Translated material
Debts of auditors
Responsible officials of the Accounts Chamber received real sentences
The Moscow City Court yesterday announced the verdict in the case of two senior employees of the Accounts Chamber (AC) of the Russian Federation, accused of receiving a large bribe. Based on the earlier verdict of the jury with whose participation the case was heard, the former deputy director of the department for control over the possession, use and disposal of federal property of the joint venture, Vasily Koryagin, was sentenced to four years in prison, and his subordinate Sergei Klimantov - to eight. The third person involved in this case is the former first vice-mayor of Vladivostok Sergei Dubovitsky, who, according to investigators, acted as an intermediary in the transfer of the bribe, received seven years in prison.As the investigation established, in 2007 the joint venture conducted an inspection of the Geodesy Research Institute located in Krasnoarmeysk near Moscow. Part of its territory was rented out. Among other things, the auditors were interested in how legally and effectively these lands were used. Inspectors found that there were civil disputes regarding some properties. As an example, the report based on the results of the audit cited the legal relationship between the institute and entrepreneur Nuriman Shaikhislamov, who built a warehouse on the territory leased from the research institute. At the same time, the act contained some unsubstantiated information. Deputy head of the SP department Vasily Koryagin, having studied the inspection materials in July 2007, according to the investigation, instead of correcting the violations, decided to use the information in his own way.
He contacted the businessman and threatened that he would talk about the conflict situation in his report, which could have ended for Mr. Shaikhislamov with problems with Rosimushchestvo and the loss of the warehouse. During a personal meeting, the official offered for $120 thousand not to mention the warehouse in the documents, and the businessman, who planned to buy this site in the future, initially agreed. For further negotiations with the businessman, Koryagin attracted his subordinate Klimantov, who worked in the same department and held the position of head of the inspection for control over the use of federal property, which makes up the state treasury of the Russian Federation.
However, later Mr. Shaikhismailov changed his mind about paying and filed a complaint about extortion with the FSB. The transfer of money took place at the end of September 2007, not far from the joint venture building, already under the control of security officers. They were directly received by the first vice-mayor of Vladivostok and the head of the city’s representative office in Moscow, Sergei Dubovitsky, an old acquaintance of Klimantov, whom he brought in as an intermediary. After the businessman handed over the money marked by the special forces, Dubovitsky and then both officials were detained. Koryagin and Klimantov were accused of “extortion and taking a bribe,” and Dubovitsky was accused of “aiding” them.
The trial, which began in the Moscow City Court on July 21 of this year, was held behind closed doors. Neither during the investigation nor at trial, none of the accused admitted guilt. According to them, they were going to borrow money from the entrepreneur, but he “set them up.” At the same time, the defendants noted that a case of illegal business was also being investigated against Mr. Shaikhislamov himself.
In turn, the prosecutor's office presented in court an audio and video recording of the moment the money was transferred. As a result, the jury on August 20 found all three defendants guilty. At the same time, the board decided that Koryagin and Dubovitsky, unlike Klimantov, deserve leniency.
Based on this verdict, the court yesterday sentenced Koryagin to four years in prison, Klimantov to eight, and Dubovitsky to seven years of strict regime. The court also decided to collect 100 thousand rubles from them jointly and severally. compensation for moral damage in favor of the victim.
The defendants' lawyers said yesterday that the issue of appealing the verdict would be decided after consultations with clients. In turn, the representative of the state prosecution said that he was satisfied with the court's decision.
Let us recall that in September 2007, two major scandals broke out in the joint venture. In addition to Koryagin and Klimantov, the head of the inspection for control over the privatization of federal property and the disposal of rights to the results of scientific and technical activities, Yuri Gaidukov, who was seconded to the department from the Ministry of Defense, also came under investigation. He was accused of complicity in the extortion of 7 million euros from the NPO Energomash im. V.P. Glushko." In mid-September, he was detained along with two accomplices, and on September 28, the head of the legal department of the Accounts Chamber, Zarina Farnieva, was detained in the same case. The investigation into this case is still ongoing. But because of these scandals, on October 1, 2007, the youngest auditor of the chamber, ex-Prime Minister of Chechnya Sergei Abramov, under whom the three detained inspectors worked, was forced to resign. He oversaw the department's area of control over privatization and management of state property.