MOSCOW, May 23 (RAPSI) – A court in Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan has sentenced defendants in a criminal case over fire and collapse of the building of Admiral mall in Kazan resulted in the death of 19 people to prison terms ranging from 4.5 to 13 years, according to the Investigative Committee’s press service.

Director of the mall’s tenant Hussein Gakhramanov has received 13 years in prison. His deputies Gyulhussein Nadzhafov and Nikolay Kayekin have been sentenced to 9.5 and 7 years behind bars respectively. CEO of the Investment construction company and AS Management managing company Robert Hayrullin has been given 9.5 years with other several defendants have got prison terms varying from 4.5 to 7 years.

Depending of their roles they have been found guilty of execution of works nonconforming to safety requirements, violation of safety rules, abuse of power, negligence or forgery by an official.

According to case papers, on March 11, 2015, the fire occurred in Kazan’s mall Admiral and the mall’s building collapsed. As a result, 19 people died, 61 sustained injuries. Over 600 individuals were inflicted physical damage.

Investigators claim that the building was unappropriated for its use as a mall. However, it has been exploited without specific permission, with serious violations of fire safety rules for a long time.

In total, 703 persons including those dead were recognized as victims in the case. Over 600 of them filed property damages lawsuits totaling to 11.27 billion rubles (about $175 million), according to investigators.