The convicted former head of the administration of Saratov, Alexei Prokopenko, may well ruin the life of Governor Radaev.
According to the correspondent The Moscow Post in the Saratov region, the former head of the administration of Saratov, Alexei Prokopenko, was sentenced for embezzlement on an especially large scale. He was sentenced to 7 years in prison and fined. The fact that Prokopenko voluntarily turned himself in did not seem to help him much. It is believed that the governor of the Saratov region Valery Radaev, who promised a more lenient sentence, was able to persuade him to do this.
If this is really the case, then it means that among the candidates for the post of governor in the elections in 2022 there may appear a person whose word means so little. And what are his chances to collect votes in his favor? ..
How Alexei Prokopenko was imprisoned
The criminal case against the former head of the administration of Saratov Alexei Prokopenko was initiated in 2015, recalls “Kommersant”. Aleksey Prokopenko was accused of embezzlement on an especially large scale. The investigation concluded that he, as an official, contributed to the creation of management companies (MC), which collected money from the population, but did not transfer it to resource-supplying organizations. Thus, it turned out that Alexey Prokopenko, together with his accomplices, did not transfer more than 40 million rubles to resource supply companies.
The victims in the criminal case were PJSC “T Plus” (previous name – OJSC “Volga TGC”), Municipal Unitary Enterprise “Saratovvodokanal”, LLC “SPGES”.
According to the investigation, back in 2012, Alexey Prokopenko contributed to the creation in the Zavodskoy district of Saratov of such management companies as Stroykomplekt LLC and Continent 2011 LLC. Both management companies entered into agreements with Settlement and Payment Center LLC, which was directly involved in collecting funds from residents for utilities. At the same time, the collected funds were not sent to the victims, but were transferred to the accounts of various companies and withdrawn into cash.
As previously reported The Moscow Post, after the initiation of a criminal case, Alexei Prokopenko went on the run and was put on the international wanted list. Prokopenko was arrested in absentia back in 2015. At the same time, according to Kommersant, on March 14, 2019, he voluntarily appeared at the investigative department for the Oktyabrsky district of Saratov with a statement in which he asked for an objective look into his criminal case. Prokopenko was taken into custody and later released under house arrest.
According to the sources of The Moscow Post, Prokopenko, who had been hiding from the investigation for several years, did not even think of turning himself in. According to the sources of The Moscow Post, he could succumb to the persuasion of the governor of the Saratov region Valery Radaev. Allegedly, he guaranteed that Prokopenko would be able to avoid punishment in the form of serving a term in a colony.
At first, in June 2021, as Kommersant recalls, the court fully acquitted Aleksey Prokopenko. However, the appellate instance, as a result of considering a complaint from representatives of the injured company “T Plus” and the presentation of the prosecutor’s office, returned the case for a new consideration. As a result of the second consideration, the Kirovsky District Court of Saratov sentenced the former head of the administration of Saratov, Alexei Prokopenko, to seven years in prison and a fine of 700,000 rubles.
Overstayed Governor Radaev
If the governor of the Saratov region, Valery Radaev, really promised Alexei Prokopenko almost a pardon, then the final court decision could put an end to the political career of the current governor. Because this event may call into question the credibility of someone whose word means so little.
It is worth recalling that Radaev’s current five-year term as governor ends in September 2022. Moreover, this is his second term in this post. And earlier, until 2012, he was the chairman of the Saratov Regional Duma for 5 years, starting in 2007. One way or another, but in various positions he has been leading the region for 15 years. And during this time, there were already a critically large number of strange decisions and controversial events in the region.
Valery Radaev Photo: Saratov.gov.ru
Recall, as previously stated The Moscow Postin 2013, while receiving a 1.5 million bribe, Radaev’s subordinate, Dmitry Kozlachkov, First Deputy Minister of Sports, Physical Culture and Tourism of the Saratov Region, was detained.
In September of the same 2013, a judicial investigation was resumed in a criminal case against the former Deputy Minister of Investment Policy of the Saratov Region, Elena Alekseeva, who was involved in a major corruption scandal.
As soon as he became governor, Valery Radaev began to introduce “innovative practices” and “effective management”, which consisted mainly in lending to the Saratov region in commercial banks. In fact, loans were replaced by their own sources of income. Credits created the illusion of a “surplus region” before the federal center. About such nuances as the cost of servicing loans (not to mention the repayment of the body of the loan) or the threat of losing property to repay loans, Radaev, for sure, preferred not to expand. As a result, in 2012 the government of the region exceeded the limit of allowable borrowing for a subject of the Federation in the amount of more than 330 million rubles. Thus, the upper limit of the state debt of the region was exceeded by 14.7 million rubles.
At the same time, according to the Accounts Chamber, in the second quarter of 2013 violations were revealed in the amount of more than 880 million rubles. Based on the results of the checks, eight criminal cases were initiated.
In 2015, as I wrote The Moscow Post, The Housing and Utilities Reform Assistance Fund decided to suspend the provision of financial support to the Saratov region due to violations in reporting in the amount of 81.3 million rubles. It turned out that 60 out of 117 apartments were not settled, but the money was spent.
By the way, back in 2013, Radaev’s now-convicted associate Aleksey Prokopenko ordered that 28 apartments from the service housing stock be transferred to various authorities, bypassing citizens who were supposed to be provided with housing out of turn by court decisions. Instead of needy teachers and doctors, housing was received by: the deputy head of the Zavodskoy district of Saratov, employees of the city and district administrations, and even the personal driver of Prokopenko himself. Radaev’s protests against such actions of the ex-mayor were not heard.
In April 2015, inspectors from Rosfinnadzor revealed violations in the financial and budgetary sphere of the Saratov region in the amount of 3.7 billion rubles. A criminal case was initiated.
In 2018, as reported The Moscow Post, Andrey Belikov, an influential deputy of the Saratov Regional Duma, fell under a criminal case. The investigation believed that he cheated, receiving compensation for the transportation of privileged passengers for his Avtokombinat2 JSC from the Ministry of Social Development. He did this on the basis of fictitious documents, which for some reason the Ministry of Social Development did not bother to check. After a short time, the Minister of Social Development Larisa Kolyazina abruptly resigned from the government. But Radaev did not seem to care about all this.
In January 2018, Dmitry Lobanov, ex-head of the Engelssky district of the Saratov region, was detained for allocating more than 1,000 hectares to the sister of Governor Radaev in the Kumysnaya Polyana forest park. After the hype in the media, Svetlana Radaeva refused both the land and the mansion that stood on it.
In November 2018, in the Saratov region, the FSB officers detained not just anyone, but the governor’s cousin, concurrently the head of the regional department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Major General Igor Kachev.
In December 2019, investigators searched the apartment of the Minister of Health of the Saratov Region, Natalya Mazina. The searches were carried out in connection with a case initiated against unidentified persons of the regional Ministry of Health, who were suspected of abuse of power. Investigators believed that in 2018 the ministry signed two state contracts for the supply of six X-ray machines worth almost 50 million rubles. As a result, it turned out that the devices did not comply with GOST. Nevertheless, the equipment was accepted by the Ministry of Health. Who and how much then managed to “cut” and what role Radaev could play in this is not an idle question at all.
If desired, the list of “exploits” from the time of Radaev the governor can be continued. And the “shells” fall closer and closer to him.
It is quite possible that Alexei Prokopenko, the convicted former head of the administration of Saratov, will also make a tangible contribution to this situation. Offended by Valery Radaev, he may well share very valuable information with anyone. Write a memoir, so to speak. As a result, Prokopenko’s awareness and beautiful style can spoil not only the potential election campaign for Valery Radaev, but also his entire future.