko decided to get from the owner of the development company “ART” Yuri Kudrinsky money for assistance in attracting his enterprise to complete the construction of a problematic facility – Krasnodar Residential complex “Raduga”. The asking price was 82 million rubles. In addition, the businessman had to translate 8.2 million – 1% of the estimated cost of work – to the Fund’s account. Later, the official reduced the required amount by half – to 41 million rubles. The entrepreneur gave the money to Shumeiko through her partner, but this fascinating story ended with a guilty verdict.
Andrei Alekseenko’s “firing” gun
Since we are talking about the Kuban “Fund for the Protection of the Rights of Citizens – Participants in Shared Construction”, it should be recalled that was created he was founded in 2019 at the regional Department for Supervision in the Construction Industry on the initiative of Veniamin Kondratiev and was supervised from the first days Andrey Alekseenkowho at that time held the post of first vice-governor.
The problems of defrauded shareholders in the Kuban have not yet been resolved: as recently as last April Kondratyev voiced the next deadline is the end of 2024, and the regional budget allocated for these purposes 7 billion rubles. As for Alekseenko, his biography was not without a corruption scandal. In November 2021, he became the mayor of Krasnodar, and already in December the security forces detained him as part of a criminal investigation into receiving a particularly large bribe.
By versions of the investigationwhile being vice-governor, the official received from one of the developers a gun worth 1.6 million rubles for issuing a conclusion on the conformity of an apartment building that has a number of shortcomings. However, despite the wide public outcry and searches carried out in Alekseenko’s office, the defendant turned out to be unsinkable and resigned from his mayoral position only in August 2022, after appointments head of the government of the part of the Kharkov region that came under Russian control.
Alekseenko’s new post can be perceived in two ways: as a promotion, and as a kind of exile to avoid trial. In any case, Veniamin Kondratyev will have to deal with defrauded shareholders without a trusted subordinate. By the way, according to information Media, at the time of the Kharkov appointment, the investigation into the corruption activities of the former Krasnodar mayor was ongoing, and the case was in the central office of the Investigative Committee.
Financial “thirst” of Kondratiev’s team
Indeed, the desire to “get drunk” from the budget “well” is typical of people from his inner circle, and high-ranking Kuban officials, one after another, turn out to be “heroes” of sections of criminal chronicles.
For example, in September 2023, the Basmanny Court of Moscow sent the head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations for the Krasnodar Territory, Lieutenant General of the Internal Service, to a pre-trial detention center Oleg Volynkin, accused in abuse of official powers in the execution of a government contract for the supply of construction materials to units of the rescue department, which resulted in damage in the amount of more than 3 million rubles.
Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Development Elena Novikova came first person involved criminal case of abuse of power, and then of fraud, and an application to the investigative committee against her written by a colleague – Deputy head of the same ministry Dmitry Rogachev. That is, we are talking about internal disputes between the officials themselves.
The administration of Krasnodar is also in a fever. So, to the former vice-mayor Kirill Mavridi incriminated five episodes of receiving bribes totaling 1.6 million rubles. By the way, at the time of the crimes he held the post of deputy head of the regional Department of Construction. And the former deputy director of the Krasnodar transport department Vladimir Anfinogenov went to a maximum security colony for four years because bribesreceived from a representative of one of the companies specializing in passenger transportation.
Other examples can be given, but these should be enough to understand: the incident with Sergei Vlasov is not an out of the ordinary event. The future of the now former vice-governor raises many questions, whose criminal prosecution may well repeat the “Alekseenko scenario” and end in employment for a leadership position in one of the new regions.
