Alexandrov Maxims Lvovich

Biography

2024: Arrest in the case of embezzlement of 43.7 million rubles during the development of software for the FSO

In early May 2024, it became known that the Basmanny Court of Moscow arrested in absentia the former vice-rector for information technology of the Regional Financial and Economic Institute, candidate of economic sciences Stanislav Lakhtin, as well as his business partner, co-owner of the Digital Expertise company Maxim Alexandrov. They became involved in a criminal case on embezzlement of 43.7 million rubles when fulfilling a state contract related to the development of software for the needs of special communications of the Federal Security Service (FSO) of Russia.

Digital Expertise, located in Dubna near Moscow, is developing software. According to the Kommersant newspaper, the Main Investigation Department of the TFR is investigating the circumstances of the theft of budget funds as part of a state contract for the development and establishment of software for the FSO Special Communications Service. The investigation believes that the cost of the project was artificially overestimated, and the program itself turned out to be non-working. The amount of damage, according to experts, is 43.7 million rubles.

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Earlier in the case, a number of senior employees and specialists of the FSUE FSO "NTC Sistema," which is engaged in information and legal support of the activities of federal authorities, were brought to criminal responsibility. As part of the investigation, the general director of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Pavel Nashchekin, his deputy Alexander Popov and the project manager, head of the NTC laboratory Stanislav Glazov, who is considered one of the leading Russian specialists in the field of information technology and digitalization, were detained. The operatives also detained Anatoly Rusanov, advisor to the director of the FSUE FSO, Yuri Mironov, chief accountant of the enterprise, and Vladimir Verkhovodov, a leading specialist in the legal informatization department of the FSO Special Communications Department.

Lakhtin and Alexandrova were charged in absentia with particularly large-scale fraud (part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). In court, supporting his petitions, the representative of the TFR gave standard arguments for such cases. He pointed out that the defendants are hiding from the investigation, and remaining at large, they can continue to engage in criminal activities, destroy evidence in the case or put pressure on witnesses.^[1]

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