MOSCOW, September 19 (RAPSI) – Investigators have filed a motion seeking to extend detention for ex-director of the Emergency Ministry’s department for Kemerovo Region Alexander Mamontov involved in a case over tragic fire in Zimnyaya Vishnya (Winter Cherry) mall that left 60 people dead, the press service of the Central District Court of Kemerovo has told RAPSI. 

The motion will be heard on September 21.

Investigators claim that Mamontov and chief of the ministry’s directorate for Kemerovo Grigory Terentyev have not organized safety inspection in the mall since 2017 despite knowing that one should have been completed before March 18. In addition, Mamontov used his position to embezzle 1.8 million rubles ($27,000) from the Ministry and used it for benefit of other persons.

The fire occurred in the mall on March 25. According to investigators, 60 people including dozens of children were killed by fire. Initially it was reported that 64 people died.

Investigation has been already completed into seven defendants in the case, Yulia Bogdanova, CEO of the Kemerovsky Confectionary Combine, a company owning the mall, technical director of the mall’s owner company Georgy Sobolev, the mall’s manager Nadezhda Suddenok, a guard who allegedly turned off the emergency notification system when he received a fire signal Sergey Antyushin,  CEO of the company System Integrator that developed the fire safety system Igor Polozinenko; an employee of the company, who personally installed the fire alarm Alexander Nikitin and fire team commander Sergey Genin.

Depending on their role they are charged with violation of fire safety regulation, provision of services that don’t meet safety requirements and negligence.

As of today, there are twelve defendants in the case, eleven of them are in detention.