FSB's anti-drone project ended with the developer being sent to prison
In Russia, a harsh sentence was handed down to one of the developers of anti-drone systems from within the FSB. The former head of the research division was sentenced to 13 years in prison in a case involving large-scale fraud in defense procurement. An accountant from the contractor company was also sentenced to prison along with him.
The Reutov Garrison Military Court in Russia sentenced the former head of the FSB’s NII-1 research institute, Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Yefimov, to 13 years in prison, a fine of 1.5 million rubles, and a five-year ban on working in public service, while his accomplice, Marina Khalandach, an accountant at the company “Intelferrum,” was sentenced to 10 years in a penal colony and a fine of 1 million rubles, after they were found guilty of fraud on an especially large scale and money laundering.
Investigators allege that in 2023, Yefimov, using the affiliated companies “Spetstekhmet” and “Intelferrum,” influenced government procurement of components for the “Obereg-22,” “Obereg-23,” and “Oblik-22,” ensuring that his companies won auctions with inflated prices, after which the funds were allegedly diverted through controlled accounts under the guise of actual deliveries, with the total loss estimated at 12.7 million rubles.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty, and Yefimov himself stated that the case was politically motivated and fabricated, claiming that his anti-drone developments were more effective and significantly cheaper than similar products, which, he said, made him a target of persecution.
The case file also notes that an accomplice in the scheme, “Intelferrum” director Alexei Sokolov, entered into a plea agreement, received a four-year suspended sentence, and agreed to pay 8 million rubles in restitution, and earlier, another defendant—Vladimir Semenov, Yefimov’s superior—received a five-year prison sentence for embezzlement during the execution of a defense contract related to the “Obereg-24” complex. This was reported by Russian media.
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