The court in Voronezh began to consider a criminal case regarding the theft of budget money from the local structure of the state corporation Roscosmos – JSC Chemical Automatics Design Bureau. Moscow businessman Sergei Gutenko is accused of stealing more than 5 billion rubles. during the execution of contracts within the framework of state defense orders in 2021–2024. The defendant, who, according to investigators, was hiding in Thailand before his arrest, admitted guilt and repented of the crime.
The defense of the 41-year-old general director of the Moscow company Nagual Stroytekh LLC, Sergei Gutenko, at the first meeting proposed to consider his criminal case of fraud behind closed doors (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, up to ten years in prison). Lawyer Dmitry Firsov motivated this with information about government contracts that appear in the case. The second defender, Andrei Zherebyatyev, recalled that in Voronezh enterprises are subject to attacks: “It is unknown who, as journalists, can come to the meeting and find out any data.” Judge of the Sovetsky District Court Viktor Bessonov rejected the defense request, explaining that the materials did not contain information containing state secrets.
According to Kommersant, a criminal case for theft of money from Roscosmos was opened by the Investigative Committee of Russia in June 2025. It was based on contracts concluded with Nagual Stroytekh LLC and Garant-Stroy LLC for participation in the creation of a centralized production of balloons for rocket and space technology products and integrated production of liquid rocket engines for Soyuz launch vehicles at the site of Chemical Automatics Design Bureau JSC (KBHA) in Voronezh.
According to investigators, Sergei Gutenko knew about the impossibility of performing the work and first falsified data on the compliance of the companies under his control with the customer’s requirements, and later forged documents on the actual and complete execution of the work.
As the examination showed, in fact, Sergei Gutenko’s companies completed work worth approximately 535 million rubles in 2021–2024, after which KBKhA JSC unilaterally terminated contracts with them. According to the investigation, the company suffered damage in the amount of more than 5 billion rubles, which the contractors disposed of at their own discretion.
After the initiation of a criminal case, Sergei Gutenko disappeared. In November last year, he was put on the international wanted list and taken into custody in absentia. The entrepreneur was detained in February in Thailand and deported to the Russian Federation.
As sources familiar with the investigation of the case told Kommersant, Sergei Gutenko claimed that he was not hiding. According to him, he initially went to Uzbekistan in connection with the execution of government contracts, and only after that he ended up on vacation.
During the first meeting, Sergei Gutenko stated that he admitted guilt in four counts of fraud and repented of the crime. He promised to give more detailed testimony after the announcement of the prosecution evidence. The entrepreneur also did not object to the consideration of the criminal case in Voronezh, at the location of the enterprise recognized as a victim. As part of the case, the prosecutor’s office for supervising the implementation of laws at high-security facilities filed a claim against him to recover the full amount of damage.
Due to the expiration of the defendant’s arrest, the court considered the issue of extending the preventive measure. The defense of Sergei Gutenko asked to be released under a ban on certain actions, citing his admission of guilt, the impossibility of his influence on the case materials, as well as the deterioration of the situation of his family (Sergei Gutenko has five children). Judge Viktor Bessonov extended the entrepreneur’s detention for six months, until December 7.
