The Investigative Committee of Russia for the Voronezh Region has started a criminal case for large-scale fraud against 48-year-old deputy chairman of the Voronezh City Duma and director of the regional center for state cadastral valuation Alexei Pinigin, who could face up to ten years in prison.
Yesterday, they searched his home and workplace, and today a decision about a preventive measure may be made for him. Mr. Pinigin admitted his guilt and is suspected of receiving 9.2 million rubles from local company KM-stroy LLC. The company is involved in a criminal case related to fraud during the construction of a school in the Gribanovsky district. Businessman Yevgeny Katyushkin, who controls KM-Stroy, is also facing a criminal case for illegal VAT refunds.
Yesterday morning, sources in the Voronezh authorities stated that Vice Speaker Alexei Pinigin came to work with eight law enforcement officers, and their white minibus was in the parking lot of the City Duma during an operation. The regional department of the TFR commented on the situation on the evening of February 15.
According to investigators, in 2018, the suspect received 9.2 million rubles from the director of a company involved in the construction of a social facility in the Gribanovsky district in exchange for promising to help with the acceptance and payment of the work. However, he did not actually have the authority to influence such decisions. The deputy used the fraudulently obtained funds at his discretion.
The TFR did not disclose the name of the organization or the director, but sources suggest the local LLC KM-Stroy and Andrey Matveev were involved. Last year, the Voronezh Ministry of Internal Affairs suspected Mr. Matveev of fraud. suspected Mr. Matveev in fraud (part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). According to investigators, during the construction of a school in the Gribanovsky district, his company used materials that did not meet the stated fire safety requirements, which caused damage to the budget amounting to 21.3 million rubles.
According to Kartoteka.ru, 51% of KM-Stroy LLC is owned by Evgeny Katyushkin, who is accused by the ICR of tax evasion in the amount of more than 300 million rubles. Criminal case Mr. Katyushkin was taken to court at the end of January.
The criminal case against the vice-speaker was based on the materials of the regional department of the FSB. After being detained during questioning, Mr. Pinigin admitted his guilt, the ICR specified. Investigators are gathering evidence to complete the investigation.
As per Alexei Pinigin's official biography, he started his career in the late '90s after working in the helicopter squadron of the internal troops of the Russian Federation. He progressed from being a warehouse equipment sales manager to becoming the director of a company. In 2003, he became the director of Voronezh Production and Trade Company Gifts of the Sun LLC, and in 2005, he took on the role of development director at Voronezh Development Company LLC.
Later, he held senior positions in CJSC Profi-S and PSK Group, and in 2013, Mr. Pinigin became the director of commercial real estate development in the region's largest construction company, DSK. Kartoteka.ruindicates that he was president of the Regional Cooperation and Development Fund from November 2012, then headed the local Portal LLC from July 2017, and became the director of Torgstroy LLC from August 2018.
In February 2020, he was appointed head of the regional center for cadastral valuation. He was first elected to the City Duma of Voronezh in 2010 and has been a member of United Russia since 2007. Currently, his party membership is suspended.
Following media reports about Mr. Pinigin's operational activities, some publications suggested a possible involvement of Nikolai Korzhov, another deputy of the City Duma, due to his friendly relations with Alexei Pinigin. However, Mr. Korzhov stated that he learned about the situation from the press and hopes for clarity following the investigation by law enforcement officers. He spent the entire day in the office.
In the last two terms, Mr. Pinigin served as the vice-speaker of the city duma. The court is currently handling a fraud case against Alexander Provotorov, the First Deputy Chairman of the Duma. Investigators claim that in 2020, Provotorov promised to support his colleague Alexander Zhukov in the elections for 1 million rubles, despite lacking the authority and means to do so.
Mr. Provotorov admitted his guilt and returned the money received. His case will be debated in early March at the Central District Court.
Alexey Pinigin was considered a potential candidate for the position that Alexander Provotorov left at the end of January. Sources in the city authorities also named the head of the United Russia faction Roman Zhogov, former mayor Sergei Koliukh, and oppositionist Artem Rymar as possible candidates for the position of first vice-speaker. Confirmation of this information was not immediately available, as the chairman of the City Duma, Vladimir Khodyrev, did not respond to calls from Kommersant-Chernozemye.
At the end of last year, Sergey Baryshnikov, the predecessor of Mr. Pinigin as director of the cadastral valuation center who left his post in 2018, became involved in a criminal case. According to the TFR, in November 2020, Mr. Baryshnikov unlawfully assisted in registering a local resident's property rights to a land plot of 202 sq. m on Leningradskaya street using false documents. The property, which belonged to lands with undivided state ownership, had a cadastral value exceeding 2 million rubles.
For the “help” provided, the suspect allegedly received 300 thousand rubles from the citizen. After being arrested, he pleaded guilty.
