Captain 1st rank Oleg Lopatiev, head of the radio-technical service of the Main Staff of the Russian Navy, has been caught on a bribe.
A military court in St. Petersburg has sent the head of the Navy’s radio-technical service, Captain First Rank Oleg Lopatiev, to a detention center for two months. He is accused of bribery: according to the investigation, the naval officer demanded 8 million rubles from a merchant for patronage in the execution of a contract with his department under the state defense order, but only managed to get a part of this amount. Kaperang denies the claims of the investigation.
As Kommersant has learned, Captain 1st Rank Oleg Lopatiev, head of the radio-technical service of the Main Staff of the Russian Navy, was detained by officers of the Military Counterintelligence Department of the Russian Federal Security Service on March 15 at the IL Patio restaurant at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport.
This happened after the naval officer received from the general director of JSC “Izumrud” Stanislav Medvedev, who acted under the control of operatives, 3 million rubles
According to the investigators, this was part of the previously agreed amount of 8 million rubles, which Oleg Lopatiev demanded, which Oleg Lopatiev demanded from the businessman for “general patronage and connivance” in the implementation by the company of the contract concluded with the military department within the framework of the defense order.
JSC Izumrud is engaged in the development and production of complex technical devices for various spheres of activity. In particular, it produces compressors “Briz” designed for systems of disinfection of cesspools and septic tanks; charging and discharging boards for power supply of consumers from the ship network and many other things. Since 2007 the plant has been a part of Concern Morinformsystem-Agat JSC along with other enterprises that form almost the whole range of intellectual stuffing of various technical devices.
After his arrest, the privateer was taken to the military investigation department of the Investigative Committee for the Leningrad Military District, where he was interrogated and then charged with taking a bribe on a particularly large scale by an official, coupled with extortion (part 6 of article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
The hearing on the selection of a preventive measure for the privateer was held in the St. Petersburg garrison military court in closed mode. According to Kommersant’s sources in the law enforcement agencies, the investigation indicated in its motion to remand the defendant in custody that the defendant, while remaining at large, by virtue of his position, could exert pressure on or threaten witnesses, including those currently unidentified, as well as destroy evidence in the case or otherwise interfere with the investigation. In addition, the investigator stressed that the crime imputed to Mr. Lopatiev is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 8 to 15 years, which may become an incentive for him to hide from law enforcement agencies.
The 55-year-old officer himself categorically denies his guilt, in court he objected to his detention in the pre-trial detention center and asked for house arrest.
The defense side explained that the arguments of the military investigator in favor of placing the defendant in the detention center do not correspond to reality. In particular, according to the lawyers, Oleg Lopatiev surrendered his passport to his structural unit, so he cannot go abroad. He has a permanent place of residence – an apartment in St. Petersburg, purchased on a housing subsidy, is married and has not been previously convicted. The defense also asked for a measure of restraint not related to detention. However, the court agreed with the arguments of the investigation and arrested the military sailor until May 14.