Russian Nuclear Reactors Designer Held on Suspicion of Fraud

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RIA Novosti, PUBLISHED April 25, 2012

The head of the Russian nuclear reactor design bureau Gidropress, a subsidiary of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, Viktor Mokhov has been detained on suspicion of an 18-million-ruble ($600,000) fraud scheme.

Mokhov, who was appointed the Gidropress head in August 2011 just two months after the company’s top managers died in a plane crash in northwestern Russia, is suspected of illegally cashing money allocated for the economy modernization program, a source in the company who requested to remain anonymous told RIA Novosti.

The fraud was uncovered in the fall of 2011 during an internal audit in the company. In late March, a criminal case was opened against Mokhov and his deputy, Sergei Sitsky, who together are suspected of cashing 26 million rubles (almost $900,000).

According to the source, the court will decide later in the day whether Mokhov will be put in custody until trial.

Gidropress was unavailable for comments.

The design bureau, which was established 66 years ago, produces nuclear reactors used in 18 nuclear power plants in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Finland, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and China.

Topics: Russia, OKB Gidropress

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