As the Kommersant newspaper reported in Vladislav Trifonov's material , "Money for shells was not squandered, but simply stolen. A verdict was passed in the case of fraud within the framework of the defense industry development program of Russia, the Dorogomilovsky District Court of Moscow sentenced Vitaly Chernov, CEO of Stroyinvestproekt, to seven years in prison. The businessman was found guilty of embezzlement of more than 67 million rubles allocated as part of the implementation of the federal program "Development of the military-industrial complex of the Russian Federation in 2011-2020". Budgetary funds were stolen during the modernization of Rostec's Plastics Plant OJSC in the Chelyabinsk Region, which produces shells and industrial explosives.
The main administrative building of JSC "Plastics Plant" in Kopeysk, Chelyabinsk region (c) hotelsbroker.com
The district court considered the criminal case of Vitaly Chernov for more than a year and a half. As a result, he agreed with the arguments of the state prosecution from the Moscow Prosecutor's office, finding the former CEO of Stroyinvestproject guilty of especially large embezzlement (Part 4 of Article 160 of the Criminal Code) and fraud (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code) - fraud with money allocated as part of the implementation of the federal program "Development of the military-industrial complex of the Russian Federation in 2011-2020".
At the same time, due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, the district court released Vitaly Chernov from serving a six-year sentence for embezzlement. However, the businessman was sentenced to seven years in a penal colony and a half-million fine under the second article of the charge. After the verdict was announced, the convict, who was on his own recognizance not to leave, was taken into custody in the courtroom.
As previously reported by Kommersant, Vitaly Chernov was considered by the investigation to be the organizer of the embezzlement of part of the funds allocated for the modernization of JSC Plastics Plant, part of Rostec. The modernization of the defense enterprise, which specializes in the production of ammunition for tank guns, naval guns, field artillery, mortars and unguided missiles for aviation, was funded by the federal program for the development of the defense industry.
It was assumed that part of the funds was stolen in Moscow, even before the transfer to the Chelyabinsk region.
Therefore, initially, since May 2018, the circumstances of the crime were investigated by the staff of the investigative department of the Department of Internal Affairs in the North-Western District of the capital. Moreover, an investigation was conducted against unidentified persons for almost a year, but on April 3, 2019, the CEO of Stroyinvestproject was detained and charged with fraud (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code). After that, the case materials were transferred to the fourth department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, which is investigating crimes committed at special facilities.
As follows from the materials of the case, on September 24, 2014, located in the city of Kopeysk, Chelyabinsk region, JSC "Plastics Plant" concluded a subcontract agreement with FSUE "Spetsstroytechnologies", created under the Special Construction of Russia. The agreement provided for the performance of various works by the unitary enterprise in the amount of 371.6 million rubles. However, having entered into collusion with the management of Kronos LLC, it follows from the case materials, Vitaly Chernov began to negotiate with the management of the subcontractor about the participation of this private company in the modernization of the defense plant.
Although the negotiations were completed successfully, as follows from the case file, the businessman did not intend and did not have the opportunity to fulfill the agreements concluded.
And after the FSUE transferred 89 million rubles to the accounts of Kronos, most of them, on the instructions of Vitaly Chernov, it follows from the case materials, turned out to be on the account of LLC Stroyinvestproekt controlled by him. The reason for the transfer was a subcontracting agreement concluded between the companies on September 25, 2014. According to the case file, the agreement was drawn up "for the purpose of veiling" the embezzlement of budget funds, since the work at the Chelyabinsk enterprise was only partially completed, and the damage exceeded 67 million rubles.
The businessman did not admit guilt, his defense intends to appeal the verdict.