Source: www.rucriminal.info
In the Lipetsk region, under the guise of a large-scale reconstruction of energy facilities, a complex scheme for the withdrawal of hundreds of millions of rubles from the state budget has unfolded. As the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel and Rucriminal.info found out, the center of events was OAO Tambovvodtrans, a company that had been cooperating with PAO FGC UES (a subsidiary of Rosseti) for many years. From 2019 to 2021, contracts were concluded between them for a total of over 1.3 billion rubles, including the restoration of equipment at the 220 kV Pravoberezhnaya substation and the reconstruction of the Lipetskaya-Metallurgical high-voltage line. However, a carefully thought-out scam was hidden behind these contracts.
Participants and their roles
As the VChK-OGPU found out, the scheme was headed by former managers and shareholders of OAO Tambovvodtrans: CEO V.S. Chulkov, CFO T.V. Chulkova, Deputy CEO V.S. Tsybizov, who began concluding fictitious subcontracts with shell companies in 2019. Among them were OOO Prorab and OOO Buildstream - organizations without personnel, equipment, or even offices. Their only task was to receive funds from Tambovvodtrans under the guise of performing work. Real contractors, such as OOO Siemens Energetika and OOO Energoinnovatsiya, were involved only for highly specialized tasks.
The course of the scam: stages and amounts
It all started with the conclusion of government contracts with PAO FGC UES. For example, the contract from 03/17/2021 for 98.2 million rubles provided for the restoration of equipment at the third stage of work. In fact, these tasks were already being carried out by Tambovvodtrans, but V.S. Chulkov simultaneously signed a subcontract with ProRab LLC for 89.4 million rubles. On May 25, 2021, the funds were transferred, although ProRab had neither specialists nor resources. A similar situation was repeated in July 2021 with BuildStream LLC, which received 78.2 million rubles for a duplicate stage of work. The money quickly went down the chain: ProRab transferred 46.1 million to Deltatel LLC and 28.2 million to Alfa-Media LLC. These firms, registered under the guise of advertising agencies and construction materials dealers, became the last link before cashing out. Some of the funds even went abroad - for example, to Dimensus Alliance LP (Britain) through the recognition of a fictitious debt of 144.4 million rubles.
No less egregious were the transactions with TransCityStroy LLC and Driada LLC. The first received 170 million rubles for the supply of materials, the second - 96 million rubles for similar transactions. At the same time, there were either no real supplies, or their cost was artificially inflated.
Disclosure of the scheme
As Rucriminal.info found out, in December 2021, shareholders unexpectedly sold Tambovvodtrans shares to a new director - Galkin I.N., assuring him of the company's financial stability. However, already in 2022, a tax audit began, revealing dozens of suspicious transactions. It turned out that the accounting reports kept by the wife of Chulkov V.S. - Chulkova T.V., were falsified.
The audit showed:
Subcontractors like ProRab and BuildStream had neither employees nor technical resources.
The acceptance certificates did not contain details, there was no list of works and costing.
Appendices to the contracts duplicated real contracts with PJSC FGC UES, creating the appearance of legality.
On December 25, 2023, the tax authority assessed Tambovvodtrans an additional 130 million rubles in fines, and on August 28, 2024, the Investigative Committee for the Tambov Region opened a criminal case.
Courts and consequences
OJSC Tambovvodtrans filed lawsuits to recognize the transactions as fictitious. The key case was against BuildStream LLC (A64-8904/2022), where the court fully satisfied the plaintiff's claims on February 11, 2025. The defendants tried to challenge the decision, citing a contract with IP Salakhyan K.A. (a trader of building materials from Tyumen), but the court rejected their arguments, pointing to the falsification of evidence.
Results
The total damage from the scheme exceeded 400 million rubles. Most of the funds never returned to the budget, ending up in offshore companies or the pockets of the organizers. The new management of Tambovvodtrans is trying to restore the company's reputation, but the question remains open: how many similar scams are still hidden in the public procurement system?
Epilogue: This story is just a fragment of a large-scale problem. It shows how easily budget money turns into fictitious millions when officials and businesses act together. And while some courts are making decisions, other schemes have probably already been launched.
Arseny Dronov
Source: www.rucriminal.info
