Moscow police investigate a billion-ruble subsidy scam

Moscow police are investigating the theft of 1 billion rubles ($17.6 million) allocated to the city’s Department of Labor and Social Protection, according to the news agency RBC. The money was supposed to help create jobs for youths and people with disabilities.

According to RBC, investigators believe criminals working with unidentified city department directors filed subsidy applications with the city government from fictional companies. The scheme apparently lasted from 2011 to 2016.

In order to fool the city, the scammers allegedly rented office space and invited officials from Moscow’s Labor Department to visit. After receiving the government subsidies, they pocketed the money and never created any jobs.

Police launched their investigation in February 2017. Vladimir Petrosyan, the head of Moscow’s Labor and Social Protection Department, told RBC that the money was paid out by city’s Labor and Employment Department, which was an independent agency until 2015, when Moscow’s Social Protections Department says it stopped paying these subsidies. City officials told RBC that they’ve supplied police with all records related to the scam and are ready to cooperate fully.