In the case of genomic registration, a switchman was found

Scam Genomic Set

Ilya Karpyuk, " <url>"

The Federal Penitentiary Service, which manages all Russian prisons and colonies, failed without scandal to collect DNA samples from all those convicted of serious and especially serious crimes. Instead of the expected disputes with human rights defenders or misunderstanding on the part of prisoners, the Investigative Committee revealed fraud in the procurement of materials for the collection of genomic information.

The Investigative Committee has launched an investigation into fraud (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code) against the heads of the Department of the Organization of Medical and Sanitary Support (UOMSO) of the department, who are responsible for the purchase in 2012 for 87 million rubles of genomic registration kits, the use of which in Russia (quite unexpectedly for FSIN officials) was prohibited.

Investigators believe that officials maliciously deceived the competition commission, saying that the Moscow company "STC Progress-Technology" sells goods with all the necessary certificates.

The Federal Penitentiary Service itself had a hand in uncovering the scam. According to the Izvestia newspaper, it was her own security service that "laid" the leadership of the UOMSO in front of the investigators.

Recall that in the spring of 2013, the Federal Penitentiary Service, within the framework of the law "On State Genomic Registration", began to implement an ambitious project to create a database of DNA samples of all Russian prisoners. It was decided to start with those who are in the colonies for serious and especially serious crimes – murder, robbery, violence, etc. On the one hand, the task is quite difficult: there are an absolute majority of those in places of deprivation of liberty, 589 out of 693 thousand people. On the other hand, the recidivism of these citizens is the most dangerous for society.

Every year, about 300 thousand people leave places of imprisonment and, according to statistics, about every fifth crime in the country is committed by citizens who have already served time. The presence of a single DNA database, easily accessible to investigative authorities, can simplify the detection of crimes, and therefore increase the probability of detecting a criminal, which, in theory, will reduce the number of crimes.

Also, the presence of DNA tags can combat the recently popular method of escaping from custody, when one prisoner gets out of prison by deception instead of another, whose term is expiring.

For the prisoners themselves, the genomic registration procedure looks like a simple blood sampling from a finger. But then the blood sample is sent to a special center, where it is registered, analyzed and entered into a federal database.

However, as far as can be judged from open sources, so far no crime has been solved with the help of the criminals' DNA database – possibly due to the fact that it is practically empty. So far, only the Ministry of Internal Affairs is engaged in filling out the DNA database – the police take samples from traces at crime scenes. In theory, in the future, some prisoners may even be acquitted and released from prison due to a mismatch of their DNA with traces at the crime scene. Such cases, for example, were not uncommon in the United States after the courts began to recognize DNA analysis as evidence.

Ordinary law–abiding citizens of Russia can also undergo genomic registration - on a completely voluntary basis, but, however, for their own money.

Formally, work on the database began last year, but the mass purchase of "kits for taking genomic material" began only in 2013. It was assumed that 189.5 thousand sets for almost all departments of the Federal Penitentiary Service would be purchased at 450 rubles apiece. Accordingly, it was planned to spend no more than 85 million rubles for this stage of the project. This price seems quite normal, at least on one of the most popular genealogical sites geni.com DNA tests cost about that much.

However, at the stage of purchasing special kits, the FSIN had problems. According to investigators, the heads of the Department of the Organization of Medical and Sanitary Provision of the department made an application for the procurement in such a way that only one company could win it - "STC Progress–Technology", headed by Igor Merkulov.

At the same time, the requirements for the purchased product were drawn up in such a way that they simply did not meet Russian standards. As a result, the company "STC Progress-Technology" offered the state to buy from it sets of Nucleac-Cardcit, which were produced by the Italian company Copan Flock Technologies. Perhaps these are not the worst kits, but they do not have a certificate of conformity issued by the Russian competent authorities, which means neither the Federal Penitentiary Service nor any other agency simply has the right to use them.

It is characteristic that back in June 2013, the liquidation of the company "STC Progress-Technology" took place. Igor Merkulov has several companies listed, but almost all of them have already been liquidated. Thus, the only one who can be punished for the purchase of useless sets by the state for 80 million rubles is actually an official of the Federal Penitentiary Service.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru01.11.2013