Two former executives of the Russian explosives manufacturer Avangard have been arrested on charges of abuse of power and bribery, the RBC news outletreported Thursday, citing the Federal Security Service (FSB).Stanislav Shevchuk, who led the EU-sanctioned state enterprise from November 2023 to October 2024, and his former deputy Mikhail Bogoyavlensky are accused of falsifying documents to claim that a contractor had completed 50.8 million rubles ($631,000) worth of work, despite having breached an agreement with the company.The FSB alleges the pair then declined to enforce a bank guarantee that would have protected Avangard financially.Separately, Bogoyavlensky was charged with soliciting 120 million rubles ($1.5 million) in bribes in 2023 from a businessman whose company later secured a supply contract with Avangard valued at1.9 billion rubles ($23.6 million).
Investigators said he received 35 million rubles ($435,000) in bribes between late 2023 and January 2025.Bogoyavlensky now serves as a municipal deputy in the Nizhny Novgorod region.Avangard, based in the city of Sterlitamak, produces explosives and components for rocket launcher systems used by the Russian military.
It was fully transferred to the state defense conglomerate Rostec in 2022.Both Shevchuk and the company are sanctioned by the EU.