On Tuesday, the Investigative Committee announced a sweeping pre-investigation check into procurements of electronic monitoring systems for convicted persons at overstated prices, just before the Federal Penitentiary Service's annual meeting to sum up last year results. The damage caused to the state is estimated at 1.3 billion roubles. Former FSIN director Alexander Reimer and his deputy Nikolai Krivolapov may become suspects in the case. Anyway, it is these officials who approved the prices of electronic monitoring systems. The SK reported that beside the unjustified prices, the products were actually non-operational.
According to the materials forwarded to the SK, FSIN and the TsITOS center of engineering and technological support signed state contracts to manufacture fixed sects and mobile monitoring devices with electronic bracelets which had to include chips to process GLONASS satellite navigation system signals, the RBK Daily writes. The products were paid for with federal budget money. However, a check ascertained that the products in question lacked the GLONASS chips, and therefore could not be in dedicated use.
The prices were endorsed by former FSIN director Reimer, his deputy Krivolapov and TsITOS director Opredelenov, the Komsomolskaya Pravda notes. The protocols signed by officials set the price for bracelets with GLONASS chips. On February 25, Vladimir Putin fired Nikolai Krivolapov. No official reasons were given. The newspaper believes that resignations are not the worst thing that can happen to these officials.
FSIN representatives confirmed that the violations had been exposed during internal check, noting that they would not stop the use of electronic bracelets, the Kommerstant writes. "At present, bracelets are used on almost 10,000 convicts. FSIN has enough sets in store which are in working condition, a FSIN official said adding that "there are all opportunities to use electronic monitoring systems."