Ingush minister arrested for embezzling $1 million in public money

On 16 February, Pyatigorsk City Court ordered the arrest of Ingushetia’s Construction Minister, Mustafa Buruzhev, who is suspected of embezzling over ₽54 million ($940,000) from the state treasury.

Police arrested Buruzhev along with the director of a local construction company, Akhmed Aliyev. His company received a government contract to build a school in the Dzheyrakh District, in a mountainous area of Ingushetia. The contract stipulated that the company install equipment in the building, which it never did.

The school was opened in 2012 and Buruzhev, who was Chief Specialist at the ministry at the time, signed documentation certifying that the work had been completed, despite allegedly knowing, that it hadn’t been. According to investigators, there is evidence of corruption in the actions of both men. If found guilty, the men face imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine of up to ₽1 million ($17,500).

On 15 February, the authorities in Ingushetia opened a criminal case against another official, former head of the Municipal Unitary Enterprise, PUZhKKh, in the republic’s Malgobek District. The man is accused of embezzling about ₽1 million ($17,500) from the republic’s budget.