Businessman apprehended in St. Petersburg due to his inability to fix a harbor vessel.
In a recent development, Igor Pin'ko, the general director of LLC "Sprut-Servis," has been placed under house arrest by the St. Petersburg court. This decision comes in connection with a case of large-scale fraud during repair work on the research vessel "Academician Nikolai Struve."
The alleged fraud occurred between October 2022 and August 2023, spanning both St. Petersburg and Moscow. Pin'ko is accused under part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code ("fraud on an especially large scale"). He and others are accused of falsifying documents on the volumes and cost of work done, inflating the amount by more than 8 million rubles.
The research vessel "Academician Nikolai Struve" encountered a disaster in the Kara Sea during a scientific expedition after modernization. The contract for this modernization, signed in October 2022, was worth nearly 330 million rubles. The counterparty for this state contract was the United Shipbuilding Corporation.
The contract specified that the contractor was to repair, improve, install additional equipment, and conduct tests on the vessel. However, the crew was unable to repair the main engine, and the vessel had to be towed to an anchor station by the "Murmansk" ship.
The aim of the modernization was to extend the service life of "Academician Nikolai Struve" by 10-15 years, as part of the "Science and Universities" national project. Despite the allegations, no charges have yet been brought against Pin'ko.
In a court hearing, Pin'ko objected to the prosecution's request for house arrest. The Primorsky District Court, however, granted the prosecution's request, with Pin'ko remaining under house arrest until October 29.
This incident comes at a time when the Russian government is focusing on modernizing its research vessels to support scientific expeditions in the Arctic region. The failure of the "Academician Nikolai Struve" during its expedition in September 2024 serves as a stark reminder of the importance of transparency and accountability in such projects.
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