“Rain”: FSB officers conduct searches at the State Center for Contemporary Art

FSB officers are conducting searches in the building of the State Center for Contemporary Art in the case of Deputy Minister of Culture Grigory Pirumov, reports , citing sources. Dozhd TV channel

According to the channel’s interlocutor, FSB officers are looking for evidence of a connection between NCCA director Mikhail Mindlin and Grigory Pirumov. The Center's press service could not confirm this information, but said that searches were indeed being carried out. The press service employee did not specify whether FSB officers were confiscating equipment or documents.

In March 2016, was opened against senior employees of the Ministry of Culture and a number of entrepreneurs for the theft of budget funds allocated for the restoration of cultural heritage sites. a criminal case

According to investigators, until November 2012, Deputy Minister Pirumov organized and headed a criminal group, which involved the director of the department of the ministry Boris Mazo, the manager of BaltStroy Alexander Kochenov, the general director of the construction company JSC Baltstroy Dmitry Sergeev and other persons for the theft of government funds allocated for the restoration of cultural heritage sites. As a result of activities under the leadership of Pirumov, at least 50 million rubles were stolen.

Pirumov was charged with fraud on an especially large scale (part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code).

On March 16, the Lefortovo Court in Moscow took Pirumov and other suspects into custody.