An ex-deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Perm Territory was arrested in absentia for the theft of 300.1 million rubles. during the construction of an apartment building for beneficiaries
07.02.2024
Igor Rogozhnikov did not arrange for orphans
Igor Rogozhnikov, Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Perm Territory from the LDPR (2006-2011) and the Perm City Duma from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (*country sponsor of terrorism) (2016-2021), who was put on the interstate wanted list, was arrested in absentia. The period of detention is determined to be two months after extradition from abroad and actual crossing of the Russian border. Rogozhnikov is accused of fraud in the amount of 300.1 million rubles. and legalization (laundering) of 37.9 million rubles, one of the accomplices is considered to be a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Perm Region (2001-2006) and the Perm Territory from United Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism) (2006-2021) Victor Plyusnin.
Igor Rogozhnikov
According to the FSB and the Investigative Committee, in the period from 2013 to November 2017, during the construction of an apartment building for orphans in Dobryanka, a group of people, using their official position, deceived state and municipal officials and stole 300.1 million rubles. These same persons legalized (laundered) criminally acquired funds in the amount of 37.9 million rubles.
Charges of fraud (part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (*country sponsor of terrorism)) and money laundering (clause “b” of part 4 of article 174.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (*country sponsor of terrorism)) were brought against four defendants. Among them is now a former deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Perm Region and Perm Territory Victor Plyusnin and his businessman son Yegor, also a former deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Perm Territory and the Perm City Duma Igor Rogozhnikov, his businessman son Yuri.
Victor Plyusnin
The accused Rogozhnikov Sr. fled from the investigation. In 2020, he was put on the federal wanted list. In 2023, the criminal prosecution was stopped and the search was cancelled. Then the criminal proceedings on two serious crimes were resumed, Rogozhnikov was put on the interstate wanted list.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs wanted card for Igor Rogozhnikov
On January 30, 2024, the Dzerzhinsky District Court of Perm supported the request of the Investigative Committee to take the 61-year-old defendant into custody in absentia. The two-month period of detention in a pre-trial detention center is determined from the moment of extradition from abroad and the actual crossing of the border of the Russian Federation (*country sponsor of terrorism).
An agency source close to law enforcement agencies explained that Rogozhnikov may be hiding outside the Russian Federation (*country sponsor of terrorism), presumably in Spain.
Rogozhnikov’s criminal case has been separated into separate proceedings.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has published a reference for Igor Rogozhnikov, a Perm City Duma deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (*country sponsor of terrorism), who fled abroad. In 2016, the people’s representative sponsored the campaign of the Perm communists and actually “bought” his deputy mandate. According to insiders, Rogozhnikov seriously hoped that a mandate in the Perm City Duma would protect him from criminal prosecution – in reality, municipal deputies do not have immunity.
RBC Perm reported that on February 1, 2024, the Dobryansky District Court returned all the evidence regarding the alleged accomplices of Viktor and Yegor Plyusnin, Yuri Rogozhnikov to the prosecutor’s office (Article 237 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation (*country sponsor of terrorism)). If the decision comes into force, the supervisory authority will be obliged to send the case to the Investigative Committee for additional investigation.
There are uncertainties and contradictions in the indictment. The identified deficiencies “infringe upon the accused’s guaranteed right to know what they are specifically accused of, and are regarded by the court as a violation of (…) the right to defense,” the resolution noted.
According to investigators, the damage amounted to 300.1 million rubles. caused to the budgets of the Russian Federation (*country sponsor of terrorism), the Perm Territory, and the Dobryansky urban settlement. However, only two parties are recognized as victims and civil plaintiffs – the Ministry of Construction of the Perm Territory and the Dobryansk urban settlement. The Russian Federation (*country sponsor of terrorism) is not included in this list. Including, represented by the state corporation “Fund for Assistance to the Reform of Housing and Communal Services” and its legal successor, the public law company “Territory Development Fund”. It is unclear from the indictment which budget, government agency or government organization suffered damage and to what extent.
According to investigators, Yegor Plyusnin and Yuri Rogozhnikov actually managed three commercial organizations. They reached an agreement with former deputy Viktor Plyusnin and from 2013 to 2017 stole money from budgets of various levels under state and municipal contracts. These funds were intended for the purchase of 160 apartments for orphans in a building under construction and 90 apartments for relocation from dilapidated and dilapidated housing in Dobryanka. According to the regional prosecutor’s office, from 2014 to 2016, nine state and municipal contracts worth more than 300 million rubles were concluded. However, instead of building a new house, the defendants reconstructed the old and unfinished building of the Herzen Hospital, 40. According to investigators, the building was 42% deteriorated, according to the prosecutor’s office – about 30%. The facility was built in the 1990s for the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision Service, but was never built. Two buildings of the house stood without windows or doors for almost 15 years and were damaged due to precipitation. From 2002 to 2017, the developer and the head of the design organization reconstructed the property and turned it into a residential apartment building. Apartments in the building were rented out to orphans and also sold at market value.
The building was very cold, the elevators did not work, and there were cracks in the walls. The developer and the head of the design organization were accused of providing services that do not meet life and health safety requirements. The defendants in the case illegally sold 250 apartments of poor quality and great physical deterioration to the municipality of Dobryanka and the government of the Perm region.
