Police in Tuva completed investigation against officials accused of embezzlement of budget funds on especially large scale

The investigative unit of the Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Tyva completed the proceedings in the criminal case on the facts of embezzlement of budget funds committed by officials of the State Budgetary Institution of the Republic of Tyva "Barun-Khemchikskoye Forestry" and the State Forestry Committee of the Republic of Tyva.

The unlawful actions were stopped by joint operational-search activities carried out by officers of the Department of Economic Security and Combating the Corruption of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Tyva and the FSB of Russia Department in the Republic of Tyva.

During the investigation, it was established that the director of the State Budgetary Institution of the Republic of Tyva "Barun-Khemchikskoye Forestry" and his deputy, acting as part of an organized group and using their official powers, from March 2016 to September 2018 concluded subcontract agreements between a specialized branch controlled by their organization and an individual entrepreneur to perform a complex of forestry works with the simultaneous sale of forest plantations for timber harvesting. However, as established by law enforcement officers, the subcontractor was fictitious and the work was not performed by him. As a result of those actions, the defendants illegally cashed and stole more than 7 million 902 thousand rubles, which they disposed of at their discretion.

In the period from May to June 2020, another fictitious subcontract was similarly concluded for the performance of forestry works for a total amount of more than 1 million 837 thousand rubles, according to which an individual entrepreneur undertook to perform a complex of forestry works in the form of reconstruction of forest roads intended for the protection of forests from fires, the arrangement of fire-fighting mineralized strips, cleaning of fire strips and their renovation. However, the illegal actions were stopped by law enforcement agencies.

In addition, in December 2017, an agreement for the provision of paid educational services was signed between the St. Petersburg branch of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation and the Barun-Khemchikskoye Forestry, according to which the Barun-Khemchikskoye Forestry undertook to pay for the training of a 3rd year student who was declared to be an employee of the organization. Funds in the amount of 97 thousand rubles were transferred from the account of the Barun-Khemchikskoye Forestry as payment for the educational service provided to the student in the second semester of the 2017-2018 academic year. However, as has been established by law enforcement officers, the student, whose training was paid for by budget funds, was not and is not an employee of the State Budgetary Enterprise of the Republic of Tatarstan "Barun-Khemchikskoye Forestry". An unjustified contract was concluded to pay for the educational service provided to the son of the head of the State Forestry Committee of the Republic of Tyva.

Also, the preliminary investigation established that in December 2018, the director of the Barun-Khemchikskoye Forestry gave an oral instruction to the chief accountant of the state institution, which assisted in the accounting of the specialized branch controlled by the organization, to transfer funds in the amount of 75 thousand rubles to the account of one of the employees of the institution, and indicate as the basis for payment "the bonus for December". The chief accountant, unaware of the criminal intentions of the Director, made a payment order, on the basis of which funds in the specified amount were debited from the account of the specialized branch.

All participants in the illegal actions - the director of the State Budgetary Institution of the Republic of Tyva "Barun-Khemchikskoye Forestry", his deputy and the head of the State Forestry Committee of the Republic of Tyva are accused of committing crimes under part 4 of Article 159, part 3 of Article 159, part 3 of Article 159, part 3 of Article 30, part 4 of Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code.

Currently, the criminal case with the approved indictment has been sent to court for consideration on the merits.