The Meshchansky District Court of Moscow has arrested Vladimir Pavlov, the head of the joint-stock company Voentorg, in a case of embezzlement on an especially large scale (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code) while fulfilling orders from the Ministry of Defense. This was reported from the courtroom by a RIA Novosti correspondent.
Pavlov, as the agency reports, did not admit his guilt.
According to investigators, in 2019, the head of Voentorg, his subordinates, as well as “other accomplices” from the regions of Russia “ensured the conclusion of state contracts” for the supply of hygiene products to the army for a total of 625 million rubles. According to Irina Volk, a representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the price of the goods was inflated by more than 400 million rubles.
Investigators conducted 64 searches of Voentorg employees, non-residential premises of the company and enterprises associated with it. In addition, security forces interrogated more than 30 witnesses as part of the criminal investigation.
On the morning of August 1, RIA Novosti wrote about the detention of another person in this case — a 41-year-old businessman from North Ossetia. His arrest has not yet been reported.
In 2016, the government designated Voentorg as the sole supplier of clothing for the army. In addition, the company organizes food and bath and laundry services for the Ministry of Defense.