In December 2019, a former employee of the International civil defence organization (ICDO) reported that the organization designed to help different countries to deal with disasters, captured by Russian special services. At the moment, the organization does not have public procedures and rules governing conflicts of interest and other corruption, and it has become a source of enrichment for Russian officials, with the participation of former and current employees of the Ministry. This writes the portal “Important story”
On the official website of the ICDO stated that it “promotes the creation and strengthening of national structures of civil defense”, training and exhibition for rescue services in different countries, and the Secretary General attends these country visits. Russia acceded to the Charter DIRECT in 1993. Among other participants of state from Africa, Latin America, Asia and the CIS, but there is no major Western country. Although the organization was founded in the early 1930s, the specialists who study international organizations in Russia, said that nothing has been heard about the project DIRECT or results of operations.
The status of “strategic partner” of the organization is the Russian EMERCOM, MY portfolio mostly consists of projects that were sponsored from the Russian budget, and the bulk of the money over the last 10 years were distributed to companies linked to officials from the MOE.
One of the activities of the ICDO, which is mentioned on its website, is the supply of goods from Russia to its geopolitical allies under the guise of the organization. Over the past eight years Russia has supplied fire trucks to Cuba, Nicaragua and North Korea, Motorboats in Armenia, home of the fabricated structures in Tajikistan and more. This humanitarian aid from 2012 to 2018, the year Russia spent about seven billion rubles.
As journalists found out, requests for assistance are received from recipient States directly to Russia. Then on behalf of the President or the government is passed into a specialized Agency “emerkom” created in the structure of the MES especially for international assistance. And after approval of the list of goods and estimated prices by the Ministry of Finance makes special purpose contribution DIRECT, which purchases goods from Russian suppliers.
Thus contrary to international practice, on the website DIRECT no open tender system, which allow other firms to participate in procurement, no clearly defined anti-corruption rules, and suppliers of the organization always chooses in Russia. Theoretically, it allows domestic producers to enter foreign markets, but in this case it is not.
From 2001 to 2012, the Agency “emerkom” led by Oleg Belaventsev, who is called a man from the inner circle of former emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu. Of the structures of the Ministry of emergency Belavenets left after Shoigu in 2012 and since then has held various senior positions in other fields: it is now known as an adviser to the head of the Crimea Sergey Aksenov.
According to journalists, after years of work in the MOE Belavenets turned humanitarian assistance into a profitable for themselves and their subordinates business with billions in turnover. These revenues continued to be received after Belavencev at the head of “EMERCOM” was replaced by his former subordinate and business partner Alexander Mordvin.
And Belavencev connected and three of the biggest supplier DIRECT for the last eight years: together they received about 65% of all money paid by the organization to commercial companies. And humanitarian projects developed by the “Merkonom” headed by Belaventsev has been specifically designed to develop and protect its business. In addition, the assets of the company “Zarubezhenergoproekt” are the assets in Crimea, including the Simferopol plant for industrial processing of metals and two hotels on the seafront of Yalta.
In addition to the business, close Belevantsev, among the suppliers of DIRECT humanitarian projects can meet Russian company with only one or two people and with minimal share capital. Some are created for months before he got the contracts with the international organization.
For example, the company “Elitek” from St. Petersburg, which is under contract with MOGO in October 2018 has supplied Cuba with office furniture and computers. It was registered in may of the same year: the Director and the owner of the company Natalia Baranova first declared that has no relation to the “Elitech”, and then began to deny the fictitious company and stopped responding to messages. Another company “Trimo construction” received the 2014 contract to supply modular homes in Tajikistan for 100 million rubles, being registered a month before the contract. Director and co-owner of this company Mr. Michael wankowicz called the distribution system contracts in DIRECT, transparent and open, saying that honest winner “may not perform the contract”.
Meanwhile at the Secretariat General on ICDO confirmed that all providers were chosen in Moscow and in Geneva just signed the paper. The former head of MOGO Vladimir Kuvshinov said that his job was to “promote the life-saving technologies and the salvation of the whole world”, while people in his entourage managed to create around the organization of a network of commercial companies. In March 2018, he was re-elected for a second term at the head of the organization, and so it has not had any complaints. However, once in may 2018 for the position of head of the head of the emergency is Vladimir Puchkov was appointed Eugene Zimichev, Pitchers suddenly “lost the support of Moscow.”
In October of the same year, it became clear that salary Kuvshinova in the position of the Secretary-General in August 2018 amounted to 2.3 million rubles a month – one and a half times more than the salary of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. And his son Alexei, who held the position of “responsible for humanitarian issues,” earned 7.8 thousand francs (about 550 thousand rubles) per month. Pitchers he stated that his salary was spelled out in the contract, but in the end resigned, “not to develop a conflict”. He called all the accusations “pure slander” and is suing MOGO to get severance pay – about 10 million rubles.
In April of last year, new head DIRECT for a period of one year was Algerian, Belkacem of Elecetronic, and his Deputy – another native of MOE, Andrey Kudinov, which is responsible in the organization for humanitarian projects until 2025. The salary of the Secretary-General of ICDO is now about 1.7 million rubles a month – it’s still significantly more than the salary of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Then a former employee of MOGO wrote to the local police, Prosecutor’s office, several Swiss banks, and Swiss and American mission to the UN, that the organization captured the FSB. Prosecutors did not open an investigation of the complaint, but Swiss Bank UBS has refused the organization of the services and shut down her account. Current employees call the current situation “tense struggle between the two clans”, one of which was formed around Albatrossi and the other around Kudinov. The election of a new Secretary General of the organization must pass this year.
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