The billionaire and one of the most influential construction tycoons in Siberia, Vladimir Yegorov, was called the “king of the state order” and the “purse” of the ex-governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory Alexander Uss. Thus, his detention may indicate that the security forces got close to the former head of one of the largest regions of Russia.
Until recently, it seemed that the departure of Uss did not shake the position of the developer, who enjoyed his special favor: on April 26, the new head of the region, Acting Governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Mikhail Kotyukov, presented Vladimir Egorov * with the badge of honor “200 years of the Yenisei province.” But exactly 20 days later, on May 16, the construction magnate was detained at the airport, immediately after the plane landed, near the gangway.
Everyone knew about the close connection between the arrested and ex-governor Alexander Uss in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. However, they did not try to hide their “close friendship”: Egorov got the most attractive and monetary contracts, and, at the same time, any “pranks” got away with it.
For example, after his company, a construction company, overhauled the Communal Bridge across the Yenisei in 2017, Krasnoyarsk drivers did not call this object anything other than a “washboard”. At the same time, the contract provided for the complete replacement of the roadway, up to the very concrete floors. The work cost 385 million rubles, and “Sibiryak” was the only bidder. And if from the moment of its opening until the first overhaul, the Communal Bridge stood for 55 years, then until the second overhaul, the object lasted only five years.
Another scandal involving Egorov’s Sibiryak company is connected with the development of the territory of the former combine plant. The enterprise, which once had defense significance, was evacuated to Krasnoyarsk during the Great Patriotic War, and by the end of the 20th century, it actually turned out to be in the center of the expanded city. In the 1990s, the harvester plant quietly “dead a long time” and, of course, the vacant plot of land began to arouse genuine interest among numerous developers.
Of course, the ubiquitous Yegorov was ahead of everyone. At the same time, during the demolition of workshops and other premises of the enterprise, several buildings of the 19th century, which, according to local historians, had cultural and historical value, fell under the distribution. But the head of the Sibiryak company got away with such trifles easily. But the scandal still erupted. When the construction was already in full swing, and several houses were even put into operation, the regional prosecutor’s office unexpectedly discovered a gross violation of land legislation: it turns out that the site on which the construction is being carried out is federal property, and, consequently, neither the regional nor the city authorities had the right to dispose of this land and issue a building permit to Yegorov, which is now suspended. The case is in court, and how this story will end is not yet clear.
Another high-profile story is connected with the arrest of the son of Vladimir Yegorov – Konstantin, who was, moreover, the executive director of Sibiryak. The criminal case was connected with theft in the supply of equipment for the regional hospital. The investigation into it has not yet been completed. At the same time, the new surgical building of the Krasnoyarsk Regional Hospital, which was built by Egorov’s company, was commissioned almost a year late, for which the Sibiryak company was fined one million rubles.
But the loudest scandals were associated with the construction of the Universiade-2019 facilities. Prosecutorial checks began almost immediately after the end of the Student Games. Krasnoyarsk ecologists were indignant at the unreasonable felling of tens of thousands of trees, the customers of the work, one after another, began to make claims to the Siberian. So the leadership of the Siberian Federal University demanded to eliminate numerous shortcomings in the Perya dormitory complex in Studenchesky Gorodok, and in February of this year, the Siberian Federal University filed a lawsuit against Sibiryak with a demand to repair the emergency building Svobodny, 82 building 12. A few months after the start of operation on the building began to crack, giving security it had to be closed. At the end of 2022, after a prosecutor’s check, a criminal case was opened on the illegal acceptance of the object. More than 500 million rubles were paid for the work.
It is noteworthy that one of the founders and president of SibFU was the regional speaker and then governor Alexander Uss. During his tenure, Yegorov’s contracts with the university amounted to tens of billions of rubles.
Of course, after Alexander Uss lost his positions, Vladimir Yegorov also lost his immunity from prosecution by law enforcement agencies.
It is worth noting that this is not the first time that the construction tycoon who was detained the day before has come to the attention of law enforcement agencies.
Almost a quarter of a century ago, Yegorov almost “burned out” on the program of relocation of the inhabitants of Taimyr and Norilsk to the southern regions of the Krasnoyarsk Territory: the funds allocated for these needs were embezzled. But either influential friends helped, or Yegorov had good lawyers, or maybe he really wasn’t guilty that time, but after spending several months under investigation, he was released with a clean “conviction” column in his biography. Or maybe then some other “agreements” became the price of Yegorov’s freedom, because after a while he unexpectedly became a “victim” in a criminal case on giving a bribe in the amount of 250 thousand dollars to the deputy governor of Lebed Valery Suladze.
As a deputy of the Krasnoyarsk City Council, Vladimir Yegorov was remembered mainly for scandalous antics, obscene language and open lobbying for the interests of his construction company. But as long as Alexander Uss was at the helm of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Egorov got away with everything.
It is quite possible that with the advent of the new head of the region, a “cleansing of the clearing” began and soon new players will appear on the Krasnoyarsk construction market, controlled by Mikhail Kotyukov.