14 bureaucrats made responsible on corruption cases in Rostov Region from start of year

In 2009, in the Rostov Region, 14 state and municipal officials have been attracted to criminal liability. On December 17, Nikolai Britvin, head of the FSB Department for the Rostov Region, told about it to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. According to his story, this was the result of implementing a complex of measures aimed to reveal, prevent and stop corruption processes in the bodies of state power and local self-management.

Thus, by the materials of the Regional FSB, the Department for the Rostov Region of the Investigatory Committee at the Prosecutor's Office (ICPO) of the Russian Federation, has initiated a criminal case against certain Puzikov, executive director of the Rostov fund of mandatory medical insurance (the so-called "ROFOMS") and deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Rostov Region, under part 4, Article 290, of the Criminal Code (CC) of the Russian Federation "bribe-taking". On the same episode, a criminal case was opened against heads of pharmaceutical companies Gordashevskiy and Karakhanov under part 2, Article 290, of the Russian CC "bribe-giving".

Besides, the investigatory part of the State Investigatory Department at the Municipal Department of Internal Affairs of the Rostov Region initiated a criminal case under part 2, Article 171, of the CC "illegal entrepreneurship" on the facts of illegal businesses launched by employees of the ROFOMS. As a result of suppression of corruption actions, the membership of the board of this fund was changed, as well as the procedure of holding auctions on purchase of healthcare products for the regional medical establishments of the Rostov Region for the fund's money.

According to Mr Britvin, a number of persons who tried to cause damage to the fuel-and-energy complex of the region were also brought to criminal liability.

In 2009, also the investigation into the work of the "drug-making lab", illegally organized by a group of post-graduate students of the Scientific and Research Institute of Physical and Organic Chemistry of the Southern Federal University, continued. 21 criminal cases were initiated against the figurants of this crime under the article of "illegal production, sale or transfer of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their prototypes."