High-ranking Moscow narcologists were accused of fraud for 138 million rubles

The Main Investigation Department (GSU) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Moscow has completed the investigation of a criminal case against the former president of the Moscow Scientific and Practical Center of Narcology of the Moscow Department of Health Evgeny Brun, Vice-president of the Russian Narcological League Vladimir Yakushev and their alleged accomplices, Kommersant reports.

The defendants were accused of embezzlement of budget funds when purchasing test containers and reagents for determining drug and alcohol dependence at inflated prices, including persons applying for driver's licenses. The budget suffered damage of 138 million rubles. Brun, Yakushev and Sergey Koporov, head of the Moscow Scientific and Practical Center for Narcology, Lyudmila Eremenkina, head of the bidding department of the center, and Sergey Vasiliev, CEO of Microtechnologies LLC, signed a protocol on the completion of investigative actions in a criminal case the day before. They will begin familiarization with the case materials — a total of 200 volumes.

Brun and Yakushev came to the attention of law enforcement officers in the winter of 2020. A year before that, the Ministry of Health approved a new regulation for the provision of medical certificates to the traffic police by citizens who apply for driver's licenses. The need for testing potential drivers for alcohol and drug addiction has sharply increased. Against the background of the upcoming innovations in 2017-2019, dozens of tenders were held for 125.7 million rubles for the purchase of medical diagnostic devices, as well as necessary consumables for the detection of narcotic substances and alcohol through the Moscow Scientific and Practical Center of Narcology.

Soon the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) became interested in holding tenders. She conducted an inspection, as a result of which it turned out that in a number of cases, Mediatrade LLC, allegedly owned by the vice-president of the Association of Narcologists Vladimir Yakushev, became a participant and winner of tenders for the supply of necessary medical equipment. The inspectors also had questions about other winning companies, including LLC «Impulsmed» and LLC «Bitest» (in total, six firms appear in the case). The Antimonopoly Service considered the prices offered by the participants of the competition too high. The inspection materials were handed over to law enforcement officers. In August last year, criminal cases were opened, later they were merged into one production, and then the investigation was transferred to a higher level — to the Main Investigation Department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in Moscow.

Detained in August 2022, Brun and Yakushev was charged with embezzlement of 20 million rubles, and soon the number of defendants in the criminal case increased. Yeremenkina and Vasiliev were involved. On January 13, 2023, the fifth defendant in the case was the director of the Moscow Scientific and Practical Center of Narcology of the Moscow Department of Health Koporov, who replaced Brun in this position.

Yakushev admitted his guilt, repented, and also concluded a pre-trial cooperation agreement with the prosecutor's office, but then refused to testify. So far, none of the defendants in the criminal case has admitted his guilt in the fraud he is accused of. The investigation recognized the Moscow Department of Public Health and the Moscow Scientific and Practical Center of Narcology of the Moscow Department of Health as victims in the criminal case.

It's worth reminding that telephone scammers organized the alleged abduction of the head of the Department of the Russian Chemical Technology University (RCTU) Nikolai Makarov for the sake of obtaining a large ransom.