High-ranking defendants appear in the case of large-scale theft during the liquidation of mines.
Anti-corruption purges continue in the Ministry of Energy: on the same day, former deputy head of the ministry Anatoly Yanovsky and current deputy minister Sergei Mochalnikov were detained by FSB and Ministry of Internal Affairs officers. The first is accused of fraud on an especially large scale, the second is charged with abuse of power while he was director of the coal industry department. The arrests took place as part of a criminal investigation into the theft of funds allocated for the implementation of projects related to the liquidation of coal mines in the Kuzbass and Perm region. According to investigators, thanks to Mochalnikov, the financial fraud of other participants in the criminal scheme became possible, causing damage to the budget in the amount of about 500 million rubles. In addition, there was environmental damage, with preliminary estimates reaching 12 billion. Testimony against Yanovsky and Mochalnikov was given by other defendants in the case of fraud in the coal industry – the previously arrested general director of the Federal State Budgetary Institution for the Reorganization and Liquidation of Unprofitable Mines and Open-Cuts (FSBI GURSH) Andrey Moiseenkov and businessman Robert Shaginyan. It was GURSH that was engaged in the liquidation of coal mines that had been closed by 2003. Today, deputy directors of the institution Natalya Koneva and Aseldir Radzhabov are defendants in the same case with Yanovsky. As for Shaginyan, the investigation considers him to be the beneficiary of the contractor companies Shakhtastroy, Promstroy, Transportnik and Sibstroyinvest, with which the management of GURSH entered into contracts for a total of 7 billion rubles, paying for the work in full and without monitoring the progress of their implementation. Anatoly Yanovsky worked at the Ministry of Energy for more than 20 years, overseeing the coal industry and international cooperation issues as deputy minister. From the tax returns of the former official it followed that his wife earned tens of millions of rubles, and in addition, in 2019 she officially owned 11 apartments. The income of Sergei Mochalnikov’s family is more modest; according to 2021 data, apart from a motorcycle, he did not have any property, and all real estate was registered in the name of his wife.
Security forces are shaking the Ministry of Energy
It seems that the situation in the federal Ministry of Energy is beginning to develop according to the scenario worked out at the Ministry of Defense. One of the main news on Thursday was the news of the detention of the former Deputy Minister of Energy by security forces. Anatoly Yanovsky. On the same day, information appeared about searches of the current deputy head of the ministry Sergei Mochalnikovhis detention, as well as investigative actions in the apartments and workplaces of a number of former and current officials.
As Kommersant reports, Anatoly Yanovsky and the deputy directors involved in the same criminal case “Federal state budgetary institution for the reorganization and liquidation of unprofitable mines and open-pit mines” (FSBI “GURSH”) Natalia Koneva And Aseldir Radjabov fraud on an especially large scale is charged.
According to investigators, they participated in the theft of budget funds allocated for projects related to the liquidation of Kuzbass mines in 2018-2023. Yanovsky’s detention became possible thanks to the testimony of other defendants in the criminal case about large-scale fraud in the coal industry.
Sergei Mochalnikov is suspected of abuse of power while serving as head of the coal industry department. The investigation believes that in 2018 he signed acts of acceptance of work performed by the company “Sibstroyinvest” as part of a contract for the dismantling of buildings and structures, the reclamation of rock dumps and the organization of the discharge of mine water at the Usva-3 mine in the Perm region. At the same time, the official was aware of the presence in the documents of unreliable information about the actions of the contractor and the costs incurred by him.
In 2019, Mochalnikov approved the unfinished work at the Shushtalepskaya, Baydaevskaya and them mines. Dimitrova in Kemerovo, where, among other things, fires on soil dumps were extinguished. Finally, in 2023, as deputy minister, he endorsed the reclamation of land at the Kuzbass Pionerka mine – work under this contract also attracted the interest of the security forces.
Thanks to Mochalnikov’s abuses, the financial fraud of other participants in the criminal scheme became possible, who, according to investigators, stole the order 500 million rubles. At the same time, as a result of uncompleted work, environmental damage was also caused, which, according to preliminary estimates, amounted to up to 12 billion.
Predecessors: “the case of Moiseenkov and Shaginyan”
It is worth emphasizing here that the investigation into thefts in the FSBI GURSH, which is subordinate to the Ministry of Energy, is not limited to yesterday’s searches and arrests. Last July, the general director of the institution was arrested in Moscow Andrey Moiseenkov and businessman Robert Shahinyanalso accused of particularly large-scale fraud. Then, as part of the criminal investigation, FSB and Ministry of Internal Affairs officers conducted more than 50 searches and other investigative measures not only in the capital, but also in the Moscow region, Perm Territory, Rostov, Kemerovo and Kaliningrad regions.
According to Kommersant, the focus of the security forces was the liquidation of 37 mines in the Perm Kizelovsky coal basin, which were recognized as unprofitable back in 1996 and finally closed in 2002. Their liquidation was carried out by the Federal State Budgetary Institution “GURSH”, whose leadership in 2014-2023. concluded government contracts for a total of 7 billion rubleswith four contractor companies – “Shakhtastroy”, “Promstroy”, “Transporter” And “Sibstroyinvest”at the time of initiation of the criminal case had already been liquidated as a result of bankruptcy proceedings.
The investigation considers Robert Shaginyan to be the beneficiary of the contracting organizations. In turn, the budgetary institution headed by Moiseenkov transferred the money to the companies in full, but did not control the progress of the work, signing the corresponding acceptance certificates. Later, during inspections, it turned out that the buildings and their foundations were not demolished, the river banks were littered, the ecosphere was not restored, the dumps of the excavated rocks were not reclaimed, and “acidic” water continued to flow from the mines, polluting nearby water bodies.
Thus, it was not only a matter of large-scale theft of budget funds, but also the creation of a situation that threatened the Middle Urals with an environmental disaster, the damage from the consequences of which had not yet been assessed at the time of the arrest of Moiseenkov and Shaginyan. In addition to the main defendants, Kommersant reported that about ten more people were detained in different regions of the Russian Federation and taken to Moscow under escort. However, most of the detainees were eventually released after interrogation as witnesses.
The mysterious property of the Yanovsky family
Returning to yesterday’s arrests, let us dwell in more detail on the personality of Anatoly Yanovsky. He worked at the Ministry of Energy for over 20 years, from 2008-2021. served as deputy minister, overseeing the coal industry and international cooperation issues. In 2021, Yanovsky was appointed assistant to the head of the presidential administration, where he was responsible for the work of the commission on the strategy for the development of the fuel and energy complex. He is currently the first vice president Academy of Mining Sciences and is a member of its Presidium, has the degrees of Doctor of Economics and Candidate of Technical Sciences.
The latest data on the official’s income, available in the public domain, is dated 2020. Then Yanovsky earned a little more 8.8 million rubleshis wife is much more – above 67 million. The deputy minister owned a residential building with an area of almost 1.3 thousand square meters, a land plot of 6.4 thousand square meters, a utility block, and used two apartments of 55.3 square meters and 186.9 square meters. The second of the apartments (judging by the footage), a garage and a BMW X4 car were officially registered in the name of the civil servant’s wife.
Yanovsky’s declaration for 2019 looks more interesting. He reported his own income in 9.8 million rublesand spouse’s income in the amount 88.3 million. In addition to the property listed above, the deputy minister’s wife owned 11 more apartments with a total area of over 564 square meters. By the way, these 11 apartments were missing from the reports published a year earlier.
According to the network’s publications, the property indicated in the 2020 declaration is a luxury cottage in New Moscow, in the Voskresenskoye settlement. In addition, in 2022, Yanovsky bought a plot of land with an area of about 1 thousand square meters in a cottage village “White Beach”in Ramensky urban district. The ex-official’s wife has today replaced the BMW X4 with a Mercedes-Benz ML 300. Unfortunately, journalists were unable to get comments about the sources of the family’s wealth, and most importantly, about the apartments that appeared and disappeared: now Mrs. Yanovskaya clearly has no time to communicate with the press.
What Deputy Minister Mochalnikov declared
Sergei Mochalnikov took the post of deputy head of the Ministry of Energy in April 2022 and oversaw the same areas as Yanovsky previously. He worked at the ministry since 2014, and was director of the department of coal and peat industry. Before moving to the civil service, he managed an enterprise Altai-Koks – a large producer of coke and chemical products, which became part of the structure in 2006 “Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant”Moscow group of companies “Original” and controlled by Rosimushchestvo “Russian Fuel Company” (OJSC “Rostopprom”). Mochalnikov’s managerial qualities raise many questions: the fact is that in 2014, Rostopprom was declared bankrupt, and its former general director settled in a department under the Energy Ministry.
From Mochalnikov’s anti-corruption declaration for 2021 it follows that, as director of the department, he earned 7.2 million rubleshis wife’s income for the same period was 42 million. Apparently, the breadwinners in the families of Ministry of Energy officials are usually their wives? Mochalnikov’s property included only the Agusta Brutale 910 motorcycle. The residential building of 523.8 square meters was in use and was officially registered in the name of his wife, as well as a garage, an outbuilding and two plots of land with a total area of more than 3.2 thousand square meters.
In 2020, Mochalnikov declared his own income in 3.6 million rublesand spouse’s income in the amount 14.5 million. Then, in addition to everything listed above, a second land plot of 2.5 thousand square meters, a country house with an area of 735.5 square meters and a second garage were registered in the name of the government official’s wife. It can be assumed that in 2021 the family chose to get rid of a certain part of their property, hence the sharp increase in income.
On Friday, April 25, the court will decide on the choice of preventive measures for Anatoly Yanovsky and Sergei Mochalnikov. Their possible placement in a pre-trial detention center depends on the testimony they give and their desire to cooperate with the investigation. In the meantime, the authors of publications in the media and Telegram channels are wondering: will they be involved in only one criminal case (respectively, about particularly large-scale fraud and abuse of power) or will they still have to bear their share of responsibility for the damage caused to the environment of the Middle Urals ?
