By Nick Butler

The Bolshoy Ice Dome, the main ice hockey venue at Sochi 2014, was among those developed by Oleg Shishov's company ©Getty ImagesOleg Shishov, a Russian businessman heavily involved the construction of facilities for the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi, has been detained on suspicion of deliberately withholding wages from employees amounting to RUB35,000 (£7,000/$11,500/€9,000).


He is accused by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in the Omsk Region of failing to pay over two full months salary for workers, despite having the financial and physical means to do so.

Hhis firm has already posted profits of RUB17 billion (£232 million/$367 million/€293 million) for the first half of 2014, according to The Moscow Times. 

Shishov, an oligarch based in Omsk who owns Mostovik Construction Company, headed development for the Bolshoy Ice Dome, in which ice hockey took place at Sochi 2014, as well as the Sanki Sliding Centre where skeleton, luge and bobsleigh competitions were held.

He was also involved in projects to build three railway stations, engineering works and a hotel in the Sochi area. 

This is not the first time Shishov has been embroiled in allegations, with the Mostovik offices searched by police in 2013, before a case was opened against Shishov on suspicion of embezzling more than RUB500 million (£7 million/$10 million/€9 million) from the Omsk regional budget in August.

A hearing has begun today in Omsk, the city to the east of Sochi close to the border with Kazakhstan, with Shishov having been deputy of the region's Legislative Assembly since 1994.

The Sanki Sliding Centre was also developed by Oleg Shishov's Mostovik Construction Company ©Getty ImagesThe Sanki Sliding Centre was developed by Oleg Shishov's Mostovik Construction Company ©Getty Images



Although the latest accusations do not specifically involved Sochi 2014 construction, it still casts into doubt the standards workers endured last year, with labour laws provoking much criticism in the build-up to the Games.

Last year, Non-Governmental Organisation Human Rights Watch published a report claiming many of the workers building Olympic facilities faced unpaid wages, and that many worked unduly long hours in poor working conditions.

When the IOC released their new Host City Contract the candidates bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympics in September, a special clause relating to workers rights was included for the first time.

It read: "The City, the National Olympic Committee and the Organising Committee shall take all necessary measures to ensure that development projects necessary for the organisation of the Games comply with local, regional and national legislation and international agreements, standards and protocols, applicable in the Host Country with regard to planning, construction, protection of the environment, health and safety and labour laws".

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]