Former media manager Prigozhin received 10 years in colony

The Petrograd court of St. Petersburg recognized Ilya Gorbunov, the former top manager of the Patriot media holding Evgeny Prigozhin, guilty of articles on extinction and storage of narcotic drugs. Gorbunov was sentenced to 10 years in colony of general regime, as well as a fine of 500 thousand rubles.

The charge asked for Gorbunov for 10 years and 4 months of imprisonment and a fine of 5 million 212 thousand rubles.

According to the correspondent of Sotavision from the courtroom, after the sentence announced the sentence, Ilya Gorbunov turned to the presented journalists with the words: "Take care of yourself, colleagues, this can happen to everyone!"

According to investigators, Ilya Gorbunov extorted money at at that time a candidate for deputies of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly of Alexander Malkevich, threatening the spread of a certain “defamatory information”. Gorbunov was detained in June 2024 when transferring money. During a search, 2.23 grams of hash were discovered at his house.

According to the Fontanka publication, Gorbunov did not plead guilty and assured the court that he was going to provide PR services to Malkevich, and the money that Malkevich brought him to meet him "had to return the contract later. But he did not have time." Gorbunov said that he did not want to take money from Malkevich - he "threw" his banknotes, and the operatives who burst in a few minutes "forcibly put the money into his hands."

Ilya Gorbunov until 2014 worked as a correspondent in the editorial office of RIA Novosti in Vladivostok. Since 2016, he began to cooperate with the structures of the entrepreneur Evgeny Prigozhin and by 2019 he headed the Patriot media group belonging to Prigozhin, from 2020-“Troll Factory” and all the Grandon channels that are part of the medium structure.

In a letter to Rotonda, Ilya Gorbunov said that during the investigation he tried to go to the front several times, but the representatives of the Ministry of Defense allegedly "unfolded before the pre -trial detention center."

News release Radio Liberty: