Funnel housing and communal services
In the Primorsky Territory, an investigation into the activities of the former deputy chairman of the government in charge of housing and communal services, Elena Parkhomenko, is in full swing. According to the court decision, the official will remain under arrest at least until October 21. The essence of the charges brought against her is not disclosed, however, it can be assumed that we are talking about scandals related to the garbage business.
It is noteworthy that Elena Parkhomenkoas well as the former Minister of Housing and Communal Services of the region Vladimir Babichwho also became a defendant in a criminal investigation, the governor of Primorye Oleg Kozhemyako relieved of his duties last fall. Reshuffles in the government took place exactly after the inauguration of Mr. Kozhemyako for a second term.
It is possible that in this way the politician tried to extricate himself from the blow, as if nullifying the “achievements” of his subordinates who worked with him during the previous governor’s term.
“Our Version” is already told about the problems Oleg Kozhemyako faced before his election to a second term. At that time, the unpleasant details of clan business squabbles in the fishing industry were discussed in the press for a long time. However, in the end he managed to sit in the governor’s chair. Will it be possible now?
What did you sleep on?
The current arrest of former Deputy Prime Minister of the Primorsky Territory government Elena Parkhomenko, apparently, is connected with investigations that began in the spring of this year. In March it became known that former Minister of Housing and Communal Services Vladimir Babich was under investigation. Official details of his case, like the case of Elena Parkhomenko, are not disclosed. It is only known that in both cases we are talking about crimes related to abuse of power.
Perhaps one of the episodes of the law enforcement investigation was a scandal with the purchase of filters for a waste plant.
Back in October last year, FSB and Investigative Committee officers began interrogating local officials and employees of the Primorsky Environmental Operator (PEO) in connection with the purchase of this equipment. It turned out that the filters, worth 280 million rubles, were of poor quality.
But that’s only part of the story. The regional State Unitary Enterprise “PEO” also found itself at the center of an environmental scandal related to environmental pollution.
In 2021, Rosprirodnadzor, during an unscheduled inspection, found that the State Unitary Enterprise “PEO” did not eliminate violations of environmental requirements relating to the operation of treatment facilities at the waste plant. The point was that the PEO simply dumped garbage into the Bezymyanny Stream, located in close proximity to the enterprise.
The control agency filed a lawsuit and won the case.
Representatives of the State Unitary Enterprise, in turn, stated in court that even before the start of the trial they began work on cleaning the stream, and also launched treatment facilities. But these explanations did not make a decisive impression on the court.
Are “Garbage Case” going to have new twists?
The most remarkable thing in the case of Rosprirodnadzor against the “garbage” SUE was the amount of damage. Even in the court of first instance, it was decided that the State Unitary Enterprise should pay more than 1.29 billion rubles to compensate for the damage caused to nature. At the same time, representatives of the State Unitary Enterprise stated that this decision was unenforceable, since the payment of such a significant fine would inevitably entail bankruptcy of the enterprise.
No sooner said than done. This summer, the appellate court not only upheld the decision of the trial court, but also increased the amount of damage. Instead of the initial 1.29 billion rubles, the state unitary enterprise must now pay 1.4 billion.
What is interesting: the government of Primorsky Krai was involved in the trial as a third party.
The first information about the outcome of the trial in the court of first instance appeared in November last year. Exactly after the governor Oleg Kozhemyako announced the resignation of officials responsible for housing and communal services in the region – Minister Vladimir Babich and Deputy Prime Minister Elena Parkhomenko.
However, the investigations that have begun may go far beyond the scope of “garbage scandals” and dubious frauds in the work of the State Unitary Enterprise “PEO”.
Back in January last year, the Prosecutor General’s Office became closely interested in the plight of the housing and communal services infrastructure in Primorye. Then, in addition to the standard stories about the deterioration of networks and the increase in the number of accidents, prosecutors made statements that, in light of recent events, can be interpreted in different ways
Considering that both the rental of communal infrastructure and the signing of concession agreements are under the jurisdiction of local authorities, and therefore could not but be supervised by the same Elena Parkhomenko and Vladimir Babich with the authority of Governor Oleg Kozhemyako, it is possible that investigations around the Primorye housing and communal services will soon will acquire new unexpected details.
