News

A court has recognized the evidence collected by the Major Cases Directorate of the Investigative Committee sufficient to convict former first deputy head the Southern Programs and Projects Board, a federal state institution, Pavel Begeba and two of his accomplices Yelena Slyusareva and Alexander Suvorov. Depending on the role of each one, they are charged with crimes under Part 5, items “a” and “c” of Article 290 (bribery) and Part 5 of Article 33, Part 4 of Article 160 of the RF Penal Code (embezzlement and complicity in embezzlement).

The court and investigators have revealed that Begeba and the head of the financial and economic department of the said institution Dmitry Mizrakhi in 2010 took a bribe of 12 million rubles from the CEO of OOO MSU-66 Gidromontazh, a limited liability company. The bribe was to reward assistance in receiving by the company the right to execute a government contract on reconstruction of biological water purification stations in the city of Tskhinval, South Ossetia and illegal actions connected with subsequent acceptance of the work done at overestimated price of more than 32 million rubles. As a result budget funds were embezzled. Suvorov and Slyusareva, having been employees of companies controlled by Begeba, helped him and Mizrakhi to steal budget funds by making fictitious financial and economic transactions with the stolen money in order to make it look like the accomplices owned and used the money legally.

The crime was revealed during an investigation opened based on the materials provided by the RF Accounting Chamber which had checked the execution of government contracts on restoration of housing, social facilities and housing utilities in South Ossetia after the Georgian-Ossetian armed conflict in August 2008 financed from the RF budget.

Mizrakhi managed to escape investigators. The case against him was severed to form separate proceedings and he is now wanted worldwide.

The court has sentenced Begeba to 9 years in a maximum-security correctional facility. Suvorov got 1.5 years in a minimum correctional facility and Slyusareva to 2 years 2 months.