Who benefits from “imprisoning” the Tula ex-minister Kontrabaev for a system that is working successfully?
The Investigative Committee of Russia brought the defendants to real terms the case of alleged embezzlement in the creation of a regional information system in the field of healthcare in the Tula region. Former Minister of Informatization of the Region Artur Kontrabaev he will go to a colony for 3.5 years for embezzlement of more than 68 million rubles. His partner in the case Alexey Chernousov sentenced to 3 years in prison. But no one filed claims for damage, and the created RISZ is working successfully.
So who benefits from punishment? Kontrabaeva And Chernousov?
The process in the Central District Court of Tula in the case of the creation and implementation of a regional health information system (RIS) in the Tula region lasted exactly 2 years – from May 2021. Artur Kontrabaev, ex-Minister of Informatization of the Tula Region, and Alexey Chernousov, CEO of the Moscow IT company Smart Delta Systems, ended up in the dock due to non-execution of the contract for the development and implementation of this system. From the very beginning, the investigation insisted that the 68.3 million rubles paid under the contract were stolen, and instead of a new development of a new RISZ, the medical institutions of the region received the old Infoclinika system, developed back in 2005 by Alexei Chernousov’s company.
At the same time, the investigators were not embarrassed by the fact that the Government of the Tula region, recognized as the victim in the case, does not consider itself a victim, and does not agree with the prosecution. The regional cabinet, on the other hand, claimsthat the system was created and has been in operation for a long time, but there is no damage in the case. The victim did not file a civil claim in the case. Moreover, according to the rating of digitalization of regions, compiled in February 2021 by the government of the Russian Federation, the Tula region was among the leaders.
Non-digital attack
The criminal case was opened in 2017. Initially, it was a completely different matter. Artur Kontrabaev accused under part 1 of Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (abuse of official powers). According to that investigation, the ex-minister of informatization concluded contracts on behalf of the government of the Tula region within the framework of the programs for the modernization of regional healthcare approved in 2012 and the introduction of “modern information technologies” into this area: remote appointment services, electronic registration and others. As a result, the tender was won by the Moscow Smart Delta Systems LLC. Alexey Chernousov is the CEO and co-owner of the company. The services of his company at that time were already used by more than 3 thousand different clinics in the country.
The first charge of Kontrabaev came to naught, the investigation recognized the absence of corpus delicti. But right there, a criminal case was opened against the ex-minister for embezzlement on an especially large scale (part 5 of article 33, part 4 of article 160 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). As previously reported by Versiya, the investigation believes that the ex-minister and the businessman acted in collusion.
Investigators allegedly tested the RISZ supplied by Alexey Chernousov’s company and came to the conclusion that the first introductory module of RISZ is nothing more than the “Electronic Registry” module of the “Infoclinic” system developed back in 2005 by “Smart Delta Service”, which has already been implemented in some medical institutions of the Tula region. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation considered that the system implemented in Tula did not meet the parameters requested by the technical requirements, and for the allocated 68.3 million rubles, LLC supplied its old product.
Kontrabaev was placed under house arrest due to health problems. Chernousov – in “Matrosskaya Tishina”. The businessman was released from custody only in the spring of 2021, also under house arrest. Both denied their guilt, referring to the obvious: RISZ works, it is fully integrated into the electronic system of the federal Ministry of Health.
“Version” previously described in detail the course of the investigation and possible inconsistencies in this criminal case. Perhaps the testimony of witnesses in the case will clarify the picture at least a little.
Who benefits?
From the testimony of witnesses interviewed in the criminal case back in May 2021, several assumptions can be made.
First, you can suppose attack by a competitor – Taganrog OOO IK MEDOTRADE. Witness Mikhail KudinovActing Director for the Development of Informatization Programs of the State Healthcare Institution “Tula Regional Information and Analytical Center” in 2012-2013, toldthat “MedoTrade” presented its version of the program to the employees of GAU TO “CIT”. But the regional administration decided that the terms of the contract were not fulfilled by the contractor. GAU TO “CIT” – State Autonomous Institution of the Tula Region “Center for Information Technology”. We do not undertake to approve a possible “revenge” on a competitor – Smart Delta Systems LLC – and personally on Artur Kontrabaev, we only assume.
But much more interesting testimony another witness Boris Kosolapov, director of IDC LLC. This software creator has long been known in Tula for his so-called “kosolapovskaya” program for the interaction of medical institutions in the region with the compulsory medical insurance fund.
According to Boris Kosolapov, IDC LLC implemented their developments in the Tula region since 1996. In those years, insurance companies initiated the creation of the ARM-OMS system, which ensured the input of information from doctors into the compulsory health insurance system for subsequent financing. At that time, there were about 120 healthcare facilities in the region, and all of them were equipped with the so-called “Kosolapovskaya” automated workplace.
“Kosolapovskaya” AWP-OMS was installed in almost all medical institutions in the region. How explained Aleksey Chernousov, the awareness of the need to create a module similar to ARM-OMS in RISZ arose only in 2016. At the same time, this module was integrated into RISZ, and the need for the independent existence of ARM-OMS disappeared.
It can be assumed that the director of IDC LLC considered himself an eternal partner of the Tula healthcare. Further, he admitted that his company was created by insurers, and they also actively offered its use to all medical institutions in the Tula region. At first, in order to stir up interest in their product, insurance companies paid for the use of ARM-OMS themselves, but gradually brought the region’s doctors to the “realization” that the IDC bills had to be paid from “one’s own pocket”.
Boris Kosolapov hoped that this niche belongs to him for a long time, if not forever, and declaredsmiling, during interrogation: “Everyone knows that I am a monopoly in my field”. And then even more interesting revelations followed, how he managed to avoid the contract approach for many years when servicing his own program. Everything was simple. The IDC entered into contracts with medical institutions for a period for which the cost did not exceed 100 thousand rubles, and then again and again the same short-term agreements. Thus, hospitals and clinics regularly paid the developer company from their “own pocket”, bypassing the Ministry of Health. It is not known what the investigation responded to such loud confessions.
And in the Tula region, we repeat, there are about 120 medical institutions. The account under this scheme goes to tens of millions of rubles annually. This is not a one-time payment of 68 million for the development of a regional information system, which then also needs to be technically supported.
Can we assume that the insurer community decided to “avenge” the loss of such a “fat” source of income?
Outcome
But we have what we have. Artur Kontrabaev’s accomplice – Alexey Chernousov, director and owner of Smart Delta Systems LLC – recognized guilty and sentenced to 3 years in prison. Although he will no longer go to the colony – years of investigation and six months in a pre-trial detention center are counted. But the patient Kontrabaev, who was under house arrest and has recently undergone chemotherapy for a brain tumor, can be taken into custody after 15 days. He must serve six months in prison.
The lawyers for both defendants declared intention to seek an acquittal in the future. They have 15 days to file an appeal. According to Andrey Bastrakov, the transfer of Artur Kotrabaev to a colony is tantamount to a death sentence. The lawyer said that if an acquittal could not be achieved, the ex-minister should be released from serving his sentence due to his serious illness.
And meanwhile, the ill-fated for Kontrabaev and Chernousov RISZ, according to software developers, is still an example for many other regions. It’s recent confirmed and Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Chernyshenkonaming the Tula region, along with the Tambov region, the leader in “digital maturity” in the healthcare sector at the end of 2020.
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