Ex-Rosgvardiya construction chief arrested in embezzlement case

The 235th Garrison Military Court has ordered the detention of former acting head of the Rosgvardiya Construction Department, Sergey Zherebtsov, until May 15, according to court documents reviewed by TASS.

Zherebtsov has admitted his guilt and submitted a confession.

He is accused of abusing his official powers in executing a state defense contract, which resulted in serious consequences. Investigators say he was involved in the embezzlement of 83.7 million rubles in budget funds from Rosgvardiya.

According to the investigation, during a government contract carried out by the company “Vitu Proekt” for construction and landscaping at the military town of the Novosibirsk Military Institute of the National Guard, Zherebtsov and unidentified employees of the FGKU “9th Customer-Developer Center of Rosgvardiya” colluded with the company’s management to misappropriate funds.

Investigators allege that although the contractor had ceased work, the defendants extended the contract terms and facilitated an increase in its cost by 83.7 million rubles, which was then paid to the company as an advance.

In the same case, the court also arrested “Vitu Proekt” CEO Sergey Arkhipov and executive director Maxim Kozlov. They face charges of large-scale fraud but deny any wrongdoing.

By Khagan Isayev