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Oleg Frolov and two other people are accused of “large-scale fraud” amounting to 435 million rubles or 4.3 million euros.
Published on December 22nd, 2023 10:22 p.m. Updated on December 22, 2023 10:22 p.m
Reading time: 1 min
A Soyuz rocket at Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia, August 8, 2023. (HANDOUT / RUSSIAN SPACE AGENCY ROSCOSMOS / AFP)
A director of the Russian space agency Roscomos is in the sights of the authorities. Oleg Frolov, deputy director of the institution, was taken into custody on Friday, December 22, in a case involving the embezzlement of more than 4.3 million euros in this sector hit by several crises. Oleg Frolov and two other people are accused of “large-scale fraud” amounting to 435 million rubles, the Russian Investigative Committee responsible for the main criminal investigations said in a statement.
“Oleg Frolov, taking advantage of his official position, participated in a criminal conspiracy together with two other co-conspirators. During the execution of the contract, they stole budget funds for the purchase of equipment,” this case explained. According to the same source, the deputy director of Roscosmos was remanded in custody pending his trial.
Russia's space sector, historically the country's pride, has suffered for years from funding problems, corruption scandals and embarrassing failures such as the loss of the Luna-25 lunar probe in August. However, these difficulties have not dampened the ambitions of Moscow, which ultimately wants to build its own space station to replace its dilapidated portion of the International Space Station (ISS) and restart lunar missions.
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