MOSCOW, November 15 (RAPSI) – A court in Russia’s Astrakhan has given a 3-year suspended sentence to a former regional housing and utility sector minister for abuse of office, the Investigative Committee’s press service reports.

The former official has been also banned from holding public and municipal posts for 3 years.

According to investigators, from 2015 to 2017, ex-minister illegal granted funds from the region’s budget as subsidies to the Fund of major repair of the Astrakhan Region’s multidwelling units in violation of the Housing Code of Russia and legislative acts of the region. Regional budget funds worth over 28 million rubles (about $440,000) were illegally used as a result.