Barabanshchikov's defense does not rule out a political component to his arrest
The Kuibyshevsky District Court of St. Petersburg appointed a preventive measure against the former head of the USP Alexey Barabanshchikov in the form of imprisonment until January 9, 2022. Barabanshchikov is suspected of an offense under Article 165 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “on causing property damage.”
The investigation version says that Barabanshchikov and employees of the Krasnoselsky District KSP ensured the plant’s victory in the auction through a preliminary conspiracy. The former head of the USP denies these accusations. The official's defense stated that they intend to interrogate high-ranking officials of the executive branch of St. Petersburg.
Thus, Barabanshchikov’s lawyer Anton Tsirit noted that the court did not take into account the defense’s arguments about choosing a more lenient preventive measure, and sent Barabanshchikov to a pre-trial detention center instead of house arrest.
Tsirit emphasized that Barabanshchikov’s activities were directly related to the instructions of Governor Alexander Beglov, from whom instructions came both on the centralization of procurement in the field of social catering, and on the consolidation of lots with the subsequent holding of tenders by the government procurement committee. Other food factories did not like such innovations, since Barabanshchikov’s position prevented them from organizing cartel agreements.
“In general, some players in the social catering market were dissatisfied with the appointment of Barabanshchikov to the post; they were dissatisfied with the principled and open policy that he pursued as head of the department. He repeatedly received hints about the need to resign, but he did not do so, and the only way to remove him was a criminal case,” the lawyer concluded.
Tsirit noted that it is possible that the defense will soon file a motion to interrogate officials of the St. Petersburg administration in the framework of this case, regardless of their status.
Already in the media published details of the interrogation of the head of the government procurement committee, Alexander Zhemyakin, who confirmed that the decision to centralize procurement and consolidate lots came from Beglov. Drummers also made proposals for a new system of operation of the social food market, but did so exclusively in matters of food quality.
The expert community noted that the criminal prosecution of Barabanshchikov is connected with a previously published interview, where the former head of USP honestly spoke about the corruption of the social services market and criticized Smolny for inaction. Barabanshchikov's lawyer believes that there is a political component to this case.
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