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Oboronservis chief confirms his company is under investigation

But “any public statements about concrete costs of the financial damage, if made before the investigation is complete are no more than versions," Minister of Defense stressed

MOSCOW, October 25 (Itar-Tass) — Director General of Oboronservis company Sergei Khurcevich has confirmed that law enforcers have been conducting an investigation in the central office of the Oboronservis holding. The staff of the holding have given assistance to SK investigators who asked for Oboronservis documents and other information about its activities, Khurcevich said.

All the departments in the structure of Oboronservis continue to perform their functions so as to ensure normal life in troops, Khurcevich stressed.

A representative of the Defense Ministry told Itar-Tass that the leadership of the defense ministry has been following the situation. It is interested in an objective investigation and renders all the necessary assistance to the investigation, the source said.

Earlier on Thursday spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee (SK) Vladimir Markin said that the SK head investigative department opened five criminal cases into illegal deals with real estate, land plots and shares owned by the Oboronservis which is under the Defense Ministry's control.

According to preliminary estimates, the losses inflicted as a result of the illegal deals with eight real estate facilities only totaled more than three billion roubles, Markin said.

The investigation claims that defense ministry officials made use of the Oboronservis most easily obtainable, prestigious facilities and land plots into which they heavily invested budgetary funds and afterwards, these real estate facilities were sold at a considerably lowered prices to commerce structures affiliated with the Oboronservis.

Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said that the top brass is interested in a detailed investigation into all the accusations made against Oboronservis senior officials. But “any public statements about concrete costs of the financial damage caused, or involvement of concrete Oboronservis officials in the illegal deals, if made before the investigation is complete are no more than versions," Serdyukov warned.

The defense minister drew attention to the importance of preventing any failures in ensuring services that Oboronservis provides to troops.

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