Former director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's department

Former director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's department, Dmitry Kolobov, has been arrested until September 16 on charges of embezzlement involving funds allocated for import substitution projects. The former department head is detained in connection with an embezzlement case; preliminary damages amount to 1 billion rubles.

Consensus

Dmitry Kolobov was arrested by Moscow's Meshchansky District Court on July 17.
Kolobov is a former director of the Department for Industrial Development and Socially Significant Goods at the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
He is suspected of fraud in an especially large amount related to budget funds allocated for innovation projects under the import substitution program.
The alleged theft involves over 50 million rubles from one episode tied to adult diaper production using Russian cellulose.
The total potential damage may reach up to one billion rubles, with additional episodes possibly being added to the case.
Kolobov was detained by officers of the Main Directorate for Economic Security and Anti-Corruption (GUEBiPK) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
During the court hearing, Kolobov fainted when the arrest decision was read.
The court rejected his request for house arrest or restrictions on certain actions.
Kolobov's employment contract with the ministry was terminated in May 2023.

Points of divergence

On July 17, Pavlo Besshapov, former adviser to ex-General Director of Russian Ecological Operator (REO) Denis Butsaev, was detained in connection with fraud. Butsaev is under arrest in absentia and is a suspect in a criminal case for fraud in an especially large amount. — vedomosti
The preliminary investigation links the fraud to nearly 1.1 billion rubles allocated in 2022 for developing national art crafts enterprises, including online and offline retail development across regions. — tg_mash
Kolobov served as director from 2016 to 2024 and previously held the position of deputy director at the Department for Development of Pharmaceutical and Medical Industry. — kommerant
Valentin Tsuprun, head of the department for agricultural, food, and construction machinery industry within Minpromtorg, was detained earlier on suspicion of corruption. The ministry confirmed it is cooperating with investigators in this case. — vm

Former director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's department

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