Searches were conducted in the Federal Air Transport Agency due to the sale of Il-76 and Mi-8, they could have been used by Ukraine – Kommersant

The Federal Security Service has opened two criminal cases regarding the illegal withdrawal of 59 airplanes and helicopters from Russian jurisdiction, sources said. “Izvestia”. It is alleged that the Il-76 and Mi-8 were sold. Helicopters, according to the newspaper, were used by Ukraine in military operations against Russia, and planes delivered cargo with the transponders turned off. The person involved in the case may be the former head of the Federal Air Transport Agency, Alexander Neradko.

According to Izvestia, on February 7, searches took place at the central office of the Federal Air Transport Agency on Leningradsky Prospekt in Moscow. Seizure of documents was carried out in offices and… O. Head of the Flight Safety Inspection Department Kristina Byvalina and Deputy Head of the Department of State Registration of Civil Aircraft, Rights and Transactions with Them Petr Kozyrev.

A criminal case of negligence (Part 1 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) was initiated against Mr. Kozyrev, Ms. Byvalina and her former deputy Anna Zhiltsova. According to Izvestia, the latter was fired in June 2023, one of the reasons was an anti-war poster in the workplace and a negative attitude towards Russia’s deployment of troops to Ukraine. In addition, as stated, Ms. Byvalina is also involved in another criminal case – abuse of official powers (Part 2 of Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

The reason for the criminal cases was an inspection of the activities of the Federal Air Transport Agency in the state registration of civil aircraft and maintaining the corresponding register. Employees of the Federal Air Transport Agency have allegedly been deregistering airplanes and helicopters since the beginning of the military operation, violating presidential decrees and government regulations. They removed ships from the state register without a complete set of documents and provided contradictory and unreliable information about the location of the ships outside Russia.

From March 2022 to June 2023, 59 vessels were removed from Russian jurisdiction. During this period, the department was headed by Alexander Neradko. 36 airplanes and helicopters were deregistered due to sales abroad. The buyers of 21 of them were residents of states outside the EAEU. Eight were sold to unfriendly countries.

According to Izvestia, three Mi-8 helicopters withdrawn from jurisdiction were used by Ukraine during battles against Russia. Il-76 made flights with transponders turned off. This practice is used to hide information about cargo transportation routes. According to the Rosaviation website, from March 2022 to June 2023, 43 aircraft and helicopters were removed from the state register due to sales abroad. Among them are two Il-76 and six Mi-8.

As Izvestia writes, it was this audit that became the basis for the resignation of the head of the Federal Air Transport Agency, Alexander Neradko, in September 2023. The newspaper’s sources do not exclude the possibility that he will become a defendant in a criminal case.

About the resignation of Alexander Neradko after 14 years at the head of Rosaviation – in the material of Kommersant “Game of Knockout”.