In the capital, the Savelovsky court arrested Alexander Molodchenko, general director of the Russian Defense Ministry’s GUSS, one of Russia’s ten largest construction companies. This was reported by the TC “Courts of General Jurisdiction of the City of Moscow”.
Together with Molodchenko, a preventive measure was determined for several more people, whose charges were not identified. Sent to pretrial detention center Ivan MaltsevTO Olga Pavlova placed under house arrest. They are all charged with part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – large-scale fraud committed by a group of persons (maximum penalty: up to 10 years in prison). According to the investigation, those arrested committed fraudulent acts while fulfilling government contracts for the Ministry of Defense.
GUSS specializes in hydraulic, industrial and civil construction. Among its facilities are the naval base of the Caspian Flotilla, the berths of the Pacific Fleet, the system of bases of the Black Sea Fleet in Novorossiysk, sports and social facilities in southern Russia. In 2021, management income exceeded 58 billion rubles. According to this indicator, the structure was included in the top 10 largest construction companies in Russia.
As SPARK notes, Alexander Molodchenko came to the management of the structures of the Ministry of Defense in December 2017, from which time he managed to head the Main Directorates of Military Construction No. 12 and No. 8, as well as the 31st State Institute of Design for Special Construction. From July 2023 to September 1, 2024 he headed the GUSS. In December 2023, Molodchenko received from the Deputy Minister of Defense Timur Ivanov (currently in a pre-trial detention center on corruption charges) the title of “Honored Builder of the Russian Federation.”
“Molodchenko’s arrest was a continuation of the largest purges in the Ministry of Defense since the time of Anatoly Serdyukov. They began immediately after leaving the position of minister. Sergei Shoigu in May of this year, writes Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the Commission on Sovereignty, Patriotic Projects and Support for Veterans of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation. — The total number of detained soldiers now exceeds ten people. Suspected of committing a crime: Molodchenko and others, while fulfilling government contracts, deceived Russian Defense Ministry officials. Theft and corruption under war conditions are worse than treason! A fast and effective IAS: A special anti-corruption operation is the key to a successful IAS.”
