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Former commander of Russian Land Forces sentenced to 5 years in prison for corruption

Vladimir Chirkin promised to assist former serviceman of the Moscow Military District retired Major Vladimir Lopanov for a bribe of $20,000 in obtaining an apartment

Former Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Land Forces Vladimir Chirkin TASS/Anton Novoderezhkin

Former Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Land Forces Vladimir Chirkin

© TASS/Anton Novoderezhkin

MOSCOW, August 14. /TASS/. The Moscow garrison military court has sentenced on Friday former Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Land Forces Vladimir Chirkin to 5 years in a high-security prison. He was found guilty of taking a $20,000 bribe for assisting his subordinate in obtaining an apartment.

Chirkin was taken into custody in the courtroom.

The term of punishment will start on August 14, the judge said. The court also confiscated the money seized from Chirkin as a bribe of $6,900. In addition, he was deprived of his military rank and state awards.

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During the debate the prosecutor asked the court to find the defendant guilty of the charged crime and inflict a penalty of 7,5 years in prison.

According to the prosecution, Chirkin promised to assist former serviceman of the Moscow Military District retired Major Vladimir Lopanov for a bribe of $20,000 in obtaining an apartment, even though the latter was entitled to an apartment under the law. Having exhausted all available means, the Major had to agree to the terms of the General and his intermediaries. After receiving the money, Chirkin and his mediators handed him over the apartment, where a family of another officer lived. As a result, the Major had to apply to the Chief Military Prosecutor’s Office via the Internet.

Chirkin was dismissed, Lopanov obtained the apartment he was entitled to. Chirkin’s actions to take a bribe relate to the period when he served as Deputy Commander of the Moscow Military District (in 2008), but during the period when Lopanov who was dismissed in 1998 was trying to obtain an apartment or get his money back, Chirkin was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Land Forces.

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