Chief designer of Russia’s Soyuz wanted in large-scale fraud probe

Moscow authorities have issued an arrest warrant in absentia for Mkrtich Okroyan, Chief Designer at Russian company Soyuz, in connection with a large-scale fraud investigation.

Okroyan has officially been declared wanted, though additional details regarding the criminal proceedings have not been disclosed, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

“The court has granted the pre-trial investigation authorities’ request to impose a detention measure on Mkrtich Okroevich Okroyan for a period of two months, starting from the moment he is handed over to the law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation in the event of extradition or deportation to Russia, or from the moment of his actual detention on Russian territory,” the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow stated.

Established by decree of the State Defence Committee in February 1943, Soyuz is engaged in developing scientific concepts for launching internet satellites into orbit, akin to SpaceX’s Starlink project.

By Vafa Guliyeva