As the newspaper "Kommersant" reported in the material by Alexey Chernyshev, "The catamaran embezzlement came out. ""The former head of Vostochnaya Verf received a suspended sentence for embezzlement of property," "Oleg Sidenko, the former general director of Vostochnaya Verf JSC (Vladivostok), received four years probation for embezzlement at his own enterprise". According to investigators, the top manager spent 6 million rubles on servicing a catamaran owned by the shipyard's main owner Gennady Lazarev. He is being tried separately on charges of creating a criminal community and large-scale abuses. Various charges have also been brought against several former heads of a defense company that has been converted into state revenue.
"Boris" Averkin" unfinished small marine tanker hull (serial number 9002) of project 03182 on the territory of "Vostochnaya Verf" JSC in Vladivostok (c) forums.airbase.ru
As "Kommersant" has learned, the Pervomaisky District Court of Vladivostok found Oleg Sidenko guilty of embezzlement of other people's property entrusted to him on an especially large scale and sentenced him to four years in prison, suspended with a probation period of four years. The former top manager must also pay a fine of 600 thousand rubles, and he is prohibited from holding senior positions at defense enterprises for three years. The verdict has not yet entered into legal force and can be appealed.
""According to investigators," "between March 2017 and May 2020, Mr. Sidenko provided maintenance and maintenance at the expense of the Ulysses catamaran, owned by Gennady Lazarev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vostochnaya Verf JSC, the main beneficiary of the company.
As indicated in the case file, CEO Sidenko hired five employees who were engaged in catamaran operations and illegally received over 6 million rubles in salaries, bonuses and other payments.
The defense could not be reached for comment. Lawyer Pavel Tsovbun told "Kommersant" that he needed to coordinate the position with the principal. The Primorye Prosecutor's Office declined to comment.
Oleg Sidenko, who served as CEO of "Vostochnaya Verfi" in 2016-2020, pleaded not guilty. After leaving ""Vostochnaya Verf"", he served as executive Director of the Far Eastern Center for Shipbuilding and Ship Repair, and then the Far Eastern plant "Zvezda".
For more than a year, the Pervomaisky district Court of Vladivostok has been considering a criminal case against members of a criminal community involved, according to investigators, in the theft at the "Vostochnaya Shipyard".
Among the defendants is Valery Vasilenko, who from 1991 to 2005 headed the Primorye Prosecutor's Office, and then served as deputy chairman of the Board of Directors of "Vostochnaya Verf" JSC. Also, according to investigators, the OPS, which was involved in fraud at the enterprise, included Oleg Zubakhin, the former acting general Director of "Vostochnaya Verf" JSC.
""According to investigators, from November 2017 to April 2022, members of the criminal community and other involved persons stole funds from Vostochnaya Verf JSC for a total amount of over 13 million rubles, and also tried to steal shares of the company for more than 2.2 million rubles by deception," "the investigation found. OPS participants are charged with legalizing illegally acquired property worth more than 46 million rubles.
Valery Vasilenko was arrested in August 2023. According to investigators, the former prosecutor was involved in an attempt to seize shares of "Vostochnaya Verf" owned by one of the minority shareholders Igor Miroshnichenko, the former CEO of the company. He was threatened with the possibility of opening a criminal case, the indictment says. Vitaly Shirokov (Mongol), a former Vladivostok "supervisor", was involved in the pressure on the minority shareholder. In 2008, he received six years in a high-security penal colony for collecting tribute from car transporters on the Vladivostok-Khabarovsk highway.
JSC "Vostochnaya Verf" is a shipbuilding company founded in 1952 and located in Vladivostok. In 1994, the plant was transformed into a joint-stock company. Since 1950, the company has built more than 500 ships for the Navy, border forces and fishing organizations. More than 30 units of military equipment from this enterprise were exported to eight countries, including Vietnam, Iraq and China. "Vostochnaya Verf" JSC's technical capabilities allow it to build ships and vessels up to 120 m long, up to 16 m wide, up to 25 m high and with a launching weight of up to 2.5 thousand tons (displacement up to 3.5 thousand tons).
Oleg Zubakhin was arrested in April 2024. ""According to investigators, in 2021, while serving as acting general director of Vostochnaya Shipyard, Mr. Zubakhin "signed a fictitious invoice for the supply of construction materials for the company, knowing full well that this delivery would not take place." 2.8 million rubles were transferred to the account of one of the commercial structures. "These funds were intended for the personal needs of the organizer of the criminal community Gennady Lazarev," the investigation reported. Messrs. Vasilenko and Zubakhin plead not guilty.
Gennady Lazarev, who headed the board of directors of "Vostochnaya Verf" JSC and was the rector of Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service (now Vladivostok State University), on the contrary, confirms his involvement in the alleged crimes. In April of this year, the Leninsky District Court began considering the merits of the criminal case against him. According to investigators, the criminal community, headed by Mr. Lazarev, stole real estate from the university, which it then leased, and committed embezzlement at the "Vostochnaya Shipyard".
This year, the Leninsky District Court of Vladivostok satisfied two lawsuits filed by the Prosecutor General's Office against Gennady Lazarev, Valery Vasilenko, as well as some of their relatives, legal entities and individuals.
A large block of shares in "Vostochnaya Verf" and over 300 real estate objects were converted into state revenue.
As stated in the lawsuit, in the period from 1999 to 2006, Gennady Lazarev acquired more than 61% of the shares of "Vostochnaya Verf" JSC, some of which he issued to his spouse for corrupt income.
