Yevgeny Fomichev was accused of widespread fraud after being questioned.
Russia’s space programme uses navigation equipment manufactured by a company whose leader was detained in Moscow and accused of serious fraud on Friday, according to official media. Yevgeny Fomichev has been charged with large-scale fraud, which carries a maximum 10-year jail sentence and a fine of one million rouble ($10,972), according to a law enforcement officer who was not identified and quoted by the TASS news agency.
Fomichev was placed in pre-trial detention until February 21 at the request of Russia’s Investigative Committee, which deals with major crimes, according to TASS. Moscow’s Basmanny District Court, which frequently handles high-profile cases, made the order. The firm Fomichev leads, NPP Geophysics-Cosmos, produces “optical electronic orientation and navigation devices for spacecraft” according to its website. The device is said to be utilised by nearly every Russian spacecraft. Nine pages of anti-corruption policy are available on the website, and they state that management must play a major part in fostering a climate in which corruption is not tolerated.
The August crash of Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft, which was trying to land on the moon, dealt a severe blow to the country’s space effort. The inquiry determined that Russia’s first unsuccessful journey to the moon in 47 years was caused by a malfunction in an on-board control unit.
