"Russian GPS" Designer Sacked Amid Corruption Scandal

The chief designer of Russia’s scandal-hit Glonass satellite navigation system, Yury Urlichich, was fired from his job, a spokeswoman for Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Sunday. The decision was made by the government’s military-industrial commission, which is headed by Rogozin, the spokeswoman said. Russia’s rival to GPS was rocked by fraud allegations earlier this month, with the Interior Ministry accusing unnamed Glonass officers of embezzling 6.5 billion rubles ($200 million) of the program’s funds. The crackdown on Glonass was backed on Sunday by the head of the Kremlin administration, Sergei Ivanov, an ex-Defense Minister and alleged Rogozin ally who said that the investigation into the Glonass fraud had been ongoing since 2010. Ivanov came up with a surprise televised statement that he knew of the embezzlement for years but kept silent. Ivanov said he discussed the theft with police as early as 2010 but didn't speak publicly about it in order to prevent the culprits from covering up their actions.

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20121111/177373935.html
http://www.rferl.org/content/kremlin-chief-ivanov-knew-about-alleged-satelling-navigation-corruption/24768538.html
http://lenta.ru/news/2012/11/11/heknew/