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Rosgeo head Roman Panov sacked — ministry

Rosgeo and Russia’s Nature Resources Ministry have not been informed about the document as of Thursday evening

MOSCOW, March 22. /TASS/. The head of Russia’s geological holding Rosgeo, Roman Panov, has been sacked, Russian Deputy Economic Development Minister Oksana Tarasenko told TASS late on Thursday.

"We have received a letter of instructions from the government. The Federal Agency for State Property Management has issued a relevant decree. Everything is within the framework of the law," she said.

At the same time, Rosgeo and Russia’s Nature Resources Ministry have not been informed about the document as of Thursday evening.

Rosgeo is a Russian multidiscipline geological holding company providing the full range of exploration-related services, from regional studies to stratigraphic drilling and subsurface conditions monitoring. The company is wholly owned by the state.

Rosgeo made headlines last January, following the publication of scandalous online video of the holding’s then first deputy chief executive Ruslan Gorring. The video shows the official cursing out other players while playing an online game and making incorrect statements about his female subordinates. Shortly after, Gorring was sacked, the holding’s Director General Roman Panov was reprimanded, and the Russian Nature Resources Ministry said it would inspect the organization and its financial activities.

In March, the Russian Investigative Committee charged Gorring with fraud in the amount of five million rubles ($73,500). Moscow’s Domodedovo court put him under arrest for two months.