Russia has detained director of shipyard for stealing money from shipyard, learned GDC citing Tass news agency. The fund was allocated to repair the only Russian aircraft carrier was plundered.
The Director General of a shipyard in Murmansk was detained in connection with the embezzlement of funds during the repair of the Russian aircraft carrier “Admiral Kuznetsov”. At the moment, it is known about the theft of huge funds, which indicates that the repair of the Russian heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser may not happen for the next few years.
The source said the official was “arrested for two months in line with a ruling by the Oktyabrsky District Court of the city of Murmansk.”
Earlier, a law enforcement source told Tass about 10 searches had been carried out on the shipyard’s premises and in the homes of its top managers. The searches were carried out as part of a criminal case against the enterprise’s director-general, who is suspected of embezzling about 45 million rubles (about USD$606,300 at the current exchange rate), allocated for Admiral Kuznetsov’s repairs. His possible accomplices are currently being established, the source added.
The Project 11435 heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov is designed to gain superiority at sea and in the air in the areas of the fleet’s operation to ensure the navy’s combat sustainability, deliver airstrikes against enemy targets and support troops’ landing operations.
At the moment, it remains unknown what exactly the scheme of theft of funds took place, however, the current state of the only aircraft carrier “Admiral Kuznetsov” is unknown, it was suggested that the only Russian aircraft carrier simply would not be repaired on time, information appeared on Tass suggested that some of the materials and components were replaced with cheaper counterparts, and incidents with a crane fall and a fire on a Russian aircraft carrier occurred “due to the human error” in order to conceal probable thefts.
About Admiral Kuznetsov
The warship entered service in 1990. It displaces 58,000 tonnes and has a length of 304.5 meters. The aircraft carrier has a full-speed capacity of 200,000 horsepower and develops a speed of up to 30 knots. Apart from the air task force of 24-26 fighter jets and 12 helicopters, the Admiral Kuznetsov is armed with anti-ship and air defense missile systems. The warship is equipped with a ski-jump and two aircraft elevators. It has a crew of 1,300 while the air group’s personnel numbers 660 men.
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