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Charges pressed against former senior officials of Rosnanotekh

The Main Investigations Directorate of the Russia’s Investigative Committee has charged former head of Rosnanotekh Leonid Melamed and finance director Svyatoslav Ponurov with grand embezzlement (part 4 of article 160 of the RF Penal Code). At the moment the investigators know the role of each one of the accused and their accomplices in the crime.

According to investigators, in order to prepare for stealing money from Rosnanotekh, Melamed employed Malyshev and Ponyrov, whom he controlled. Them he raised a question of involving an advisor company to provide Rosnanotekh with services the corporation did not needed. In 2008, Ponurov as the president of tender committee, conspired with Melamed and made so that Alemar company won the tender. After that he prepared a draft service contract which them was signed by Malyshev. After that Ponurov signed the bills. This way, in the period between February and July 2009, over 220 million rubles of the corporation was unreasonably spent.

In fact, Alemar did not make the work under the contract and submitted reissued investment projects developed by the corporation staff out of time. Rosnanotekh staff did not use the products of the company, which is completely confirmed by the case files. Searches were conducted in residences of the defendants and other people checked on involvement in the crime. The investigators confiscated electronic documents and sent them for an inquiry.

The investigators are closely cooperating with the Federal Finance Monitoring Service and Interpol in order to get information on whether the stolen money was transferred abroad and whether any other crimes took place. After the reports about the investigation were published in the media, new witnesses have appeared and claimed that the accused committed other crimes. The information is now being checked.

Head of Media Relations                                                                                                                           V.I. Markin