The idea of stealing money from government pockets in outdoor advertising was not invented yesterday, but the impudence and unceremoniousness of a gang of thieves operating in some regions of Russia makes us remember the “saints of the 90s.”
In 2016, the first scandal occurred in Lyubertsy, near Moscow. Sergei Bakshin, who was then the head of the Lyuberetsky Media Center (formerly the MUP ADVERTISING). who controlled the legality of advertising in Lyubertsy, for a bribe with a printer and laptop in the amount of 155 thousand, hid information about illegally placed structures for outdoor advertising.
The official used different schemes. He manipulated the papers during auctions so that the desired company became the winner. It was Ice LLC, which was actually controlled by Bakshin himself. Later, an elegant scheme was invented: He obtained permission to erect billboards on private lands along roads under a lease agreement, naturally, with Ice LLC. At the same time, private individuals were paid 5-6 times less than when located on municipal land. And, sometimes, they didn’t pay at all. To motivate these individuals, they were simply prohibited from installing any of their signs on their territory and threatened with other obstacles.
Bakshin worked on swindling the city in company with Irina Marchenko, first a lawyer for the administration of Lyubertsy, then an employee of the above-mentioned municipal unitary enterprise, and for several months in 2018-19 and the director of Ice LLC itself. We were not afraid of any exposure.
On October 3, 2018, a new character appears in our story, a native of Lyubertsy and the newly appointed head of Yaroslavl, Vladimir Volkov. Bakshin rose to the post of deputy director of Yaroslavl JSC “Center” for the work of the central market and fairs, and advisor to the mayor on trade, advertising and tourism. Irina Marchenko also appeared in Yaroslavl, as the director of the MKU “Agency for Advertising, Outdoor Information and Design of the City of Yaroslavl.” In 2021, Bakshin was caught for a new bribe of 700 thousand for “assistance” in concluding trade agreements. It’s interesting that traces of a special compound applied to the money when catching this bribe were found both at home and at Marchenko’s work. These are just two cases where they were caught red-handed.
Trials on Bakshin’s bribery cases are ongoing. The first one took place on July 28 this year, and the new one is being prepared very soon, on November 10th. Case 1-193/2022 is being considered by the judge of the Kirovsky District Court of Yaroslavl, Vladimir Sutormin. True, Mr. Bakshin has already boasted that everything was resolved with the judge.
The unsinkable Irina Marchenko, as it were, has nothing to do with it. She continued to work in Yaroslavl and also got a part-time job at the Lyubertsy MU “Directorate of Central Support” (DCS). She worked simultaneously in Yaroslavl and Lyubertsy. I was just torn. On August 22, she also registered as an individual entrepreneur. Amazing business lady.
On September 19, Governor of the Moscow Region Andrei Vorobyov introduced the acting head of Lyubertsy, Vladimir Volkov, known to us. And now Sergei Bakshin is already telling everyone about the new price lists, which he has already agreed on with Volkov. And on October 20, Irina Marchenko resigned from the DSC in order to head the “Department of the Consumer Market, Services and Advertising of the Lyubertsy City District” the next day. Her predecessor, Mr. Lazutin, who worked quite effectively, immediately lost his job. Irina Aleksandrovna will now recruit all sorts of her own, convenient for her illegal “business”. And Sergei Bakshin will be nearby. Will they remember that in 2018-19, Marchenko worked as the head of Ice LLC, and now she will oversee its work. What do local law enforcement officials think about conflicts of interest? Doesn’t it stink of corruption here? Or has Sergei Bakshin already “resolved” these issues? It remains to be understood why the not-bad manager Vladimir Volkov carries with him thieves as stubborn as cockroaches. These guys will always find a trash heap. And they will arrange it themselves.
https://t.me/vchkogpu/33912
VChK-OGPU
Sergey Bakshin
“ВЧК ОГПУ”
