What the prosecutor's office checks in funeral services. The Prosecutor General's Office was instructed to liquidate the shadow ritual market. "It's very bad with checks there"

MOSCOW, May 18. /Corr. TASS Alexandra Beluz/. The Moscow prosecutor's office will conduct a large-scale audit of the funeral services market for the first time. In this way, the department responded to a mass brawl with shooting at the Khovanskoye cemetery, as a result of which three people died and more than 30 were hospitalized. The incident occurred on May 14.

TASS figured out how this market in the capital works, what caused the fight and why it happened right now.

"It's very bad with checks there"

“The funeral industry was corrupt even in the Soviet years and has not ceased to be so in all subsequent years,” says the director of the Russian branch International Center anti-corruption research and initiatives of Transparency International Elena Panfilova.

The main reasons for high corruption, according to her estimates, are the large amount of cash, as well as the historical connection of this industry with organized crime. “People die all the time, they need land, and land is always capital, multiplied by the fact that people are willing to pay any money to see off their loved ones on their last journey with dignity and then maintain the monument,” explains Panfilova. “This is a constant circulation of cash , but it’s very bad with checks there.”

The provision of funeral services in the capital is carried out by city specialized funeral services in the city of Moscow (21 enterprises are listed on the website of the State Budgetary Institution “Ritual”, including the State Budgetary Institution), as well as private structures.

The head of the Moscow Department of Trade and Services, Alexey Nemeryuk, estimates the annual turnover of the Moscow funeral services market at 10 billion rubles.

According to the analytical service of the Union of Funeral Organizations and Crematoriums (SPOK), the market structure in in monetary terms looks like this: funeral services and supplies - 59.2%, production and installation of monuments - 27.3%, land plots - 14.9%, care and maintenance of burial sites - 2.1%.

“We have been monitoring market dynamics since 1993, the figures may change from year to year, but fundamentally remain the same,” adds SPOK vice-president Alexey Suloev.

The Department of Trade and Services operates with data from the official turnover of the funeral services market. No one undertakes to calculate the total turnover of the shadow market.

They even pay for information about death

120 thousand people die in Moscow every year. According to expert estimates, more than 1.5 billion rubles are paid in the form of bribes per year just for information about death. “Information about the death of one person costs 15-20 thousand rubles, and this is only part of the volume of the black market,” says Pavel Ulanov, chief of staff to the president of the Union of Funeral Organizations and Crematoriums.

Another part of the shadow market is land for burials. By law it must be provided free of charge. But since there is only one open cemetery in the capital, relatives are encouraged to buy a place where they already have other family members buried or where it is more convenient for them to get to.

The former head of the Khovansky cemetery, Mikhail Chivilev, was accused of fraud in the sale of places. “He sold places for family (ancestral) burials for 475 thousand rubles, managed to take the money into his pocket and add something else to the cash register for the sale of the place, although we are told that places for family (family) burials can only be bought at the auction," recalls Suloev.

In Moscow, he notes, this is “not an isolated case, but a mass phenomenon.”

Leader of the shadow market

Khovanskoye is the largest cemetery in Europe (197.2 hectares), it is written on the website of the State Budgetary Institution "Ritual". In addition, it is the undisputed leader in the number of private funeral companies. According to the capital's Department of Trade and Services, there are about 50 of them.

“This is a lot,” says Suloev. “At other large cemeteries, for example Nikolo-Arkhangelsk, there are only two stores, and they are not located in the immediate vicinity, but about a kilometer from the boundaries of the cemetery.”

The largest volume of the shadow market for funeral services in Moscow also occurs in the Khovanskoye cemetery. But this expert review, no one dares to give exact numbers. “These are individual entrepreneurs, they work under the table and do not report to anyone,” explains Suloev. At the same time, according to his observations, it is at the Khovanskoye cemetery that many people from Central Asia historically work. “In Moscow, two cemeteries use migrants - Khovanskoye and Perepechinskoye, to a lesser extent,” the expert notes.

A mass brawl at the Khovanskoye cemetery occurred on the eve of the start of active summer work for the installation of monuments. It is the three summer months that are the most profitable.

“Installation of monuments, where Tajiks work most of all, is summer. Monuments cannot be installed in winter, concrete does not set, so no one erects monuments in winter. And even according to the standards, it is forbidden to erect them during this period, because in the spring they can fall and damage the surrounding space ", explains the funeral specialist.

Just before the start summer season“For the right to work in the cemetery, each employee was required to pay 40 thousand rubles at a time and subsequently from 50 to 90% of turnover,” Suloev cites the version. “Depending on the alley, some alleys have rich burials, others have poor ones,” the interlocutor clarifies.

“The way I see it: there was an attack by a hired detachment of fighters on the cemetery workers who provide various services there, with the aim of imposing a tribute on them,” says Anton Avdeev, chairman of the Moscow city committee of the trade union of funeral service workers. “Very similar to the situation in the 90s, but the difference is that if in the 90s there was, in fact, something to tax, now there is nothing to tax because of what is happening in the economy, and the Tajiks who work there simply cannot afford to give away the latter.”

“You understand, in order to go to the cemetery and erect a monument, you need to negotiate with the guard. The guard won’t let you in, and you won’t be able to earn money,” explains a funeral specialist.

“What amounts did they share? According to some sources, it was planned to receive several million a month from them (migrant workers),” Suloev said.

The Investigative Committee also adheres to the version of the criminal redistribution of business. This was stated by official representative SK Vladimir Markin. He noted that information about the commission of crimes on ethnic grounds has not been confirmed.

“It’s not a matter of nationalities, but a banal redistribution of the criminal business,” he wrote on his microblog on Twitter.

The Serpukhov prosecutor's office checked the city's retail markets. The department came to the attention of four objects: shopping complex“Trading pavilions” (formerly “City Bazaar”), shopping arcades “Truba”, indoor market “Smena” near the shopping center “Leto” and new market in Ivanovo courtyards on the street. Novaya, 10a. Note that in accordance with federal law No. 271, to everyone retail markets uniform requirements are presented. Firstly, its area must be at least 750 sq.m., and its number of floors must not exceed two floors. Secondly, the premises must be equipped centralized system heating, sewerage, water supply and electricity. Moreover, the market must be surrounded by a fence. During the day, senior assistant to the Serpukhov city prosecutor Yulia Volkova, together with the Fire Inspectorate, Rospotrebnadzor TOU, department consumer market and protection of entrepreneurship of the Administration and the department for combating economic crimes of the police, on behalf of the Prosecutor's Office of the Moscow Region, checked shopping facilities for their compliance with legal requirements. Everything was checked: from the requirements for sanitary and epidemiological safety, fire safety and ending with the improvement of the adjacent territory. “There are absolutely no comments about Truba,” Yulia Volkova told our editors about the results of the inspection. - All requirements, including fire safety, have been met. But as for other objects, violations were recorded everywhere. According to Yulia Valeryevna, the prosecutor’s office found low information content, that is, information about opening hours and who carries out the activity is not provided to the consumer. Concerning sanitary rules, then there are violations here too. For example, not at all shopping places there is water, and this necessary condition, since you need to handle tools and wash your hands. That is, the lack of water supply is a direct path to intestinal diseases. Everyone knows that all products have special conditions storage However, not in all markets sellers pay due attention to this. While buyers may not even notice all of the above violations, cockroaches and a musty smell due to the lack of ventilation can be noticed with the naked eye. “We are not raising the issue of disbanding markets,” explained Yulia Valeryevna. - But if objects position themselves as markets, then they must know and understand that the law imposes special requirements on market objects. Representatives of all inspected objects were summoned to the Serpukhov City Prosecutor's Office to give explanations. Administrative cases will be initiated for all violations. In conclusion, Yulia Volkova noted that the prosecutor’s office will additionally respond to the inaction of regulatory authorities, which have allowed non-compliance with the rules for a long time.

The highest markup on food products today occurs precisely at the stage of retail chains. And since in many especially small towns Since they occupy an almost monopoly position, they can easily dictate their terms, notes the deputy director of the Institute of Contemporary Economics Ivan Antropov.

Inspections by the FAS and the Prosecutor General's Office

After a number of parliamentary requests, representatives of the Prosecutor General’s Office held a meeting with participants in the food market. As Kommersant learned, one of the main topics of this meeting was the problem of relations between suppliers and retailers in the context of infringement of the rights of manufacturers, as well as pricing issues. It is possible that the Prosecutor General’s Office will now be connected to the investigations carried out by the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS).

"Supplies of goods to large retail chains today they are often truly opaque. It is very convenient for retail chains to work with large product suppliers who can provide almost complete network coverage with their goods; accordingly, various conditions are come up for screening out small suppliers. We are talking about various contractual conditions and retro bonuses, when part of the funds is returned to suppliers.

This approach is convenient for retail chains with financial point vision, since it is more convenient for them to calculate their expenses and income and it is easier to monitor the quality of products. Possible inspections by the Prosecutor General's Office may complicate their business a little, but they will certainly find other ways to work with their key suppliers on the same terms. Perhaps this will have a slight impact on prices, since any new administrative barriers traditionally lead to higher prices,” comments FBA "Economy Today" economist.

Development of competition

In order for high-quality products to be presented on the market at reasonable prices, Antropov proposes, on the contrary, to simplify the conditions for doing business and relieve entrepreneurs of administrative barriers. He calls putting pressure on retail chains an unpromising path.

“We need new sellers to appear on the market, perhaps small and medium-sized ones, who would be able to work with the same small food suppliers, thereby creating competition and driving down prices. At the same time, I would not call current prices in stores very high. A natural regulator of their growth is the limited purchasing power of the population, so it makes no sense for either suppliers or retail chains to greatly raise prices, since the goods simply will not be sold.

In the current situation, the largest markup occurs precisely at the stage of retail chains. And since in many small cities they occupy an almost monopoly position, they can easily dictate their terms and manufacturers and suppliers are already forced to adapt to them,” our interlocutor continues.

The impact of inflation on prices

The pressure of the FAS and the Prosecutor General's Office on retail chains, according to the expert, will not lead to any noticeable change in prices for the end consumer, it will simply become possible to redistribute profits towards producers. The last time the prosecutor's office inspected the food market was in 2015, when prices for certain goods in a number of regions increased multiple times with annual inflation of 15.5%. And although inflation today remains at record low levels of around 4%, the price of individual products still continues to grow.

“It is possible to compare general inflation and food inflation directly in Russia only at the end of the year, since food prices strongly depend on the current season, weather, harvest and fluctuate quite a lot. But at the end of the year, food prices are quite close to the inflation rate in the country, the difference does not exceed 1%, although individual products may become much more expensive during the year.

For example, in the first six months, our meat products even became cheaper, and some vegetables became 2.5 times more expensive. For an objective picture of changes in the food market, we need to abandon this comparison and look at the dynamics for each product separately,” sums up Ivan Antropov.

The Prosecutor General's Office, together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, will conduct a comprehensive audit of the funeral services sector, based on the results of which the departments must draw up a plan for eliminating the shadow market in this industry. Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the corresponding instructions to the departments. According to experts, today the annual turnover of the market for unaccounted for funeral services is 120–150 billion rubles.

The order to the Prosecutor General’s Office to carry out, together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, “a comprehensive check of compliance with the law when organizing funerals and providing burial services for the dead” is contained in the list of instructions signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 9. It was sent to interested departments and regional authorities along with a letter from Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak about ensuring the implementation of instructions (Izvestia has the documents).

The list of the president’s instructions states that, based on the results of the audit, the Prosecutor General’s Office must “develop and approve an action plan aimed at eliminating the shadow market for services.” The report must be submitted to the head of state before December 1 of this year.