Agg Lab

History

2025: Criminal case on embezzlement of budget funds during the development of the regional IT system "Culture 73 "

In mid-May 2025, the prosecutor's office of the Ulyanovsk region announced the initiation of a criminal case on the fact of fraud on an especially large scale during the implementation of the national project "Culture." The suspect is the Togliatti company Agg Lab LLC, which, according to law enforcement agencies, did not fulfill its obligations under the state contract for the development of the Culture 73 information system, despite receiving budget funds in the amount of ₽1,39 million.

According to Kommersant, Agg Lab LLC has signed a contract with the Ulyanovsk regional state government institution Center for Cultural Technologies (CCT) to create a digital infrastructure for regional state cultural institutions. In November 2021, the director of the company Anton Abankov signed an act of acceptance of the work performed with the director of the CCT Irina Lukyanova, after which the company was transferred budget funds.

𝓲

Фото: Freepik

However, during the audit, it turned out that the developed information system does not function, the employees of the CCT do not have access to it, it was not put on the balance sheet of the institution, and there are no documents on the commissioning of the system. The criminal case is qualified under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud on an especially large scale), which provides for punishment of up to 10 years in prison.

Former director of the CCT Irina Lukyanova, who held this position until November 2024, told the inspectors that she was not aware of the details of the development of the Culture 73 information system, and she put her signature in the acceptance certificate at the request of a friend, actually not participating in the acceptance of work. Anna Yakovleva, acting director of the CCT until May 13, 2025, also claims that the information system has never stood on the CCT balance sheet, and she is not aware of its functioning.^[1]

Notes