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Oppositionist Alexei Navalny faces final accusation in Kirovles fraud case

He refuses from giving testimony
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, January 18 (Itar-Tass) — The Russian Investigation Committee brought the final accusation against oppositionist Alexei Navalny in the Kirovles fraud case on Friday.

“Alexei Navalny faced the final accusation under Article 33 Part 3 and Article 160 Part 4 of the Russian Criminal Code for a massive embezzlement. He refused from giving testimony,” spokesman for the Russian Investigation Committee Vladimir Markin told Itar-Tass on Friday.

“The detectives found that at the post of the adviser of the governor in the Kirov Region Alexei Navalny masterminded the property misappropriation at the Kirov regional state unitary enterprise Kirovles, engaging in a conspiracy with director of the Vyatka forest company Pyotr Ofitserov and Kirovles general director Vyacheslav Opalev,” Markin recalled. “The detectives believe over 10,000 cubic metres of timber, which Kirovles owned, were stolen from May to September 2009,” he said. “Thus, the budget of the Kirov Region sustained the damages of over 16 million roubles,” he noted.

“The investigation in the criminal case is at its final stage,” Markin added.

On December 24, 2012, the Leninsky District Court of Kirov sentenced to four years in suspension Kirovles general director Vyacheslav Opalev. During the investigation he pleaded guilty and concluded a plea bargain. In this respect, the criminal case against him was singled out in a separate criminal case and was tried in the special way.

The criminal case over masterminding the Kirovles property embezzlement was opened back in May 2011. The criminal article in the indictment envisages a term of up to ten years in prison and a possible fine of up to one million roubles.