News

Kamchatka Territory investigating bodies of Russia’s Investigative Committee have finished investigating a criminal case against Kamchatka Territory Sport and Tourism ex-Minister Viktor Kravchenko and a businessman. Kravchenko together with the businessman are charged with fraud using official position on an especially massive scale (part 4 of article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code).

According to investigators, in late 2011 Kravchenko and the businessman during execution of a state contract on supplying hockey gears for youth teams of the Kamchatka Territory, by fraud misappropriated funds of the Kamchatka Territory budget in the form of the difference between the cost of hockey gear supplied under the state contract and the actual expenditure by the Kamchatka Territory budget, by which they caused a loss of over 7 million rubles.

Besides, Kravchenko is charged with misuse of power during the period of conclusion and execution of the said state contract (part 1 of article 285) and receiving a bribe on an especially massive scale (part 6 of article 290). According to investigators in December 2011 the Minister of Sports and Tourism of the Kamchatka Territory received from a representative of commercial organization a bribe of 2 million rubles for omission, that is for not taking any punitive measures, not imposing a penalty or filing any claims to the said company, which had failed to execute provisions of the said state contract signed with the Ministry headed by Kravchenko.

The operative support during the investigation was provided by officials of the Far Eastern Federal District Main Office of the Russian Interior Ministry.

The investigators have gathered enough evidence, therefore the criminal case has been sent for the indictment to be approved and further into court to be tried on the merits.