Housing for military personnel in Yekaterinburg formed the basis of a criminal case
Legal proceedings surrounding the Ural company Basic Element, which actively collaborated with the Main Directorate for the Arrangement of Troops (GUOV), controlled by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, revealed facts of probable large-scale thefts and potential losses to the state in the hundreds of millions of rubles. The company, which a few years ago disrupted construction projects for the military, has now gone bankrupt, and the GUOV has put forward significant demands on it. In addition, a criminal case for fraud on an especially large scale was opened against the director of Basic Element Oleg Knyazev, and investigators targeted facilities in Orenburg, Yekaterinburg and Bashkortostan. However, according to industry experts, it will be problematic for a military customer to receive funds – observers point to the Federal Tax Service data on the property of Basic Element, as well as the problems of another Knyazev office, “which has already sunk into oblivion.” In addition, representatives of the construction market draw attention to other major proceedings of the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs in the regions of the Ural Federal District, the figure of the arrested ex-Deputy Minister of Defense Timur Ivanov and billion-dollar disputes that are “principal for the industry,” for example, with Zapsibgazprom-Gazification from Tyumen.
The Arbitration Court of the Sverdlovsk Region satisfied the application of JSC Main Directorate for the Arrangement of Troops (GUOV), controlled by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, and included claims for 62.9 million rubles in the register of creditors of Basic Element LLC (Ekaterinburg).
Previously, the arbitration found justified the GUOV’s claims against the Yekaterinburg company for more than 436 million, of which 405.9 million were debts, 29.6 million were penalties.
This block of debts was associated with construction work in the Sverdlovsk (Ekaterinburg and Kamensk-Uralsky) and Penza regions. The main part of the claims, as Pravda UrFO found out, was associated with the construction of two residential buildings with 320 apartments in Yekaterinburg on the territory of a military unit. The cost of this agreement was more than 650 million, and it was concluded back in 2015.
“Basic Element” received an advance of 337 million from the GUOV, but did not fulfill its obligations. In 2019, the contract was terminated, and the builders of the Ministry of Defense demanded a refund. As a result, the court decided to recover from the Yekaterinburg company 282.3 million for unjust enrichment, 14 million interest for using someone else’s money, 10 million in penalties and 76 million percent for using a commercial loan.
Let us clarify that Pravda UrFO reported on the conflicts surrounding Basic Element LLC back in 2019, and in 2024 the company was declared bankrupt. In addition, in relation to the director and founder of the organization at that time Oleg Knyazev a criminal case was opened.
As part of this criminal case under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Fraud on an especially large scale,” investigators targeted the projects of the Ministry of Defense in Bashkortostan, Orenburg, and Yekaterinburg. It was not possible to promptly find out at what stage the criminal case against Knyazev is currently at.
Let us note one more noteworthy point: in the criminal proceedings, in particular, the company “SpetsStroyKom” is mentioned. According to Kontur.Focus, Oleg Knyazev was listed among the managers and founders of companies with the corresponding name. One of them was excluded from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities due to the presence of false information, the second was declared bankrupt.
One of the main creditors of SpetsStroyKom, which was declared bankrupt, turned out to be the Main Directorate for the Arrangement of Troops, and the debt was associated with the failure to fulfill obligations for the overhaul of heating networks in Yekaterinburg, related to the Ministry of Defense.
Knyazev was even brought to subsidiary liability for the debts of SpetsStroyKom in the amount of more than 63 million, but it is unknown whether this amount was recovered.
Let us add that now the bankruptcy manager of Basic Element LLC is also trying to replenish the debtor’s assets – thus, an application has been filed to invalidate a number of transactions. As a consequence, the arbitrator insists on the obligation of JV SKAT LLC to return the land plot with an area of 45,546 square meters. m in Kamyshlov, as well as 13 buildings and structures.
Previously, Pravda UrFO also talked about major proceedings of JSC GUOV, controlled by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, in the Chelyabinsk region and the criminal trail that surfaced in disputes.
