Frolov Oleg Petrovich

Frolov Oleg Petrovich

History

2023: Arrest in fraud case worth 435 million rubles

On December 22, 2023, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation announced the arrest of Oleg Frolov, Deputy General Director of the State Corporation Roscosmos. He is accused of fraud worth 435 million rubles.

According to the Izvestia newspaper, citing sources in law enforcement agencies, Frolov is suspected of embezzlement during the reconstruction of the 13th building of the All-Union Research Institute of Electromechanics (VNIIEM; included in the structure of Roscosmos). The corresponding contract worth 1.1 billion rubles was concluded in 2019 with OOO USP Complink (the current name is Infralink, associated with UK Complink Group). Of the total amount of the contract, more than 645 million rubles were allocated for the purchase of equipment: according to investigators, it is with this item of expenses that theft is associated.

The RF IC said in a statement that, in addition to Frolov, two accomplices were involved in the criminal scheme - an individual entrepreneur, as well as a representative of a commercial organization, whose names were not disclosed as of the end of December 2023. Each of the three defendants was charged with committing a crime under Part 4 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud on an especially large scale). Under this article, Frolov faces up to 10 years in prison with a fine of up to 1 million rubles.

Frolov, using his official position, entered into a criminal conspiracy with two other accomplices in the crime. During the execution of the contract, they stole budget funds when purchasing equipment in the amount of at least 435 million rubles, - notes the UK.

The investigation believes that without the use of the official powers of Frolov, who oversees such projects, the theft of funds would be impossible. The court granted the investigator's petition to choose a preventive measure in the form of detention against the accused. Meanwhile, the Infralink enterprise was officially declared bankrupt, and external management was introduced in relation to the company.^[1]

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