MOSCOW, October 26 (RAPSI) – The Moscow City Court will consider appeals against the sentence of former head of Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) Alexander Reimer and his accomplices, found guilty of embezzling funds allocated for procurement of ankle bracelets, RAPSI correspondent reports from the courtroom on Thursday.

On June 14, the Zamoskvorestsky District Court of Moscow sentenced Reimer to 8 years in a penal colony, fined him 800,000 rubles (about $14,000), and stripped of his General rank.

Reimer’s former deputy Nikolay Krivolapov, and ex-director of FSIN’s Information and Technical Support Center Viktor Opredelyonov, received 5 years and 8 months, and 6 years in prison respectively. Krivolapov was fined 600,000 rubles ($10,500) while Opredelyonov got a 700,000-ruble fine ($12,300).

Lawyers of the defendants asked to repeal the sentences or to soften them. A lawyer representing Reimer said that the Zamoskvorestsky District Court issued a ruling with numerous violations and that it did not study some of the case documents.

According to investigators, Reimer, Krivolapov and Opredelyonov conspired with businessman Nikolay Martynov to embezzle monetary funds from the Russian state budget.

Between 2010 and 2012, Reimer and his accomplices stole money allocated for the purchase of ankle bracelets for persons placed under house arrest. The procurement was pursued at an enormously overvalued price. Damage allegedly caused to the state budget was estimated at no less than 2.7 billion rubles ($47.3 million at the current exchange rate).

The defendants have been charged, depending of their role, with abuse of office and embezzlement committed through abuse of office. Krivolapov was additionally charged with illegal possession of ammunition. They pleaded not guilty.

A case against Martynov was reviewed separately as he fully admitted his guilt in large-scale embezzlement. The businessman cooperated with investigators and announced that he is going to compensate the government with delivery of 7,000 new ankle bracelets. Martynov is a head of “NPF Meta” company that was supplying bracelets for prison inmates.