Details have emerged regarding the case against Ferutdin Zakirov.

The owner of luxury clothing stores Europa Exclusive, CANALI, ZILLI in Uzbekistan, Ferutdin Zakirov, has been sent to pre-trial detention in a case involving large-scale fraud. The details of the case are reported by Kommersant.

It turns out that the businessman was accused of supplying the Russian Ministry of Defense with devices for improving sleep instead of ventilators during the coronavirus pandemic, and at inflated prices. As a result, Zakirov and the deputy director of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Main Military Construction Administration No. 4,” Larisa Leontyeva, who assisted in finding suppliers, were charged with fraud.

In the spring of 2020, Minister of Defense Sergey Shoigu, in response to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, instructed the Federal State Autonomous Institution “Special Project Property Management” (UISP) to procure medical equipment and personal protective equipment for the needs of the Main Military Medical Administration (GVMU) of the Ministry of Defense. The equipment was planned to be supplied to 16 multifunctional medical centers being built from prefabricated structures. Among other things, they were also supposed to be equipped with ventilators.

The first deputy director of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Main Military Construction Administration No. 4,” Larisa Leontyeva, was appointed to assist the head of UISP, Andrey Tulupov, in quickly finding suppliers of medical equipment and concluding contracts with them, according to investigation materials.

Due to the pandemic, the military department faced difficulties in obtaining supplies from Europe and the USA, so they decided to try to conclude deals with manufacturers from China. According to the case materials, during one of the video conferences, representatives of the GVMU mentioned portable artificial ventilation devices Yuwell YH-730, which the Ministry of Defense had previously received from China as humanitarian aid.

However, it turned out that instead of ventilators, the customer received devices for improving the quality of sleep for patients suffering from sleep apnea (breathing disorder during sleep), all at inflated prices. According to materials from the military intelligence department of the FSB, in September 2020, the Main Military Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case.

Larisa Leontyeva and Ferutdin Zakirov were charged with large-scale fraud (part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and the Khamovniki District Court in the capital sent them to pre-trial detention. According to the investigation, having entered into a criminal conspiracy and supplying the Ministry of Defense with unnecessary goods, the defendants embezzled all the budget funds allocated for its procurement. Zakirov does not admit his guilt.