Russian investigators open fraud case against former leader of pro-Kremlin youth group

The former leader of the pro-Kremlin youth group Rossiya Molodaya (Young Russia) is being investigated for misallocating grants for socially-oriented nonprofit organizations. According to a spokesperson for Russia's Federal Investigative Committee, Maksim Mishenko is suspected of committing the crime earlier this year, when he was serving as a deputy minister in the Tula Oblast.

Investigators say the fraud involves a group that provides assistance to disabled persons and local veterans of the USSR's Chernobyl emergency response effort. Gennady Efimov, the organization's head, is also a suspect in the investigation.

According to police, Efimov's group received a grant for 650,000 rubles (about $10,000) to hold a series of outdoor events for veterans of the Chernobyl response crews. The events never took place, however, and the money was transferred into the bank accounts of other organizations on the basis of fictitious contracts authored by Mishenko and Efimov. The two men then allegedly submitted falsified spending reports for the grant money.

On October 30, the Tula Oblast's press office reported that [Mishenko's] alleged illegal activities were brought to light by Efimov himself. Later, the funds were returned to the Tula treasury.

TASS

• Maksim Mishenko became leader of Rossiya Molodaya in 2005. In 2007, he was elected on United Russia's party ticket to serve as a deputy in the Duma, where he sat on the committee that monitors youth affairs. In September 2010, Mishenko became head of the social group Rossiya Molodaya (separate from the youth movement).
• Mishenko left Rossiya Molodaya in August 2014, when he went to work for the Tula Oblast government. In September 2015, he quit this job, saying his resignation was voluntary.
• In January 2015, in an article about the criminal case against the ultranationalist group BORN (the "Combat Organization of Russian Nationalists"), Mediazona reported that Mishenko maintained ties to another far-right group, Russkii Obraz.