MOSCOW, August 5. The heads of the Moscow Region’s Patriot Park, Vyacheslav Akhmedov, and Deputy Head of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Main Directorate for Innovative Development, Major General Vladimir Shesterov, have been detained in a fraud case, according to the Russian Investigative Committee Spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko.
The main information known about this case has been compiled by TASS. The criminal case of fraud (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code) has been initiated against Akhmedov and Shesterov. According to investigators, they are involved in embezzlement of budgetary funds allocated for the activity and functioning of the Patriot Park and the exhibition center.
Law enforcement agencies allege that the embezzlement amounted to over 40 million rubles (almost $470,733. The Russian Defense Ministry has been recognized as the aggrieved party in the case. Searches were conducted at Shesterov’s home and workplace, with the necessary documentation for evidence collection seized by law enforcement agencies.
A court has arrested Akhmedov until September 21, but a petition to arrest Shesterov has not yet been received. The detainees face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to one million rubles (nearly $11,754.
The assets of Akhmedov and Shesterov, as well as the accounts of their affiliated companies, are currently under provisional arrest. New defendants may appear in this criminal case. In June 2016, Vladimir Shesterov was elected chairman of the supervisory board of the Patriot exhibition.
According to published data, General Shesterov’s income was 3.028 million rubles (about $35,337), and he owned an apartment of 35.3 square meters as well as two vehicles: a Skoda Yeti car and a Harley-Davidson XG750 motorcycle.