[Summary translation prepared by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

Three employees of Medvezhy Ruchey LLC to stand trial in Norilsk for commercial bribery amounting to 800,000 rubles, 29 August 2024

Medvezhy Ruchey LLC provides transportation services to Norilsk Nickel. According to the contract, the contractor is responsible for organizing transportation operations, bulldozer equipment, vehicle repairs, and maintenance of the company’s premises.

At the end of 2022, the head of the contractor was approached by the head of ATO "NPTBT", which supplies vehicles. He proposed issuing waybills and reports without the actual use of the vehicles, while still receiving full compensation for the work and sharing the profits among themselves.

Starting in early 2023, members of the criminal group—including the deputy director, a shift supervisor, and the senior dispatcher of Medvezhy Ruchey LLC—significantly inflated the volume of completed work and reported the use of equipment that had not actually been operated. For this, they received 800,000 rubles from ATO "NPTBT".

The Prosecutor’s Office has charged them with large-scale commercial bribery, and they face up to 9 years in prison.