Artem Sitnikov convicted of fictitiously calling his cohabitant to work

The former chairman of the regional civil registry office Artem Sitnikov was sentenced to a fine of 260 thousand rubles. for abuse of power. As the court found, he issued an order for his subordinate and common-law wife to return to work from maternity leave. In fact, she did not go to work, but regularly received wages and bonuses totaling more than 820 thousand rubles. Mr. Sitnikov himself did not admit guilt in the crime charged against him.

The Leninsky District Court rendered a verdict in a criminal case against the former chairman of the Civil Registry Office Committee of the Perm Territory, Artem Sitnikov. The preliminary investigation authorities accuse Mr. Sitnikov of committing a crime under Part 2 of Art. 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (abuse of official powers committed by a person holding a public position in a constituent entity of the Russian Federation). The court sentenced him to a fine in the amount of 260 thousand rubles, as well as a ban on holding certain positions for a period of three years.

Artem Sitnikov headed the regional civil registration committee from the end of 2011 to March 2014. He came to the attention of security forces at the end of winter - beginning of spring of this year, when FSB operatives received information that Mr. Sitnikov’s cohabitant, Yana Chernega, who worked as a consultant in the archives and information department of the Civil Registry Office, was formally called back from maternity leave, but in fact In fact, she never went to work. At the same time, she received her salary and all the bonuses due.

During operational activities, it was established that she wrote an application for early leave from maternity leave on a part-time basis. On November 19, 2012, Artem Sitnikov signed the corresponding order. But she never began performing her job duties - they were redistributed among the rest of the department’s employees. Moreover, an additional employee was hired into the department. In accordance with the order of November 19, 2012, she was supposed to go back to work full time, but in fact continued to be at home. At the same time, shifts were marked on her time sheets.

In March, within the framework of the law on operational-search activities, counterintelligence officers conducted an inspection of the registry office premises, during which the necessary documents were confiscated. As follows from the declassified materials of wiretaps, during this event Artem Sitnikov called his subordinates, as well as his partner, and gave instructions on what evidence to give to FSB officers, and discussed the possibilities of concealing traces of the crime. In particular, he asked to show that in fact Yana Chernega worked, but at home. In particular, she allegedly was engaged in systematizing the so-called vital records, and the documents in bags were delivered to her home by civil registry office drivers. After this, Artem Sitnikov was dismissed from the committee by agreement of the parties.

In April, the investigative department for the Leninsky district of the Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee for the Perm Territory opened a criminal case against Mr. Sitnikov under Part 2 of Art. 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The interrogated witnesses - employees of the registry office - testified that Ms. Chernega never actually went to work, and appeared in the committee building only a few times. This was also confirmed by analyzing data from the remote access control system, which recorded all employees who entered the registry office. In addition, data from the cellular operator about the location of Yana Chernega’s cell phone was added to the case. So, it turned out that the vast majority of the time he was in the Parkovoy area, where she lived with Mr. Sitnikov.

The court also had doubts about the argument that the chairman’s partner was doing work at home, since, judging by the testimony of the watchman, no bags of documents were carried through her.

During the preliminary investigation, Artem Sitnikov did not admit his guilt in abuse of power. At first, during interrogation as a suspect, he admitted only that he did not sufficiently control the work of his subordinate, and his actions were not pursued by selfish interests. During the consideration of the case in court, the defendant refused to testify, citing Art. 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. His lawyer insisted that Mr. Sitnikov cannot be charged with a crime under Part 2 of Art. 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, since the position of the chairman of the civil registry office does not belong to the category of the state civil service of the Perm Territory.

However, the court regarded these arguments as a method of defense and saw in his actions an abuse of official powers committed by a person holding a public position in a constituent entity of the Russian Federation.

It is worth noting that the punishment for Artem Sitnikov can be considered quite lenient. Sanction part 2 art. 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for punishment of up to seven years in prison. “Penalties” articles provide for the imposition of a fine from 100 thousand to 300 thousand rubles. or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of one to three years. State prosecutor Sergei Kutuev asked to sentence him to three years of real imprisonment and a ban on holding certain positions. Yesterday he did not comment on the possibility of appealing the verdict. However, the state prosecutor noted that, in his personal opinion, taking into account the financial situation of the defendant (during a search of his home, about 260 thousand rubles were seized), the punishment could have been more severe. Representatives for the defendant declined to comment.

Dmitry Astakhov

Registry office for friendship