Irina Ermish and Sergey Zobnin, deputy governors of Ivanovo Oblast, were placed in pre-trial detention until September 8 on charges of power abuse. The Federal Security Service (FSB) accuses them of awarding 22 state contracts worth 850 million rubles for the capital repair of social sector facilities to a single enterprise. A significant amount of budget money was cashed out and distributed among the officials.
According to politician Yulia Galyamina, the prosecution of Irina Ermish is related to her fraudulent actions in procuring medication in Ivanovo Oblast.
The fraud was revealed in an investigation by '7x7' and the School of Regional Anti-Corruption, published in August 2023. The report highlighted that Anatoly Burov, a member of the United Russia party and the Deputy Chairman of the Ivanovo Oblast Duma, regularly awarded state contracts to his own pharmaceutical company while simulating competition. Following this revelation, Burov left the Committee on Social Policy. For more details on state procurements in Ivanovo Oblast, read the '7x7' article.
