Yevgeny Grigoryev, general director of the Tuladron research and production center for unmanned aerial systems, was detained in Tula. Local outlets Myslo and Tulskiye Novosti reported that he is suspected of fraud on an especially large scale (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code).
A court sent Grigoryev to a pre-trial detention center for two months on August 14, Myslo reported, citing sources. The Telegram channel Mash also reported the arrest.
The Tula region authorities announced the launch of the Tuladron center this year. Governor Dmitry Milyayev said that one billion rubles had been allocated for its creation, of which 678.5 million came from the federal budget. The center is intended to develop and produce military and civilian drones.
This is not the first arrest among Russian drone manufacturers in recent weeks. In late July, Valery Kustov, the main shareholder of the Efko group of companies, was arrested in Moscow on suspicion of large-scale fraud. The investigation is linked to the project to create unmanned aerial systems called "Transport of the Future." A court also sent the current and former general directors of Drone Solutions, Vyacheslav Barbasov and Irakli Khazalia, to a pre-trial detention center; details of their case have not been disclosed.