In accordance with the agreement, the lieutenant colonel was supposed to make adjustments to the documents drawn up in TsITIS before the official submission to the 16th Central Research Institute in the event of identifying deficiencies and violations in the implementation of R&D, as well as “ensure quick and unimpeded consideration of documentation received from TsITIS for the specified development work and, as a result, a guaranteed positive decision based on the results of its inspection.” The intermediary was obliged to transfer three monthly salaries of the center’s employees from the superior head of TsITIS to Meshchanin.
To receive a bribe, the officer instructed three of his subordinates to fictitiously find employment in TsITIS and transfer their salaries to him. After this, the bribe-giver entered into the timesheets deliberately false information about the time worked in accordance with internal regulations. Over three years, his subordinates gave the lieutenant colonel a total of about 5.4 million rubles. He also allowed them to keep part of the salary for themselves.
On October 5, 2022, while receiving the next tranche of a bribe through a subordinate in the amount of 33 thousand rubles, Meshchanin was detained by FSB officers in his office 16 TsNIIII. The money was transferred as part of an operational search operation. The criminal case against the officer was considered in a special manner, since he fully admitted his guilt and surrendered the bribe-giver and intermediary from TsITIS. As a result, on April 6, criminal cases were opened against them for giving a bribe on an especially large scale and mediation.
On the same day, the Solnechnogorsk Garrison Military Court sentenced Meshchanin to four years of strict regime. When assigning punishment, he took into account the officer’s admission of guilt, contribution to solving the crime and exposing the bribe-giver and intermediary, as well as participation in special combat missions in Syria, the state of health of his mother and the desire to participate in a “special military operation.”
Earlier, the Cheka-OGPU reported that the head of the scientific and technical center TsITIS Sergei Malygin was arrested in the case of giving a bribe to Meshchanin. An acquaintance of the latter’s family assures that there was no bribe, and the entire accusation is based solely on the testimony of the lieutenant colonel and his deputy Galchin.
“ВЧК ОГПУ”
