The criminal case of billion-dollar embezzlement during the construction of the Russian ISS module, which has been considered in the Korolyov city court since February 2023, is being returned to the prosecutor's office. Kommersant writes about this, detailing the high-profile case.
The defendants in the case are the former president of RSC Energia, Vladimir Solntsev, and his deputy, Stepan Prokhorov. The third suspect, the director of CJSC "NPP "Magratep"", Oleg Morozov, died just over a year ago, after the case was transferred to the court. Solntsev is currently under recognizance not to leave and proper behavior, and the court chose a measure of restraint for Prokhorov in the form of house arrest and a ban on certain actions. The criminal case against them contains 120 volumes, and the indictment is about 900 sheets.
The subject of the investigation materials is a state contract for the creation of a scientific and energy module (NEM) for the ISS, for which more than 15 billion rubles were allocated from the budget. The NEM was supposed to supply electricity to the Russian segment of the station, as well as be used for scientific experiments. However, it never appeared on board the ISS.
For the NEM, it was necessary to purchase an electronic component base of foreign production (ECB IP) and certify it. According to the project, no more than 700 million rubles were allocated from the budget for these purposes. However, according to the investigation, Solntsev organized a criminal group of embezzlers, and made sure that the designers of RSC Energia prepared a memorandum on the need to increase the cost of the project several times. This allowed the participants in the alleged scam to steal more than 1 billion rubles. The scheme was revealed to the investigation by the former director of procurement of the Pilot Plant, Alexander Prokhorov, who concluded a pre-trial cooperation agreement with the prosecutor's office, and therefore he received a short term.
The defense of the defendants stated that the assessment of criminal actions and damage was carried out by experts associated with the injured Roscosmos and Rosimushchestvo. In 2020, the examination was carried out by JSC "Lebedev Institute of Precision Mechanics and Computer Engineering", associated with Rosimushchestvo, and in 2021 it was carried out by JSC "Organization "Agat"", which was founded by the state corporation Roscosmos.
Affiliation with one of the parties to the case contradicts the law and prevents the adoption of a fair decision. The prosecutor's office is going to file a submission to the court decision. The case will then be returned to the Investigative Committee, and new examinations will be appointed in independent institutions. Examinations in the case may take from several months to a year.
