MOSCOW, October 20 (RAPSI) – A court in Novosibirsk on Friday gave ex-governor of the region Vasily Yurchenko a 3-year suspended sentence for abuse of office, the Investigative Committee’s press service reported.

Yurchenko also received a 3-year probation period after the sentence is served, and was prohibited from holding public position for this period.

The ruling has not taken effect yet and may be appealed.

According to prosecutors, Yurchenko abused his power and restricted rights of persons and companies to participate in an auction over real estate in the center of Novosibirsk causing damage to property of GazTransCom, at the time owned by the region.

In March 2014, Yurchenko lost his office due to loss of trust. Later, a negligence case was launched against the former governor, retracted by a prosecutor afterwards, and in May investigators launched a case over abuse of office.