PASMI sources in law enforcement agencies reported personnel changes in the FSO. The contract of the current head of the operative management of the special services Nikolay Musinsky has not been extended, his place was taken by Sergey Kudinov from the FSB.

Cleaning rows

The position of the head of the operational department of the Federal Security Service, which performs the functions of a special service within the department, was left by Nikolai Musinsky, a PASMI source said. Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided not to renew the contract with a senior FSO officer.

Another interlocutor of the publication in law enforcement agencies said that Sergey Kudinov had been appointed to replace Musinsky. Prior to that, he served as head of the 3rd service of the CSS of the FSB, whose task is physical protection and operational protection of the security officers.

"Kudinov went to work already as the head of the OPU," said a PASMI source. He noted that Kudinov in the bodies "is described as a bona fide FSB officer, professional and competent leader who is able to fulfill the tasks set by the president, including restoring order in the FSO and the structures under its control."

Corruption in the special services

According to the interlocutors of the publication, a complex of complaints has accumulated against Musinsky, but three episodes deserve special attention.

The first relates to the discovery of theft at the reconstruction of the presidential residence "Novo-Ogaryovo". Earlier, PASMI wrote about the close ties between Nikolai Musinsky and Dmitry Mikhalchenko, who is now in jail in the case of embezzlement during the reconstruction of the Reception House for Vladimir Putin. According to the main witness in this case, Musinsky was among those who provided administrative cover for frauds at presidential construction sites.

In addition, Musinsky’s claims are made in connection with a corruption scandal surrounding the FSO chief in the North Caucasus Federal District, Gennady Lopyrev. Lieutenant General Lopyrev was found guilty of receiving millions of bribes from construction companies for contracts at FSO facilities in Sochi and sentenced to 10 years in a strict regime colony.

Another reason for the resignation of a senior intelligence officer was the audit of the Accounts Chamber, which revealed multibillion-dollar violations in the presidential flight squad "Russia".

Among these abuses are the overstatement of the cost of repairing aircraft and engines, noncompetitive government procurement, the purchase of used aircraft instead of new ones, unjustified salaries and budget expenditures on food and hotels for outsiders.

What is OPU FSO?

First of all, the operational management of the Federal Security Service is the people who ensure the safety of the president, high-ranking officials of the country and especially important objects. They have the possibility of secretly obtaining information (wiretapping, surveillance, etc.) and conducting operational activities. The second important part of the work of the PSU is the performance of CSS functions within the department.

This unit is also engaged in the suppression of illegal activities within the FSO and related structures, including embezzlement and embezzlement of budgetary funds - the prevention of the corruption component in the department, on which Musinsky lost his life. It was he and his subordinates who had to prevent theft and non-target spending inside the FSO and its subordinate organizations.

Help PASMI: Vladimir Musinsky was born in 1954 in Leningrad. He graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Aviation Instrumentation. From 1983 to 1997, he served in the structures of the KGB and the FSB. Since 1997, the young structure of the St. Petersburg tax police has been transferred. The following year, Musinsky headed the regional information and analytical service of the St. Petersburg tax police, and after half a year he became the deputy head of the Federal Tax Police Service for St. Petersburg.

Tax police was disbanded and in 2005 Musinsky became the head of the Directorate for the North-West Federal District of the Department for Organizational and Regional Activities of the Federal Service of the Russian Federation for Drug Control. And in 2013, he moved to Moscow and was appointed commander of the military unit 38995 (OPU FSO).