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Former Moscow property department official commits suicide

Earlier, a jury at the Moscow City Court found Polyutov and his superior, the former head of the property department guilty in the case over exceeding authority

MOSCOW, December 5 (Itar-Tass) — Former deputy head of the Moscow property department Vladimir Polyutov, found guilty of exceeding his authority several days ago, has committed suicide, police told Itar-Tass.

"Polyutov was found in his apartment in southwestern Moscow at 07:30, Moscow time, on Wednesday. According to preliminary information, the former official took his life," a police officer said.

Earlier, a jury at the Moscow City Court found Polyutov and his superior, former head of the property department guilty in a case over exceeding authority. According to the case materials, the officials' action caused a 2.5-billion-rouble damage.

"A group of investigators is working at the scene; a pre-investigation check is underway to ascertain all the circumstances of the suicide," representative of Moscow’s main investigation department Sergei Stukalov told Itar-Tass.

Preliminary reports said the former official was at home with his wife and child. At around 07:30, Moscow time, they heard a loud crash in the bathroom, and having rushed there, found Polyutov dead. He had shot himself with a hunting rifle.

On Wednesday, the Moscow City Court was to have announced a verdict in this high profile case against Polyutov and his superior, former director of the property department for Moscow Tatyana Naidyonova.

A jury earlier found them guilty of exceeding their authority. The officials committed violation when privatizing the Stankoimport state-owned company which had owned large property abroad since the Soviet times.

The investigator said Tatyana Naidyonova signed an instruction in August 2004 about the terms of privatization of the Stankoimport property, by illegally including in it the securities of 19 foreign companies set up abroad at the expense of budget budges, and appointed Vladimir Polyutov chairman of the board of the newly established Stankoimport public company.

On the same day, Polyutov signed the act on handing over property to the authorized capital of the new company on behalf of their department at the Russian agency for property management, including the stake of 19 companies valued at 897,700 roubles. The market value of these shares, stakes and contributions made up over 2.5 billion roubles.

The case was sent to a court back in July 2012 and was heard in camera because it contained confidential materials dating back to the Soviet times. Under the charges, the defendants faced three to ten years in prison.