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Russia’s former deputy minister of culture sentenced to to 1.5 years in prison

A Moscow court sentenced former Deputy Minister of Culture Grigory Pirumov, accused of embezzlement, to 1.5 years in prison and released him from the courtroom as he had already served his time

MOSCOW, October 9./TASS/. Moscow’s Dorgomilovsky court on Monday sentenced former Deputy Minister of Culture Grigory Pirumov, accused of embezzlement, to 1.5 years in prison and released him from the courtroom as he had already served his time.

"Perumov is found guilty and awarded the punishment of one year and six months in a standard regime penal colony. To be released from the court room taking into account his term in custody," the judge read out the verdict.

Pirumov, along with a number of other ex-officials and businessmen, was accused of embezzling state funds allocated for restoration works at objects of cultural heritage. Charges of a particularly large fraud committed by a group of persons were laid against them.

Nearly all suspects in the case have pleaded guilty, either in part or to all charges. The first sentencing in the case took place on July 20. The court sentenced to five years of suspended sentence to businessman Nikita Kolesnikov. In another trial, which took place in St. Petersburg, businessman Dmitry Sergeyev was sentenced to four years and seven months of suspended sentence and a fine of 800,000 rubles.

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FACTBOX: Collective Security Treaty Organization

The Collective Security Treaty came into force on April 20, 1994 to herald the emergence what would eventually become the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The six member-countries are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan

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