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Supreme Court skims 10 years off of prison term for ex-Interior Ministry official

The former chief of the Interior Ministry’s anti-corruption division was sentenced to 22 years in a maximum security correctional establishment

MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. Russia’s Supreme Court has reduced by ten years the prison term for the former chief of the Interior Ministry’s anti-corruption division, Denis Sugrobov, earlier sentenced to 22 years in a maximum security correctional establishment, a TASS correspondent reports.

"The court ruled Sugrobov’s sentence should be cut by ten years, to 12 years in a maximum security correctional establishment," the Supreme Court ruled.

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The court also eased punishment for the other accomplices, all former senior Interior Ministry officials. Sergey Borisovsky was handed a 9-year prison term, Vitaly Cherednichenko, 9.5 years, Ivan Kosourov, Salavat Mullayarov and Yevgeny Shermanov, ten years each, Andrey Nazarov, 9.5 years, Sergey Ponomaryov, eight years, and businessman Igor Skakunov, 3.5 years.

The sentence took effect on Tuesday.

Sugrobov’s lawyer Eduard Isetsky said the defense was dissatisfied with the sentence and would protest it, adding that his client had already spent three years and seven months in custody.

Consideration of appeal

The Supreme Court has been considering the appeal filed by lawyers and other convicts in this high profile case, practically all of them Sugrobov’s subordinates, since November 23.

On April 27 the Moscow City Court convicted Lieutenant-General Denis Sugrobov and sentenced him to 22 years in prison. His accomplices were handed prison terms ranging 17 years to 20 years. All had pled innocence.

Businessman Igor Skakunov received the shortest term. Also, the court closed the criminal case of Sugrobov’s former first deputy, Boris Kolesnikov, who had committed suicide. His sentence was left unchanged.

Sugrobov’s case

Sugrobov and his accomplices were accused of creating a criminal group, abuse of power and provocation of bribery.

Sugrobov and his subordinates in 2011 created a criminal group that repeatedly forged evidence and used it for criminal prosecution. The Supreme Court ruled that in this way the former officials of the Interior Ministry’s anti-corruption division rigged their performance results in pursuit of material gains, such as career growth, bonuses, early promotion and departmental and state awards.

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