Leningrad Oblast governor splits budget between wife and friends

Leningrad Oblast governor splits budget between wife and friends
Leningrad Oblast governor splits budget between wife and friends

Budget embezzlement in post-Soviet states has become a national sport. For instance, it recently emerged that Alexander Drozdenko, the Governor of Russia's Leningrad Oblast, divided budgetary funds between his wife and his friends.

His wife, Irina Drozdenko, secured a contract for the construction of a terminal for the transshipment of petroleum products and a ship base in Ust-Luga worth $100 million. The businesswoman oversees the works from the window of her Land Rover. She owns an estate featuring a 5,000 sq m palace and 300 sq m apartments.

The company of billionaire Andrey Berezin, referred to as the governor's "wallet", received a contract for waste removal worth 25 billion rubles.

The cashing out of funds was handled by a family friend and partner, Semyon Kuzmin, who received a suspended sentence for money laundering in the US.

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