MOSCOW, February 7 (RAPSI) – Moscow’s Nikulinsky District Court on Friday fined Anastasia Pestrikova, the partner wife of a former Russian anti-corruption official Dmitry Zakharchenko convicted of graft, 150,000 rubles for evidence tampering, RAPSI reports from the courtroom.

However, the court released the woman from punishment due to expiration of limitation period.

A case has been opened against Pestrikova over her attempt to return about $16.5 million deposited on bank accounts of Pestrikova’s acquaintance Lilia Gorshkova. According to investigators, the accused Colonel gave illegally received funds to Pestrikova, who deposited the money in account opened by Gorshkova.

According to the court ruling, to return the money Pestrikova turned to an arbitration court using forged evidence including a fictious contract of debt. When arbitration proceedings were completed, she applied to a court in the Moscow Region to receive an order of enforcement, using a cession for changing a beneficiary from herself to a commercial organization.

Earlier, judicial authorities seized the funds. In December 2017, the funds were forfeited to the state.

Ex-Russian anti-corruption official Zakharchenko was arrested on September 8, 2016. During searches at his sister’s apartment law enforcement officers found around 9 billion rubles ($140 million). He denied any relation to the seized funds.

In June, Moscow’s Presnensky District Court sentenced Zakharchenko to 13 years in high-security prison for 3-million-ruble corruption crimes and obstruction of the investigation. Additionally, the defendant was ordered to pay a 117-million-ruble fine ($1.8 million), stripped of his police colonel rank and prohibited from holding law enforcement posts for 2 years.

However, the court acquitted him of a $500,000 bribery count.

The defendant pleaded not guilty.