84 million rubles lost during construction of cultural center in Mariinsk
A Kuzbass official was sentenced to a suspended term for abuse of authority in a construction project.
A former official from Kuzbass has been found guilty of abuse of power and derailing several regional development programs. The regional prosecutor«s office said on Wednesday, January 28, that his actions caused the budget to lose about 84 million rubles (approximately $840,000 at current rates).
The investigation established that in November 2022, the man, while serving as head of the capital construction department of the Mariinsk municipal district, signed a contract for 162 million rubles (approximately $1.62 million at current rates) with the firm LLC «Algoritm» for the construction of a Cultural Development Center, allowing the firm to begin work without the necessary permit.
To conceal the violation, the official backdated the permit and gave the contractor access to the funds. As a result, the company received a large advance, and then he increased the contract amount from 26.8% to 50% for each stage. Moreover, he signed payment documents for the work without verifying whether it had actually been completed.
As a result, the firm received 84 million rubles (approximately $840,000 at current rates) in budget funds, but the construction was not completed by the set date, and only 17% of the work was done.
The guilty party derailed several projects, including a federal one. For abuse of authority, the court sentenced him to 3 years of suspended imprisonment and issued a ban on working in leadership positions for 3 years. In addition, the court is considering a criminal case against the directors of the contracting organization.
Earlier we reported on which construction projects money is planned to be spent on in the region in the coming year.
