The thieving ex-deputy energy minister failed to appeal his sentence.
Kommersant has learned that the verdict in a high-profile case involving embezzlement of 272 million rubles of budget funds allocated for the creation of a state information system for the fuel and energy complex (GIS FEC) and bribery has come into force. The Moscow City Court rejected the appeals of Anatoly Tikhonov, former deputy head of the Ministry of Energy, and his six co-defendants, who, although they received rather mild sentences, were obliged to pay large fines.
Consideration of the appeal in the high-profile case took place more than a year after the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow sentenced former Deputy Head of the Ministry of Energy Anatoly Tikhonov, his wife Valeria Kovalenko, counselor Roman Ryzhkov, head of Endevel LLC Igor Udintsev, entrepreneur Elena Golovko, as well as vice-presidents of Lanit CJSC Viktor Serebryakov and Vladimir Makarov.
Anatoly Tikhonov was then found guilty of embezzlement of 175 million rubles and 97 million rubles, As well as two episodes of bribery – in the amount of 77 million rubles and $580 thousand (part 4 of article 160 and part 6 of article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Five other defendants were convicted for mediation in bribery (part 4 of article 291 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and businessman Udintsev – for bribery (part 5 of article 291 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
According to the investigation, the crimes were committed in 2014-2016 during the creation of the state information system of the fuel and energy complex of Russia. It was entrusted to the Russian Energy Agency (REA), which at the time was headed by Anatoly Tikhonov. Through the mediation of Vladimir Makarov, deputy general director of Lanit, he agreed with the firm’s president Georgy Gens (who died in 2018 – Kommersant) to secure a contract with his company to create a GIS of the fuel and energy complex for a bribe of $580,000 (or 45 million rubles at the 2016 exchange rate). The funds allocated for this purpose under fictitious contracts first went to the accounts of Denirello LLP, a London-registered firm, and then through a chain of other companies and a number of intermediaries to Anatoly Tikhonov.
As a result, the tender in October 2014 was won by Lanit CJSC, which received a contract worth 607 million rubles. The expertise conducted in the case showed that it was overestimated by 175 million rubles, which Anatoly Tikhonov stole by embezzling in the interests of Lanit. At the same time, according to the conclusions of a computer-technical forensic examination, the system turned out to be inoperable.
The second episode of embezzlement in the amount of 96.8 million rubles was related to the conclusion in 2014-2016 of contracts by REA for the supply of computer, server and other equipment for GIS TEK, as well as for retrofitting with it at inflated prices with CJSC Resurs-service and CJSC Softline Trade. In fact, Hitachi equipment was supplied through the counterparty of these CJSCs – Endevel LLC, which purchased the equipment at a discount.
According to the investigation, in the first case the equipment was purchased from Resurs-service for 102.2 million rubles, which exceeded its market value by 73.4 million rubles. And in the second case the price of the equipment purchased for 41.7 million rubles from Softline Trade was almost doubled. For this Igor Udintsev “kicked back” to Anatoly Tikhonov 77.2 million rubles.
During the trial five of the seven defendants, including Anatoly Tikhonov, did not admit guilt. In turn, Viktor Serebryakov and Igor Udintsev disagreed with the qualification of their actions, believing that they had committed fraud (Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). At the investigation, both gave confessions. The defense of the former deputy minister insisted that the created GIS of the Fuel and Energy Complex was workable and asked to acquit him. Anatoly Tikhonov himself claimed that the charges against him were based on the testimony of Roman Shcherbov, former director of the GIS TEK project. The latter and Igor Udintsev were previously sentenced to six and a half and five and a half years respectively for fraudulent purchases of equipment for GIS TEK. Both had time to serve their sentences. Having concluded a pre-trial cooperation agreement and having told about bribes and embezzlement of Anatoly Tikhonov, Roman Scherbov in February 2024 got off with a fine of 5 million rubles.
As for Anatoly Tikhonov, he was sentenced by the Meshchansky District Court in March 2024 to five years and four months in prison, which he served while under investigation and trial.
He was released in the courtroom and ordered to pay a fine of 501 million rubles.
Other defendants were given suspended sentences with fines ranging from 45 million to 90.3 million rubles.
In addition, the court ordered Anatoly Tikhonov to forfeit 122 million rubles for the bribes received, and also satisfied the claim of the Ministry of Energy (recognized as a victim in the case) against the convicts for recovery of damages in the amount of 271.8 million rubles.
Then Anatoly Tikhonov’s defense noted that the property arrested from the defendant (bank accounts, shares and income from securities, as well as a mansion on Rublyovka near Moscow, an apartment on Patriarch’s Ponds, real estate abroad, €1 million in his son’s account and another €43 million in the accounts of a company associated with him in Monaco.- “Kommersant”) should cover the victim’s claim, as well as the fine.
The other convicts complained that they would never pay up.
In the appeal, Viktor Serebryakov and Igor Udintsev asked to reduce the size of the exorbitant fines, and the defendants Tikhonov, Makarov, Ryzhkov and Golovko asked to be acquitted. However, at the end of the hearings, which took two sessions, the Moscow City Court’s trio of judges left the verdict unchanged and the defendants’ complaints unsatisfied.
Anatoly Tikhonov’s lawyers – Genrikh Padva and Igor Kopenkin – told Kommersant that the defense intends to appeal the verdict in higher instances, including the Supreme Court. “We believe that significant procedural and legal violations were committed during the consideration of the case on the merits,” Mr. Kopenkin said.