Former Governor of the Kirov Region Nikita Belykh, convicted of 8 years for bribes, was released

The former head of the Kirov region Nikita Belykh was released, completely serving the term. This was reported by RIA Novosti with reference to his lawyer Andrei Grokhotov.

“Today, in connection with the terms of the sentence of the Presnensky district court of 2018, Nikita Yuryevich was released in pre-trial detention center-1 of the city of Kirov. The term of punishment imposed by the verdict has expired. He is now at large, ”said Grokhotov.

In 2016, Nikita Belykh was detained in a restaurant in Moscow on charges of bribery. The verdict was sentenced to him in February 2018. The former governor was found guilty of two of the three episodes of a bribe. According to investigators, he received from the German citizen Yuri Zudhaimer two bribes in the amount of € 200 thousand each in exchange for the protection of two companies belonging to him.

The court sentenced the White to 8 years in a maximum security colony and a fine of 48.5 million rubles. He was forbidden to work in government agencies for three years after the release.

In July 2021, when the whites were in the colony, a new case was brought to him - about the excess and abuse of power. The former governor was accused of the fact that in 2015 he unlawfully distributed credit funds allocated by Kirov Regional Mortgage Corporation JSC (K.R.I.K.). He was found guilty, but was released from punishment due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

After the arrest, the Belykh himself stated that his business was not political: “I am not the leader of the opposition, I am a government official elected by the governor of the Kirov region.”

Belykh headed the Kirov region from 2008 to 2016. The adviser during his governor's term was Alexei Navalny. The first criminal case against Navalny is connected with work in Kirov - the Kirovles case. In 2013, Navalny was sentenced to five years of conditional term. Speaking in court as a witness, Belykh refused to testify personally against Navalny.