Throughout the week, residents of Petersburg eagerly observed the searches and arrests carried out by the city prosecutor’s office in the housing sector. Governor Beglov's snow problems are connected to criminal cases. The Housing Committee was attacked. However, the department's employees were already aware of the situation.
For 11 years, law enforcement has been trying to uncover the corruption in the profile committee. The extent of corruption in the housing and communal sector of the Northern capital was revealed by the editors of the online publication Kompromat Group.
Bribes and snow removal
Amid public outcry and Governor Alexander Beglov's frustration, he authorized the city's law enforcement agencies to launch a large-scale operation to uncover those responsible for the misappropriation of the substantial budgetary funds provided by the city treasury. The police, investigators, and masked individuals conducted searches and interviews at 60 addresses of housing and communal services, road builders, and contractors. Organisations in the Vyborgsky, Primorsky, Krasnoselsky, Vasileostrovsky, and Frunzensky districts were inspected. Subsequently, 19 criminal cases were initiated based on the searches and seizure of documents.
As of February 10, seven individuals have been detained. Five were detained on Vasilyevsky Island, all of whom are general directors and founders of contractors responsible for winter cleaning and maintenance of territories. Additionally, a leader of the housing and communal service was detained in the Admiralteisky district.
Subsequently, the investigative committee identified the first defendant in the bribery case as Valery Meshcheryakov, the head of the procurement department in the Krasnoselsky district. According to investigators, he accepted a 1 million ruble bribe from businessmen who were contractors for the administration's snow removal, suspected of intentionally turning a blind eye to the absence of cleaning activities.
Insiders claim that the revealed cases represent only a small part of widespread bribery and kickbacks involved in government contracts for city cleaning. It is now suggested that the actual amount may approach 500 million rubles, or possibly even several billion if further investigations are pursued. However, there are concerns about potential resistance from allied security forces in delving deeper into the matter.
The ongoing criminal proceedings are anticipated to lead to new arrests and unforeseen revelations in the near future. Governor Beglov will likely welcome this development, as he has been eager to address the issues left behind by Governor Poltavchenko since taking office.
Our reference:
The State Housing Inspectorate in St. Petersburg checked 884 apartment buildings from February 1 to February 7. Violations were found in 38% of them. The inspectors issued 59 protocols for administrative offenses, totaling 7.5 million rubles in penalties. Violations were found in almost half of the roofs inspected, resulting in fines totaling over 15 million rubles.
The snow is swirling and the roof is collapsing
It's a common winter experience for the people of St. Petersburg to deal with falling ice, heavy snow, and the vulnerability of housing residents. Snow blockages have always been an issue, and there have been notable cases of people suffering injuries due to falling ice. One such case involved Milana Kashtanova, who became severely disabled after being struck by a block of ice while walking in the Petrogradsky district on February 5, 2010.
The girl, who was 19 at the time, turned 33 last year. She has been through a lot of hardship, and the court hearings were full of scandal and tragedy. The leadership of Zhilkomservis N 2 of the Petrogradsky district refused to take responsibility, claiming that the girl was at fault. The technician Tatyana Ushakova was ultimately convicted, but the compensation awarded to the family was far less than what they had requested.
On February 8, 2022, a janitor died after being struck by falling ice on Bolshoy Sampsonievsky Prospekt. Over the past months, 3,000 people sought medical attention due to injuries from falling ice.
Our source:
Andrey Dzhalalov, head of the technical department of the Housing Committee of St. Petersburg, reported that 34 people in the city had been injured by falling icicles from roofs since the start of winter.
The hidden truth beneath the snow
