OSINT researcher Chris O’Wiki has discovered a 2017 investigation by Russian media related to corruption during the modernization of the 51st GRAU arsenal.
According to the findings, the company Spetsmontazh received 1.3 billion rubles to construct new ammunition storage facilities.
However, an FSB investigation revealed that the company’s management had embezzled 646 million rubles, or half of the allocated funds. As a result, the work was never completed and the storage facilities remained unfinished.
The researcher also shared photos of the arsenal from 2017, showing some of the ammunition being stored outdoors—under weather shelters, but without any protection against potential explosions.
"It's not clear whether or how the case was resolved. However, unless the stolen money was recovered, it's likely that the planned improvements were never delivered, which may have contributed to today's explosions," writes Chris O’Wiki.
