The court hearing on August 21 to consider the appeal began two hours late. Relatives came to support the honored military man, a native of the Kursk region. The media expected the trial to be held behind closed doors. But the appellate judge refused the investigator’s request to hold the hearing behind closed doors, finding no compelling arguments in his motion.
Bulgakov’s criminal case was opened on July 25 of this year. On the same day, the Basmanny Court of Moscow remanded the general in custody. It follows from the materials read out in court that the Kirov Military Medical Academy concluded a government contract for the provision of energy services. Bulgakov, investigators believe, could have facilitated the conclusion of an agreement between the university and the contractor OOO Neva-Balt SPb for the provision of these services. The amount of the contract between the academy and OOO Neva-Balt SPb is 250 million rubles. The general contractor is JSC Petersburg Sales Company. Under the state contract, the university transferred an advance payment of over 49 million rubles to the contractor (OOO Neva-Balt SPb). According to investigators, this transfer was unjustified (this amount was then transferred to the general contractor. – Vedomosti).
“The investigation believes that the damage is about 49 million rubles. At least, the contract, due to which the case was initiated, was concluded for this amount,” lawyer Sergei Sevruk explained to journalists after the hearing. At the same time, the defense attorney says, this amount was not stolen – it is in the account of the contractor, and can be returned at any time. But the investigation insists that Bulgakov hired a company under his control to do the work, which carried it out at an inflated price.
In addition to the retired officer’s retirement age, the defense pointed out to the court his numerous illnesses, which, according to Sevruk, although they do not necessarily prevent detention, are very dangerous and his client will not be able to receive the necessary treatment in the pre-trial detention center. Bulgakov will turn 70 in October, and he needs to undergo a major planned operation on his spine, the lawyer said.
During the hearing, the defense attorney attached to the case an impressive number of awards and letters of gratitude. Among them are awards from the president, the Order of Alexander Nevsky and the Order of Marshal Zhukov. Among those who vouched for Bulgakov were people from the military department (for example, the head of the Council of Veterans of the Home Front of the Armed Forces, retired Lieutenant General Gennady Burmistrov), and the rector of St. George’s Church in the Moscow region.
The prisoner himself assured the court via video link from the pre-trial detention center that he does not intend to hide and promised to assist the investigation. Bulgakov categorically denies guilt under the charges brought against him. Sevruk noted that during the search of the general, no incriminating assets were found that did not correspond to his income: “He is not a corrupt official or an embezzler – he has dedicated his entire life to serving his homeland.”
The investigator and the prosecutor did not want to compromise and asked the court to leave Bulgakov with the same measure in isolation from society. The accused may abscond and put pressure on witnesses, the investigator said. In addition, the investigation of the criminal case has just begun and the investigation will have to actively collect evidence, including identifying other accomplices to the crime.
Other defendants have already been arrested as part of the criminal case. The general director of Neva-Balt SPb LLC German Yakovlev and Bulgakov’s former classmate Gennady Seleznev are being held in the Vodnik pretrial detention center on charges of especially large-scale fraud, a source familiar with the investigation told Vedomosti.
After hearing the arguments of the parties, the Moscow City Court judge recognized Bulgakov’s arrest as lawful and denied the defense’s appeal. The lawyer will appeal the decision of the appellate court.
Bulgakov graduated from the Volsk Higher Military School of Logistics named after the Lenin Komsomol, the Military Academy of Logistics and Transport, and the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia. Over the years, he was Deputy Chief of Logistics of the Transbaikal Military District, Chief of Staff of Logistics of the Moscow Military District, and Chief of Staff of Logistics of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. As Deputy Minister of Defense from 2010, he oversaw the logistics of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and from 2015 to 2017, he oversaw the construction of a railway line. In May 2016, he received the title of Hero of Russia. He is under sanctions from the EU, the United States, and other countries.
Russian general denied house arrest.