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In Omsk, head of road construction company sentenced for swindling at natural disaster recovery action and legalization of funds acquired in an illegal way

The evidence collected by the Omsk Regional Investigations Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia was found by court to be sufficient to sentence Director of Road Construction Company LLC (DSK LLC) Sevak Saroyan. He was found guilty of committing offences under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of Russia (large scale swindling committed in a preliminary conspiracy) and Paragraphs A, B of Part 4 of Article 174.1 of the Criminal Code of Russia (legalization of funds acquired in an illegal way). The probe was based on materials of the Omsk Regional Federal Security Service Directorate. 

Investigation established that, driven by the desire for personal enrichment, Director of Road Construction Company LLC Sevak Saroyan, his relative Gnel Saroyan, and accountant Inna Kuplenik (probe into which is currently considered by court) developed and implemented a plan to steal the money allocated by Omsk Region to relieve the consequences of a freshet in Znamensky Municipal District of Omsk Region in 2015. In 2016 Sevak Saroyan and other accomplices, acting on behalf of DSK LLC, subcontracted for about 43 million rubles the winner of electronic tender for these works, state-run enterprise "Road Repair and Construction Directorate No.5", falsified road works and issued unreliable executive documents on volumes of road recovery works performed by DSK LLC. They used weather conditions of negative temperature in November-December, 2016 causing impossibility to evaluate the volume of works, including inside works, and presented to the state customer and general contractor representatives the executive documents stating that DSK LLC had fully fulfilled the works under contract. Following that, the accused stole by deceit the budgetary funds on an especially large scale, worth 40,5 million rubles in total, transferred for the allegedly performed works and owned by the Omsk Regional Public Institution "Omsk Regional Public Roads Administration". After that, for the purpose of the legalization of the stolen funds, the defendants had found a nominal company, signed subcontract agreements on behalf of Road Construction Company LLC, transferred 21,5 million rubles to the company's account, and further cashed it out and paid for purchased vehicles. 

Sevak Saroyan confessed and signed a pre-trial immunity agreement, therefore the probe into him was presented separately. The other accused didn't admit their guilt. In order to compensate for the damage caused by the crime, the investigation seized the property of the accused for a total value of over 24 million rubles - construction equipment, motor transport, real estate property. 

The court sentenced Sevak Saroyan to 3 years of imprisonment in a strict regime penal colony and a fine of 800 000 rubles. He was taken into custody in the courtroom.

Hearing of the probe into accomplices Gnel Saroyan and Inna Kuplenik continues.