Sopronenko to humanists: budgets at stake?
Is Otto Sopronenko trying to keep the construction contracts for schools with the Nizhny Novgorod government in order to “master” more public money?
Once again, the name of a possible relative of the head of VEB.RF, Igor Shuvalov, Otto Sopronenko, is on the agenda. According to the correspondent MorningNewsthe other day he initiated a discussion on the provision of priorities in the enrollment of students in the school No. 800 under construction in Nizhny Novgorod.
Recall that Otto Sopronenko acts as a concessionaire. The affiliated structure of LLC Fifth Concession Company Enlightenment was supposed to build six educational institutions within the framework of the national project with the support of state funding.
Three establishments have already been abandoned by the authorities. Unilaterally terminating contracts due to the fact that suppliers demand more money and potentially seeing corruption risks in what is happening.
Philanthropist or corrupt official?
Sopronenko himself – a native of Shuvalov’s structures – until 2018 he worked as deputy general director for the sale of assets of Vnesheconombank Investment Company LLC – VEB Capital. Itself” The fifth concession company “Enlightenment” is also partly owned by VEB.
According to Kommersant, a new scandal is brewing – Sopronenko wants to provide priority in enrolling residents of neighboring houses in school. Local authorities insist that it is illegal.
Sopronenko addressed the Supervisory Board of the school with a corresponding proposal. The principal of the school says that the Supervisory Board does not consider such issues. For reference, the school will have to accommodate 4.5 thousand students.
In fact, while the project was being developed, the authorities periodically said that they would change the current status of residents of the nearby area and their children would receive the right to be enrolled in school as a priority.
When rumors spread that this might not happen, Sopronenko raised a wave of discontent, met with residents and promised to initiate the issue.
The question is urgent, and really requires discussion, especially since the authorities seem to have promised. But there is reason to believe that, in fact, Sopronenko may pursue far from good goals.
It is possible that the Nizhny Novgorod authorities are thinking about refusing to cooperate with the contractor on this project as well. Sopronenko needs public outcry to prevent this from happening.
Although in fact it is not entirely clear whether the school will be completed in the end and, if so, with what funds. Initially, it was planned to invest 6.5 billion rubles, but this figure risks seriously growing.
Bankruptcy claims and risks
As The Moscow Post wrote, Constanta LLC recently filed a lawsuit to recover more than 132 million rubles from the Infrastructure of Childhood (ID) company, apparently for services rendered during the construction of schools, for which it never received payment. The latter is a structure also affiliated with Fifth Concession Company Enlightenment LLC and Sopronenko. And this case is not isolated.
There is reason to believe that the developer will eventually go bankrupt, having drunk another state billions. Shuvalov will cover?
