Whether detained or not detained – that's the question. On June 6, 2022, reports emerged online that Yuri Butrimov, the director of the State Institution of the NSO “Capital Construction Administration” (“UKS”), had been held.
However, the Ministry of Construction of the Novosibirsk Region stated later on the same day that this information was not reliable.
It was stated that Yury Butrimov was taken into custody, asked to appear for questioning, and then released. During the supposed incident, the Ministry of Construction's press office declined to comment, and no one answered calls in the UKS director's reception area. A few hours later, the Ministry of Construction announced that all was normal.
“The institution's director, Yuri Butrimov, was properly asked to appear for questioning by the Investigative Committee as part of the ongoing probe. At present, he is at work and fulfilling his duties as usual,” the statement read.
However, on June 7, 2022, the Central District Court of Novosibirsk imposed a preventive measure on Yuri Butrimov in the form of a ban on certain activities. It was revealed that the official is facing charges under the article on abuse of power.
Another problematic situation in Novosibirsk. The former UKS director, Vladimir Murzin, also faced a criminal case for abusing his position. This case was made public on April 10, 2021.
According to investigators, the official unlawfully leaked information about an upcoming auction for the construction of a kindergarten in the village of Marusino to a familiar developer. As a result, the company that received the information won the auction for over 145 million rubles.
Deputy Vyacheslav Ilyukhin exposed the distribution of advances to contractors totaling 353 million rubles, which were not stipulated in contracts.
“Your organization issued advances to contractors, totaling 353 million rubles, which were not specified in the contracts. So, instead of removing the contractor who missed the deadline, you rewarded them with an advance?” Ilyukhin remarked.
Murzin and the Minister of Construction of the region Ivan Shmidt confirmed that the UKS had committed a violation. However, they claimed it was done intentionally to avoid losing federal funding, which the contractor had failed to utilize. Following this, the deputies decided to propose a check of advance payments for unfinished projects by the Chamber of Control and Accounts of the Novosibirsk Region.
Murzin explained that there were a total of 162 unfinished projects in the region through the regional UKS, of which only 54 were classified as “under construction and with projects.” Vyacheslav Ilyukhin had information suggesting there were even more problematic projects. He cited six examples in the education sector that were not completed on time. He also mentioned the defective construction of the gym in Suzun, where the contractor laid floor slabs 10 centimeters shorter, leading to flooding inside the gym.
