Police conducted searches at Rossety Lenenergo over bribery allegations

The economic police of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region uncovered a bribery scheme for connection to power grids. On January 21, searches were conducted at the premises of individuals involved in a criminal case on mediation in bribery.

Jan 26, 2026

On January 21, officers of the economic police department for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region conducted a series of searches. The reason was the uncovering of a scheme linking businesses seeking to connect to power grids and employees of energy companies.

Law enforcement agencies initiated a criminal case under clauses «a» and «b» of part 3 of Article 291.1 of the Russian Criminal Code, which concerns mediation in bribery. The central figure in the investigation is believed to be a person named Ivashchenko. Investigators believe that he transferred money to officials of Rossety Lenenergo at least twice in exchange for connection.

The first episode is related to the connection of commercial premises of a company engaged in equipment sales. The bribe amount in this case was 350,000 rubles (approximately $3,800 at current rates).

The second case, according to law enforcement, was related to the accelerated connection of advertising structures — billboards. For this service, 190,000 rubles (approximately $2,100 at current rates) were transferred. Ivashchenko acted under a power of attorney from the advertising company LLC «Rim.M», registered in Kazan. The owner of this firm, as well as a number of other industry companies in different regions, is Oleg Fomin.

The searches on January 21 took place at the residences of the individuals involved, in the office premises of companies, as well as in the service offices of specialized divisions of Rossety Lenenergo. Two suspects were taken to investigative bodies. In total, the list of persons of interest to the investigation includes more than 15 people. Among them are not only business representatives but also employees of Rossety Lenenergo and JSC «Energoservisnaya Kompaniya Lenenergo», including senior foremen and connection specialists.

The press service of Rossety Lenenergo confirmed the conduct of operational actions by law enforcement agencies. «The company is assisting the investigation,» they stated.