Ex-Roads Minister Faces Trial for Embezzlement, Bribery

The case of Alexei Nechaev, former head of the Ministry of Road Facilities and Transport of Chelyabinsk Region, has been transferred to the Sovetsky District Court. He is accused under two criminal charges.

As the court press service told 74.RU, Alexei Nechaev is charged with embezzlement (Part 4 of Article 160 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and bribery (Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code).

According to 74.RU, a key role in the criminal case on embezzlement of budget funds is assigned to the Vil«shenko family, which during the governorship of Boris Dubrovsky owned the main road monopolists of Chelyabinsk Region — Yuzhuralavtoban and Yuzhuralmost. According to the investigation, from 2015 until the resignation of the regional head, entrepreneurs and officials did not allow prices of contracts concluded with the Ministry of Roads and Transport to be reduced during tenders. As a result, Sergei Vil»shenko, who is now hiding abroad, according to the investigation, transferred nearly 3 billion rubles ($30,000,000 at current rates) to an affiliated organization from the treasury.

Part 4 of Article 160 of the Criminal Code (misappropriation or embezzlement committed by an organized group or on an especially large scale) provides for up to 10 years in prison.

The court press service told 74.RU: «Also, Nechaev is accused of committing a crime under Part 6 of Article 290 — receiving a bribe by an official through an intermediary in the form of money for committing actions in favor of the bribe-giver and the person represented by the bribe-giver, while these actions were part of the official»s duties, and the official by virtue of his position facilitated these actions, committed by an organized group on an especially large scale.«

The amount of the bribe will be known after the indictment is read out, the court added.

Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code (receiving a bribe on an especially large scale) provides for 8 to 15 years in prison.

Alexei Nechaev was born in Chelyabinsk. He has a higher education as an engineer — in 2006 he graduated from the Ural branch of the Moscow Automobile and Road Institute. He began his career in 2001 as a road worker. He worked at Avtodorstroy-1 LLC as head of the production and technical department. From 2010 to 2012, he was deputy head of the design department of Chelyabinskavtodor (State Unitary Enterprise). From 2012 to 2015, he served as head of the production and technical supervision department of Chelyabinskavtodor (State Budgetary Institution). From 2015 to 2019, he worked as head of the road management department of the Ministry of Roads of Chelyabinsk Region. On 8 November 2019, he was appointed Minister of Road Facilities and Transport of the region. He has various departmental certificates and a commendation from the governor.

Recall that Alexei Nechaev was detained on 19 February, and on the same day searches were conducted at the Ministry of Roads and Transport. As part of the criminal case, Alexei Nechaev«s deputy, two businessmen, and the Vil»shenko family«s lawyer Ekaterina Krasnikhina were also detained. Security forces also visited Gennady Vil»shenko and Alexander Dubrovsky (son of former governor Boris Dubrovsky), but they were released.

All details of the criminal case against the head of the Ministry of Roads and Transport are in our special report.