Russian billionaire Valery Kustov has been arrested on suspicion of fraud related to a state contract for drone production.
Moscow’s Meshchansky District Court ordered the arrest of Efko’s director of strategic development, Vladislav Romantsev, and deputy development director Ekaterina Kustova. Both were placed in pre-trial detention on fraud charges.
In a statement, the company confirmed the arrest of several employees, naming Vladislav Romantsev. The general director of Kustov’s food company Efko, Yevgeny Lyashenko, was also taken into custody.
Alla Polovchenya, who serves as deputy head of the Industry and Trade Ministry’s department of unmanned systems and robotics, was arrested alongside Romantsev and Kustova, according to media reports. Polovchenya was placed in pre-trial detention on charges of embezzlement.
The allegations centre on a state contract to build drones that Russia is also using in its war against Ukraine.
According to the independent online portal Agentstvo, the case involves the C-80, a heavy transport drone used by the Russian military to supply its troops at the front in the war in Ukraine.
The drone has drawn sharp criticism from military circles. Defence Minister Andrei Belousov told Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting that the drone needed to be reworked.
Several senior officials are already in pre-trial detention in connection with the case, including a department head at the Russian Industry Ministry, who is accused of embezzling state funds.
Kustov has a fortune of around $1.1 billion, according to Forbes magazine. He made his money through the food company Efko, which is best known in Russia for its mayonnaise. No details of his involvement in the drone scandal have been made public.
Photo: Valery Kustov.ruwiki.ru
Sources: yahoo!news; The Moscow Times