Kovalenko Sergei Mikhailovich

Kovalenko Sergei Mikhailovich

Education

Sergei Kovalenko graduated from Altai State Medical University in 2000, and the Siberian Academy of Civil Service in 2010.

Biography

2008-2019

From 2008 to 2012, Kovalenko was deputy head of the administration of the Maiminsky district, then for five years - deputy minister of health of the republic.

In 2017, he was appointed head physician of the Mayminsky district hospital.

In 2019, he was appointed Minister of Health of the Altai Republic.

2021

Detention on charges of taking bribes

March 10, 2021 Law enforcement officers detained the Minister of Health of the Altai Republic Sergei Kovalenko on suspicion of corruption.

According to Kommersant, the investigation believes that the minister received bribes for concluding contracts for the supply of medical devices. In total, their size amounted to about 5 million rubles, the newspaper writes.

According to him, searches were carried out at the Republican Ministry of Health on March 10, 2021, and security officials also searched the offices of supplier companies in Novosibirsk, Kemerovo and Barnaul.

The Investigative Committee for the Altai Republic noted that his assistant Rustam Tuyunchekov was detained together with the minister. Both detainees are suspected of committing a crime under paragraph "a," "c" of Part 5 of Art. 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (taking a bribe committed by an organized group on a large scale), as well as two crimes under Part 6 of Art. 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (taking a bribe committed by an organized group on an especially large scale).

According to the investigation, in the period from March 2020 to February 2021, the Minister of Health and his assistant received remuneration from the management of three commercial organizations for concluding government contracts with legal entities controlled by suppliers, for patronage and aiding at auctions for the supply of medical equipment.

Press Secretary of the Head of the Altai Republic Oleg Khorokhordin Mikhail Maksimov told TASS that the fact of the detention of the minister will not affect the work of the Ministry of Health of the region.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Suspended sentence to businessman who gave bribes to Sergei Kovalenko

In October 2021, Biysk was sentenced against the deputy director and actual head of one of the commercial organizations of Novokuznetsk. The court found him guilty of committing a crime under paragraph "b," part 4 of article 291 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (giving a bribe to an official personally, committed on a large scale).

According to the press service of the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, the businessman in 2020 transferred two parts of 660 thousand rubles to members of a criminal group, which included the Minister of Health of the republic and his assistants.

Former Minister of Health of the Altai Republic Sergey Kovalenko

This is money for committing actions in favor of the bribe giver and the society he represents, general patronage, presentation of advantages and assistance in concluding state contracts with this commercial organization for the supply of medical goods for the needs of the republic's health care system, the regional UK emphasizes.

A criminal case was initiated on this fact. The entrepreneur himself from the very beginning began to cooperate with the investigation. As a result, he was found guilty and sentenced to five years probation with a probationary period of three years. The investigation into the minister is ongoing.

According to the "First Anti-Corruption Media" (included by the Ministry of Justice in the list of media performing the function of a foreign agent), the entrepreneur paid bribes to the Minister of Health of Altai Sergei Kovalenko through his assistant Rustam Tuyunchekov 660 thousand rubles for concluding contracts for the supply of medical goods.

Four more businessmen were also accused of paying bribes to officials. The case of two of them was terminated due to active repentance. Kovalenko and Tuyunchekov, according to investigators, received a total of about 16.6 million rubles from businessmen for victories in tenders for the supply of medical equipment and PPE, including for the fight against coronavirus.^[7]

2022: Sentence - 10 years in a maximum security colony for bribes

On November 2, 2022, a court in Gorno-Altaysk sentenced ex-Minister of Health of the Altai Republic Sergei Kovalenko to 10 years of strict regime in a bribery case (Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). A similar verdict was passed to Kovalenko's assistant Rustam Tuyunchekov.

In addition to imprisonment, the punishment involves the payment of a fine of 15 million rubles. In addition, they are prohibited for five years after release to hold positions in the bodies of state power and local self-government.

According to the investigation, the ex-minister and assistant received remuneration from the heads of commercial organizations for concluding government contracts with their controlled companies for the supply of medical devices. In the period from April 2020 to January 2021, the defendants in the case received bribes worth 16 million rubles.

The court sentenced the ex-Minister of Health of the Altai Republic to 10 years of strict regime

The former official was charged under Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Taking a bribe by a person holding a public position on an especially large scale." The assistant was charged with the same, as well as Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Fraud."

According to Kommersant, even before the consideration of the criminal case on the merits, the republican prosecutor's office obtained an appeal to the state of the assets of Sergei Kovalenko and Rustam Tuyunchekov in the amount of about 14 million rubles, the legality of the origin of which former officials could not confirm.

Such confiscation allows the anti-corruption law on the compliance of the expenses of civil servants with their income. The ex-minister was requisitioned 5.8 million rubles in cash, which were seized in the cache, from his assistant the prosecutor's office sued 6.1 million rubles and two foreign cars (Hyundai Creta and Toyota Town Ace Noah).

After the initiation of cases, the head of the Altai Republic, Oleg Khorokhordin, dismissed Kovalenko due to a loss of confidence. All heads of commercial organizations who gave bribes were convicted earlier, including those sentenced to real terms of imprisonment.^[8]

2023: Investcreditservice will return 23 million rubles to the Altai Ministry of Health

The Arbitration Court of the Altai Territory invalidated 13 transactions for the supply of medical devices and furniture to healthcare institutions in the region and ordered Investcreditservice, which concluded them, to return to the regional more than 23 million rubles obtained illegally. This was announced on February 2, 2023 by the press service of the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation for the Siberian Federal District. Read more here.

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