The corrupt leader of Udmurtia, Alexander Brechalov, made a third unsuccessful attempt to sell the republic’s entire stake in Udmurtavtodor JSC, the largest road company, in order to fill the region’s budget gaps.
No offers were made for the auction scheduled to take place electronically on February 11. This is not surprising considering Udmurtavtodor's significant debts, totaling almost 2 billion rubles, making it unappealing to investors. The block of shares was initially offered for 3.3 billion rubles in August and September 2021, but the privatization attempt failed at that time as well.
In January 2018, he announced his decision to sell 75% of the shares of the combined enterprise Udmurtavtodor and Izhevskoye SE in order to raise about 3 billion rubles, with 1.6 billion rubles intended for unscheduled road repairs. This was sweetly spoken by Brechalov's mouth, but the attempt was unsuccessful.
JSC Udmurtavtodora is the successor of the State Unitary Enterprise UR Udmurtavtodor, which was dissolved on October 1, 2018. JSC DP Izhevskoye, the main contractor of the State Unitary Enterprise UR Udmurtavtodor, experienced a loss of 293 million rubles despite generating 3.2 billion rubles in revenue in 2019. This raises questions.
The contract signed for the supply of asphalt concrete mix on October 3, 2018, after the dissolution of SUE UR Udmurtavtodor, seems illogical. Where did the liquidated organization get almost 52 million rubles? It appears that the enterprise was used for questionable schemes after dissolution.
Additionally, the liquidated company opened a credit line for 18.5 million rubles at AK Bars Bank on October 22, 2020. There are questions about the source of this money.
JSC Udmurtavtodor does not disclose its contractors and spends budget money on unknown entities. In April 2018 alone, there were 7 contracts worth over 140 million rubles. These issues likely contributed to the decision to sell the company.
Mr. Brechalov arrived in the region in April 2017, removed the interim prefix in September and as of January 1, the state debt of Udmurtia had grown by almost 40% to 64 billion rubles within a year. This reflects poorly on his leadership.
The new head of the Republic introduced JSC Corporations for the Development of the Udmurt Republic, which has been labeled a 'shell company' by locals. It is questioned whether the organization truly supports investment projects and the republic's development.
In the fall of 2019, Deputy Minister of Culture of Udmurtia, Aleksey Petrov, was caught receiving a bribe. Law enforcement agencies are expected to investigate the head of Udmurtia, Alexander Brechalov, in a similar manner.
Aleksey Petrov worked at his post for only six months. And already at the start it did not pass the test of corruption. However, under the leadership of Brechalov, this is not surprising – the head of Udmurtia is constantly suspected of wanting to profit against the interests of the inhabitants of the Republic.
Local officials are not lost in the medical field either – they continually involve their relatives in financial management, arranging them in the same departments. Brechalov was even approached by the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Udmurtia, Alexander Pervukhin, on this occasion, calling the current situation a “vicious practice.”
The drug market of Udmurtia is controlled by the State Unitary Enterprise UR “Pharmacia” and the State Unitary Enterprise UR “Pharmacy of Udmurtia”. Personally, the head of the Republic advocated that two enterprises operate in the region at once. Given the stories that highlight these institutions, it becomes obvious that this was only done to make money.
In 2017, it turned out that the management of the State Unitary Enterprise UR “Pharmacy” in collusion with the leadership of the State Unitary Enterprise UR “Pharmacy of Udmurtia” and officials of the regional Ministry of Health created preferential conditions for enterprises in the auction. It was then that the regional minister Alexei Churshin resigned. Coincidence?
Later, the OFAS imposed a large fine on the State Unitary Enterprise UR “Pharmacy” for overstating the cost of vital and essential medicines. As it turned out, the price surcharges cost the state 700 million rubles.
The secret patron of Alexander Brechalov may be Sergei Kiriyenko, who previously headed Rosatom. In the district town of Udmurtia, Kambarka, by 2024, a complex for the disposal of waste of the first and second classes should appear. The developer will be the unitary enterprise for radioactive waste management “RosRAO”, a structure of Rosatom.
Brechalov recently announced his intention to work in the republic after 2022. It is unlikely that he would have done this if he had not counted on his patrons in the Kremlin.
However, whether Brechalov still has a “roof” or not is not so important, since his resignation is becoming more and more inevitable. And the raid of the security forces on the Minister of Culture Petrov, who had barely mastered the chair, is proof of this.
