Military officials stumbled on weapons program

Heads of the 46th Central Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense were accused of fraud as part of an organized criminal group. According to investigators, when performing research, they entered into fictitious contracts with contractors and employees.
16.01.2019
RBC
Origin source
The Military Investigation Department of the TFR in Moscow opened a criminal case on the theft of about 250 million rubles. regarding the head of the second department of the 46th Central Research Institute and the Ministry of Defense Colonel Mikhail Kotov and his deputy Vasily Kozlanzhi. The case has been investigated since November of last year, it follows from the materials announced on January 15 and 16 at the sessions of the Moscow Garrison Court, as far as the restraint for the accused is concerned.

Both are charged with a crime under Part 4 of Art. 159 (fraud on a large scale as part of an organized criminal group). The Ministry of Defense is recognized in the case of the injured party.

According to the investigation, in the period from 2016 to 2018, Colonel Kotov, together with other unidentified persons, drafted fictitious contracts with commercial companies that performed, but in fact did not carry out research work for the 46th Central Research Institute. Damage from the actions of the colonel, according to investigators, may exceed 250 million rubles.

Kotov does not admit guilt. Lawyer Sergei Chernyakov told RBC that his client had not inflicted any damage to the Defense Ministry. “Mikhail Anatolyevich is accused of allegedly using some firms to perform work on various types of contracts. For scientific work, allegedly involved some third-party organizations, which he, Mikhail Anatolyevich, did not know. We deny this and want to report that all the work has been completed, all contracts have been executed and the Ministry of Defense has no complaints in this regard, ”he argues.

“All the money that was allocated was spent for the intended purpose. The only question is whether Mikhail Anatolyevich did the work himself or whether some companies were used. There are no embezzlements and, in principle, cannot be, ”the lawyer Kotov summarized. He added that the amount of research was too large and could not be carried out by the Central Research Institute on their own.

As a preventive measure, Kotov was chosen to ban certain actions: he cannot communicate with colleagues and subordinates, nor does he have the right to leave his apartment from 22:00 to 06:00. The court extended to the colonel a measure of restraint until April 18.

More than a hundred "dead souls"

The accusation is based, among other things, on the testimony of Kozlanzhi, who at the beginning of the investigation partially pleaded guilty, follows from the materials of the case read out in court. Almost immediately after his arrest on November 19, Kozlanzhi asked for a pre-trial agreement with the investigation, but the military prosecutor's office refused to approve it. Subsequently, the defendant decided to use Art. 51 of the Constitution and refused to testify, said in an interview with RBC, his lawyer Viktor Makarenko. The defender refrained from further comments, citing a non-disclosure subscription, and also that some of the case materials may be classified in the near future.

Kozlanzhi is charged with embezzling 74 million rubles, associated with fictitious hiring and transferring money under the guise of salary to people who did not actually work at the 46th Central Scientific Research Institute, follows from documents read out in court; the investigation counted more than a hundred of such fictitious employees.

Kozlanzhi’s testimony became grounds for initiating criminal proceedings against at least three people other than Kotov, investigator Vladimir Slashchev told the court. The guilt of the defendants in the case is also confirmed by the “cash and records with signs of accounting” withdrawn in the 46th Central Scientific Research Institute, follows from the investigation documents.

“The case was initiated according to one research program, but in the course of the investigation we are reaching others,” the investigator added.

Kozlanzhi has been under house arrest since mid-November; On January 16, the court extended his preventive measure. “This is one of the key figures in the case, which should be monitored daily and hourly,” Slashchev substantiated his petition for the extension of the preventive measure.

“This is a disciplined person. He did not violate the preventive measure and does not plan to do this, ”lawyer Kozlanzhi Viktor Makarenko objected at the meeting. In his opinion, the investigator did not provide specific information that Kozlanzhi affects the participants of the process or otherwise interferes with the investigation. The accused and his counsel asked to change the preventive measure to a ban on certain actions. Now the conditions of Kozlanzhi’s house arrest do not provide for walks

The main tasks of the 46th Central Scientific Research Institute are the substantiation of the prospects for the development of the weapons system of the Armed Forces of Russia, the development and approval of state weapons programs, according to the website of the Ministry of Defense. With the head role of the institute, the latest state armament program until 2027, worth more than 19 trillion rubles, was developed and approved.

Candidate of Technical Sciences, Mikhail Kotov, 47 years old, born in Nalchik, lives in Moscow. Among his scientific articles are “A methodical approach to assessing the possibility of applying the results of intellectual activity containing information constituting state secrets when creating export-oriented armaments, military and special equipment”, as well as publications devoted to the problems of developing a state armament program.

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