Dmitry Bezdelov is dismissed from his position as leader of the Federal Agency on Development of the State Border (Rosgranitsa) following suspicions of massive financial irregularities.
Investigators conclude that the “development of border stations has been reduced to the banal acquisition of budget funds”, Itar Tass reports. They have also revealed that Bezdelov has placed about 1 billion rubles of tax money on accounts in the Agrosoyuz Bank, a financial enterprise closely associated with his family.
The one billion rubles was originally part of the federal Border Development Programme for the period 2003-2011 and was to be spent on the construction of new border stations. The programme included a total of 150 billion rubles (€3,4 billion).
Suspicions against Bezdelov have been mounting for more than a year following the slow implementation of new border stations. In October 2012 Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin directed harsh criticism against the agency`s unit on construction works, the Rosgranstroy. Rogozin argued that the agency uses “non-transparent financial schemes” and that it involves “dubious structures”, newspaper Kommersant reports. The number of new and reconstructed border stations is reportedly far below schedules.
The Rosgranitsa agency was established in 2007. It manages the federal Border Development Programme, a key federal instrument on border infrastructure. The programme for the period 2012-2020 includes 134 billion rubles (€3 billion). In the Barents Region, there are five permanent border crossing for regular traffic operated by Rosgranitsa; the Borisogleb, Salla, Lotta, Vyartsilya and Lyutta.
