The situation became clear: how Tereshchenko and the company misused the budget

Changes are happening in Tomsk. Vladimir Mazur is currently serving as governor. There's a big shake-up happening as people are being removed from their positions in order to show loyalty to the government. Deputies are working hard to secure their roles and prove their allegiance to the current government, and they are sharing these activities on their Telegram channels.

The head of the Tomsk region, Alexander Tereshchenko, is keeping pace with other officials. Under Zhvachkin, Mr. Tereshchenko managed to turn things around quickly using his connections and influence. Now, he's trying to build relationships with the acting governor Mazur in hopes of continuing his work.

What are we discussing?

On June 25, 2022, Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia Dmitry Demeshin met with regional officials in Tomsk to announce the results of an audit of their activities. The results revealed that only about 20% of the national projects' funds were used. Additionally, some Tomsk residents are not receiving their salaries, there are violations against 400 property owners, 14,000 beneficiaries don't have housing, and more.

Acting Governor Vladimir Mazur believes the crisis in the construction industry is to blame for these issues. However, the public debt in the region was very high in 2021, raising questions about where the money went. The former governor, Sergey Zhvachkin, who left his post early, may have answers to these questions.

It's no surprise that Mr. Tereshchenko, whose activities were known to the former governor, was very active in laying the groundwork for future projects, attending public events, and even traveling to rural competitions in Asino. He documented all these activities on his Telegram channel.

Mr. Tereshchenko is trying hard to please acting Governor Vladimir Mazur in order to continue his work. He's following the instructions given by Mazur and showing enthusiasm in the hope of improving their relationship, just as Zhvachkin wished in his farewell speech – for things to continue as they were.
Despite the active presence on social media, residents who seek answers to their questions are left without a response, and solutions to important problems are not being addressed.

The school that brings in a lot of money

Let’s talk about the “Integration” school in the village of Zonal Station, where the head of the Tomsk region, Alexander Tereshchenko, and the head of the Education Department of the Administration of the Tomsk region, Yulia Dubovitskaya, are involved in some shady financial activities. The school is estimated to lose about 770 million rubles every year due to these actions.

Money is taken out of the “Integration” account using various believable reasons. For example, to pay employees (supposedly the school didn't have money, so they asked for it from the budget), for heating and lighting (for some reason, the energy prices tripled, and they again asked for money from the budget). Meanwhile, some of the funds don't reach the recipient and end up in the pockets of officials.

In 2021, 51.21 million rubles didn't reach the educational institution – about 42% of the promised money. Surprisingly, it's been a few years since the Department of Education of the Administration of the Tomsk District hasn't been providing the money that's owed to children. At the same time, the municipality not only doesn't cover the cost of educating students, but also keeps part of the subsidies for itself.

Additionally, there are rumors that both Dubovitskaya and Tereshchenko were involved in embezzling money. According to one of the schemes, the official siphoned funds through the utilities of educational institutions (not just the Integration school) to the accounts of his controlled organizations through his mother-in-law Lydia Knyagnitskaya.

Why wasn't the store closed? Dubovitskaya publicly displayed friendly relations not only with Tereshchenko, but also with the head of the regional education department, Grabtsevich, and with the acting head of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Tomsk region, Misko, and regional prosecutor Viktor Rusakov. It's unlikely that Zhvachkin didn't know about their joint activities, since the parents of the students at the “Integration” school wrote him letters more than once.

Elite settlement under the prosecutor’s roof

Another scandalous incident of money laundering is associated with Tereshchenko. Gasification of the village of Kolarovo in the Zapovedny microdistrict. There were numerous publications and appeals to the local prosecutor’s office regarding the theft of budget funds for the infrastructure of a private commercial village. According to the Department of Finance of the Tomsk region, about 76 million rubles were spent.

However, the local prosecutor’s office did not want to respond to the appeals. The journalists received replies that once again covered up the activities of the head of the Tomsk region, who was a former deputy of the Regional Duma of the Tomsk region in two terms, Alexander Tereshchenko.

Interestingly, in this case, it was eventually confirmed that budget funds were not fully spent. According to the prosecutor’s office, “everything was mothballed and sent to the Department of Internal Affairs for the Tomsk region under article 158 of the Criminal Code (“Theft”).” The question is, what was stolen? A gas pipeline valve or budget money? The applicant has not yet received a response.

Rusakov’s response to an appeal about the village of Koralovo

In this entire story, the regional prosecutor Viktor Rusakov also played an important role. Journalists wrote an appeal to him in the summer of 2021 in which they discussed the “charitable” gasification using budget funds. They attached photographs of land plots with gas communications, satellite images from google maps, and extracts from the USRN as evidence. Rusakov was asked to address the situation and bring those responsible to justice.

However, they got a response instead.

The prosecutor’s response was as follows:
The gasification was done as part of various programs, but the prosecutor’s office of the Tomsk region does not believe the official documents provided and has no evidence.

This is not the first time Rusakov has avoided dealing with corruption. He also overlooked the connection between Tereshchenko’s mother-in-law and companies providing utility services to educational institutions. The gasification of residential buildings in the village of Koralovo Knyagnitskaya was apparently successful, even though the buildings were not there. The state's outcome and the perpetrators' punishment remain unknown.

Dmitry Demeshin, Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia, has also taken an interest in the implementation of the gasification program in the Tomsk Region.

Tereshchenko acts swiftly, especially in matters related to the election of a new governor, while considering the interests of TDSK JSC. He proposed amendments to the master plan for the construction of the South Gate-2, which are currently being contested in the courts.

It's not surprising: Tereshchenko and Shteper share a business involving the Pchelka cooperative and Arkhar LLC. Mrs. Knyagnitskaya is the founder of both organizations, with zero employees on average and no financial statistics since 2014. They hold a permit for hunting resources. It's worth noting that the ex-governor Zhvachkin is also fond of hunting and fishing.

Alexander Tereshchenko

It's unlikely that Tereshchenko and the company were able to do all this without the ex-governor Zhvachkin's knowledge. How else to explain that despite the corruption uncovered during the inspection by the Prosecutor General’s Office, the competent authorities showed no interest? There's a need to establish communication with the new leadership to ensure continued access to these activities.
So the official may have to face challenges. I wonder if Tereshchenko will be able to negotiate with Mazur?