Court Seizes Assets of Krasnogorsk Dam Contractor Over Financial Insolvency
The Arbitration Court of the Omsk Region has ordered a preliminary seizure of assets belonging to Mezhregionstroy, the general contractor for the Krasnogorsk hydraulic engineering complex on the transboundary Irtysh River. The restrictive measures apply to more than 120 units of construction machinery, equipment, and temporary structures. The decision follows a petition from the regional prosecutor’s office, which seeks to prevent the loss of state funds amid a sharp decline in the developer’s financial standing.
Supervisory authorities initiated the asset freeze prior to filing a formal lawsuit. Prosecutors express concern that the company will be unable to return unearned advances totaling 1.62 billion rubles to the budget. According to court records, the tax liabilities of Mezhregionstroy exceed 900 million rubles, while total claims against the legal entity in other judicial proceedings reach 6.6 billion rubles. Financial difficulties have also affected personnel – the Omsk division of the organization has accumulated salary arrears amounting to 55 million rubles.
Construction at the site has effectively ceased. Since mid-February, a period of downtime due to the employer’s fault has been officially declared at the facility. The court ruling indicates that failure to meet dam construction deadlines and the non-repayment of advance payments threaten the region with significant financial losses. The Omsk Region may face penalties for violating the terms of federal subsidies allocated for the national project. To maintain the seizure of assets, the prosecutor’s office must submit a full statement of claim by June 29.
The Krasnogorsk water-lifting dam is being constructed near the village of Krasnaya Gorka to stabilize the water supply for the Omsk Region. The project became necessary due to the systematic shallowing of the Irtysh River. Regional authorities attribute the falling water levels directly to increased volumes of water withdrawal in Kazakhstan and China.