The rollback in the package, elite alcohol, an elevator for 300 thousand sold for 600: how the scheme of bribes in construction was revealed and what KGC found

The elevator cost 300 thousand rubles went for 600, and the difference settled in the pockets of officials. Employees of the Department of Financial Investigations took red-handed the deputy head of one of the capital’s departments of capital construction: the transfer of the next tranche was recorded on camera. Pulling this thread, the investigators came to a chain of bribes and 17 criminal cases.

It is usually used in a positive, positive sense. But in this case, we are forced to make an exception, because the word success here without quotation marks exactly can not apply.

So, what's the point? The State Control Committee revealed a large-scale corruption scheme for the sale and installation of elevators. For example, dealers of our "Mogilevliftmash" supplied the company's products to Russia with a hundred percent margin and did not pay taxes. As a result, the total damage to the budget is more than 2 million rubles.

And in Gomel recorded more than 40 episodes of bribery. Dealers warmed their hands again on elevators, without thinking about quality. And 17 criminal cases have been opened. How many ropes do not twirl, and the end will be. The folk wisdom of the participants of the criminal scheme was certainly familiar, but for some reason they believed in the success of their scam. Now bite the elbows - there are no exceptions to this rule. At least in Belarus. It is bad that it comes to individual officials, sometimes too late.

The correspondent of ONT - about which elevator to their "success" criminals chose and why their scheme was without a chance.

Bribe in the bag

Such an outcome awaits everyone who has confused the personal with the public. Law enforcement officers bring down from heaven to earth the deputy head of one of the capital’s capital administrations of capital construction. He bought low-quality elevators for bribes, and even at an inflated cost. The unclean was caught red-handed.

And in the package - money for solving a skin problem. Here is the moment of the rollback transfer – the staff of the Financial Investigation Department capture everything on camera. The next tranche of the bribe is transferred by a Gomel merchant who is engaged in the production of elevators. And then you saw..

The detainee to the last portrays a strong misunderstanding, which only aggravates the situation.

It was long. Very long! 20 times covered the trunk of the car with bills.

Lift for 300 thousand sold for 600

In the end, they counted 60 thousand rubles. This amount is 10% for the purchase of frankly bad elevators. They are collected by private owners in Gomel not from premium components purchased abroad. As the briber admitted, the elevator cost 300 thousand rubles went as a result for 600.

Briber: “One of the customers offered to put elevators at a higher cost for a fee. We did the job. It was transmitted in different situations – outside Belarus, inside Belarus, somewhere on the street

Residents of Gomel new buildings: elevators break down every day

In one of the houses of Gomel, in which the elevators were put, there were no complaints about constant malfunctions except those who live on the first floor. The rest of the residents are boiling – they say, the only thing stable in the whole story is breakdowns.

Residents: Two days work, and in the morning on the third day – people leave – does not work. Then three days work, then in the morning, in the evening does not work

Resident: I live on the fifth floor, I have to walk. Frequently, they often break down, although the new house is just tired of them breaking down so often. Then on the 10th stuck, then on the 8th, you need to buy some plate - write to us at 115. And then they say they fixed it, and a week later the elevator breaks down again.”.

Residents of the house call the service organization more often than relatives. Then this elevator will get stuck, then on the second floor it will stop and tell you that we are on the fifth floor, then the light will disappear. The list of complaints is long.

A new building with 5 entrances and about 200 apartments, whose residents suffer from systematic problems with the elevator. And specifically, this elevator broke right during filming – the reverse button stuck, which does not allow the door to close. The elevator won’t go until the system is fully restarted.

But did not have time to overload the system and leave the house, as the reverse button again ceased to respond to clicks.

Mechanic: “It should go out when pressed, and it burns all the time, so the mechanic went upstairs to do a complete reset of the circuit and see if the button will recover or not...”

Import components and weeks of waiting for repairs

Let’s say at once, all these failures do not affect safety – the elevator will not fall and will not fly up. It is simply impossible to use it in a human way - it goes, then does not go. It's all about those imported components.

Alexander Shcherbina, employee of the section of lifting equipment of the Municipal Housing Repair and Operational Enterprise: There were cases that ropes were pulled during the warranty year. Until you shorten these ropes, the elevator can't work. Breaking end switches, starters, relays. They have no analogues... If they could be interchangeable, it could be changed to Belarusian, the terms would be reduced. If the Belarusian components can be delivered within three weeks, the imported components can take more than a month, and a week for people is a long time

Six years of enhanced security and a criminal group in a construction company

A long time now and the defendant in the case – six years of enhanced regime. Pulling a string, managed to get to a criminal group from among the leaders of one of the largest construction enterprises. The head, chief engineer and head of the site fed from the hands of the same Gomel privateer and four other commercial structures of Minsk and the district for more than 10 years.

Operational employee: It is noteworthy that in November 2023 the chief engineer took the position of head of the enterprise. The new chief engineer was appointed the head of the site, while they continued their criminal plan to receive bribes. Bribes were transferred for a favorable solution of issues related to the conclusion and execution of contracts for the supply, installation, adjustment of elevator equipment and the failure to make claims to the quality of the work performed.”.

24 episodes of bribery since 2015

Since 2015, the State Audit Committee has identified 24 episodes of bribes, in which eight kickback recipients and 11 merchants appear to have solved their issues with money. They were transferred not only from hand to hand, but also transferred to the account of a “pocket” entrepreneur. He was arrested, too.

The defendants fully admitted guilt and cooperate with the investigation. Their property has been seized.

Mogilev elevators and gray schemes of Russian companies

There are no such problems with Mogilev elevators. The state-owned enterprise pays great attention to quality issues – it has all the necessary equipment and even its own test center, where each unit is tested.

Oleg Chekalov, Head of Installation and Service Department of Mogilevliftmash: We have a recognized marriage component of about 0.5% last year, for this 0.36% – that is, quality control is improving every year, despite the fact that there are a number of purchased products. But all this equipment is still being checked.”.

Elevators have proven themselves. So much so that the Belarusian brand decided to make money – four Russian companies whose employees worked here in Belarus, although they were registered in Russia. They sold elevators to their homeland under gray schemes without paying taxes. Such crimes are more than a blow to reputation.

Yuri Kardymon, Head of the Department of Financial Investigations of the KGC of Belarus: The damage caused to the state in the form of unpaid corporate income tax amounted to more than 3.6 million rubles. Criminal proceedings have been instituted for large and large-scale tax evasion.”.

Who closed his eyes: Gospromnadzor and 139 bottles of elite alcohol

As for low-quality elevators from Gomel merchants, there are neither one nor two of them and not only in Gomel, but also in other cities of Belarus. And here is the answer to the question “why was it not noticed?” Employees of the DFR came to the officials of the Moscow Department for Supervision of Safe Work in Industry, involved in a criminal scheme.

Artem Dunko, Head of the Department of Financial Investigations of the KGC of Belarus in the Gomel region: For illegal remuneration, bribes turned a blind eye to the existing shortcomings in the acceptance of elevator equipment and for failing to draw up negative protocols for electrophysical measurements of this equipment. Since 2023, the head of the department of technical diagnostics of the capital Gospromnadzor has received bribes in the form of elite alcohol and money from five commercial structures of Minsk. In total, for the period from 2023 to 2025, 18 episodes of criminal activity of this official were established.

The liquid currency is 139 bottles. The collection was estimated at 15 thousand rubles. The defendant is under arrest. The criminal case has been sent to court. As for the outcome of a large-scale operation – 17 criminal cases, almost 50 episodes and only bribes worth 142 thousand rubles. The investigation is ongoing. The results were reported to the Head of State.

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