MOSCOW, December 24 (RAPSI) – The Troitsk Court in Moscow has granted a prosecutor’s bid to forfeit assets worth over 1.2 billion rubles (over $16 million) owned by Dalspetsstroy building company’s ex-CEO Yury Khrizman, a convicted defendant in the Vostochny Cosmodrome embezlement case, to the state, according to a statement of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia.

In June 2018, Russia’s Supreme Court mitigated sentence of Khrizman and his son Mikhail. The sentence given by the Far East District Military Court in Russia’s Khabarovsk was changed because of expiration of the criminal prosecution’s statute of limitations. The term of Yury Khrizman was reduced to 11.5 years behind bars, and fine was decreased to 1 million rubles ($13,500 at the current exchange rate). Mikhail Khrizman was released as he had been charged only with one count of crime.

In February 2018, Yury Khrizman was sentenced to 12 years in prison and a 1.5-million-ruble fine ($20,000) for abuse of office and embezzlement. His son, entrepreneur Mikhail Khrizman, head accountant Vladimir Ashihmin and former chairman of the Legislative Duma of Khabarovsk Krai Victor Chudov were also sentenced to prison terms varying from 5.5 to 7 years in prison. Mikhail Khrizman was fined 800,000 rubles while Chudov was fined 900,000 rubles.

According to the case documents, the defendants acting as an organized criminal group embezzled about 106 million rubles ($1.8 million at then exchange rate) belonging to Dalspetsstroy in 2006-2009. Victims in the case are Dalspetsstroy company and Roscosmos space corporation. Investigators added that Yury Khrizman and Ashihmin abused their authority by misusing money allocated for the Cosmodrome construction and caused damage to Russia valued at 5.2 billion rubles.

The construction of the space center, due to become Russia's main launch site, began in 2012. The first launch vehicle operation was carried out on April 28, 2016.