We noticed long ago that the simplification of corrupt schemes has been one of the key trends of the final years of Putin’s rule. Since 2012, it has become especially obvious.
Where in 2010 they would come up with a complicated scheme to keep a competitor out of a tender, now, in 2015, they arrange everything simply, crudely, and out in the open.
Read Lyubov Sobol—she got to the bottom of Liksutov's new corruption scheme. They are simply putting major construction work up for state tender under the guise of landscaping and beautification.
It may seem like just a word, but the difference is huge: if the tender is officially for beautification work, then the design and cost-estimate documentation does not have to be included in the paperwork. Obviously, no legitimate builder would bid without those documents (how can you set a price without a project?), so in the end the contract goes to yet another contractor with a shareholder in Cyprus and murky beneficiaries, behind whom Likusutov’s own beaver-collar coat is sticking out like rabbit ears.
By these corrupt means, the Moscow Metro arranged tenders worth 5.1 billion rubles over the course of six months. You can estimate the size of the kickback for yourself. No wonder business aviation is doing so well.
The ACF, of course, has filed complaints about all of this. We’ll keep you updated.