Vladimir Meshkov, an ex-manager of the top management of Roscosmos, has been put on the wanted list by the authorities over the embezzlement of 600 million rubles as part of the work on the overhaul of the stand base of the Research and Test Center of the Rocket and Space Industry (RSCR).
According to the Kommersant newspaper, the 41-year-old suspect managed to escape abroad. The Basmanny Court of Moscow held a hearing on the procedure of Meshkov's arrest in absentia. The latter became one of the main defendants in the criminal case on the basis of part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (especially large-scale fraud). The term of two months will be counted from the moment of extradition of the criminal from abroad or detention in Russia.
It is known that the criminal case was initiated in January 2019 on the basis of the inspection of the Prosecutor General's office, which revealed violations in the framework of the execution of the contract between SIC RKP and LLC Moskapstroy. Out of the total amount of 3.2 billion rubles, the fraudsters were able to embezzle more than 1 billion rubles through a network of affiliated firms.
In fact, 53 million rubles were spent on repairs, and Moskapstroy was declared bankrupt in February 2020.
The second owner of Moskapstroy, Maxim Shcherbakov, who was arrested in absentia in November 2021, also escaped justice.
Earlier, the former deputy head of Khakassia Sergei Novikov, who was convicted for bribery in 2021, was wounded in the area of SVO.