October 13, 2021

Jello, Fellow! Shall We Sweeten the Deal?


Jello, Fellow! Shall We Sweeten the Deal?
A berry berry sweet deal KFoodaddict on Unsplash

On October 8, Russian online news outlet Znak reported that Tyumen’s deputy head of Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service has been held on charges of bribery for facilitating the right to supply another kind of sweetener.

The deputy head allegedly provided state government contracts to companies that sell supplies for kissel, a jello-like fruit drink popular in Russia, Central Europe, and Eastern Europe. He is accused of accepting compensation between 2015 and 2018, which included money and other property estimated to total over 370,000 rubles (approximately $5,150 USD).

The companies then sold ingredients for the sweet drink, which is generally prepared with berries, fruits, and a thickener, to penitentiaries at intentionally inflated prices.

While he did not get away with it for long, the deputy head of the Service seems to have fared better than other Russian bribe-taking baddies. He might have made off with only a few dumplings instead…

 

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