08 August 2007, 11:26
Bureaucrats tried to get 71 million roubles of "combat" money instead of those who fought in Northern Caucasus
Workers of the Military Counterintelligence Service and Department for Fighting Economic Crime (UBEP) of the Chief Interior Administration of Moscow (GUVD) have detained several swindlers who tried to receive under forged documents the so-called "combat" bonuses in the sum of 71 million roubles instead of 71 persons who fought in Northern Caucasus.
The UBEP's press service has reported that among the detainees are Colonel of the Ministry of Defence Shamil Kuchukov, a professor at the Military Academy of the Joint Staff, the main executor of the crime Alexei Shpak, earlier convicted for a residential burglary, and a high-ranking federal official, whose name is not disclosed.
All the six detainees were presented charges by the Moscow Military Prosecutor's Office under Part 4, Article 159, of the Criminal Code (especially large swindle attempt), and most of the suspects are arrested.
According to public polls conducted among Chechnya's residents, payment of compensations today is one of the most corrupted areas. The multistage procedure of drawing up documents on a ruined house and lost property, initially devised to eliminate any frauds in this sphere, has transformed into a situation, when every structure demands its share.
Consequently, the bribes when receiving compensations make today from 30 to 50 percent of the sum due to payment, the "Strana.Ru" reports.