MOSCOW, November 22 (RAPSI, Kirill Ryabchikov) – The Moscow City Court on Thursday upheld sentence for ex-chief of Moscow Probation Department at the Federal Penitentiary Service Yevgeny Verbetsky and his former deputy Roman Klimenko, who had been convicted of taking bribes, RAPSI reports from the courtroom.

The court therefore dismissed appeals filed by the defendants, who had been earlier sentenced to 5 years in high-security colony each and deprived of military ranks.

According to investigators, Verbetsky and Klimenko have conspired to receive a bribe from their colleague promising him patronage and comprehensive help with his career. They were arrested on November 1, 2016, when receiving money in Moscow. Verbetsky pleaded guilty.