Former Russian official detained over 50 million ruble loss in adult diaper factory import substitution project
A Moscow court has ordered the detention of Dmitry Kolobov, former head of a department in Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade, on suspicion of large-scale fraud related to import substitution funds.
A Moscow court has ordered the detention of Dmitry Kolobov on suspicion of fraud on an especially large scale. Kolobov formerly headed the Industry and Trade Ministry’s Department for Industrial Development and Socially Significant Goods. The Russian state news agency TASS and the business news outlet RBC reported the detention, citing sources.
The case centers on the alleged embezzlement of budget funds earmarked for projects under the import substitution program. In one episode involving the production of adult diapers from Russian pulp, the losses exceed 50 million rubles, according to a TASS source. Additional episodes may emerge, the source said, and the total losses could reach 1 billion rubles.
Kolobov had asked the court to place him under house arrest or impose a ban on certain actions. When the judge read the detention order aloud, Kolobov fainted, TASS reported. The ministry’s press service said Kolobov resigned in May 2023.
