The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported major embezzlement during the construction of a gymnastics academy in Sochi.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs suspects a group of 13 people of embezzling more than 8 billion rubles during the construction of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Center at the Sirius Educational Center in Sochi, created at the initiative of Vladimir Putin.

The suspects in the crimes include Elena Mikhailova, a former member of the board of directors of PJSC Gazprom, Anatoly Erkulov, a former deputy general director of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz LLC, and other individuals from among the heads of contractors and subsidiaries.

According to investigators, from 2016 to May 2019, the suspects pretended to be working on the "Rhythmic Gymnastics Center" physical education and health complex in Sochi. However, in reality, over 8 billion rubles allocated to Gazprom Investgazifikatsiya LLC were embezzled. Subsequently, criminal proceeds amounting to 1.5 billion rubles were laundered, Irina Volk, official spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, reported on Telegram.

"Currently, operational and investigative measures are ongoing, aimed at identifying all accomplices and incidents of illegal activity," the statement reads.

The Main Investigation Department of the St. Petersburg Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has launched an investigation into large-scale fraud 1 during the construction of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Center in Sochi. This is explained by the fact that the construction of the facility was carried out by Magnit LLC from St. Petersburg. When the massive scale of the thefts was established, the case was transferred to the Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Kommersant reports.

For many years, Magnit was the largest contributor to the Gazprom for Children social program. The company, which was declared bankrupt in July 2023, previously reported that it had built 89 sports and fitness centers in 16 regions of Russia since 2016. The company's revenue over these years amounted to over 13 billion rubles.

Construction of the Alina Kabaeva Rhythmic Gymnastics Center began in 2016, and the actual cost, according to some estimates, was approximately 2 billion rubles. The design for the ring-shaped complex, with a total area of ​​over 42,000 square meters, was developed by St. Petersburg's Design Institute No. 1, with assistance from Andrey Litvinov's architectural bureau, commissioned by Gazprom. Caucasian Knot also reported that in early March, the Oktyabrsky District Court of Krasnodar confiscated the apartments and cars of former First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources of the Krasnodar Territory Alexander Kainov and his associates, as well as money. The total amount recovered was over 100 million rubles.