MOSCOW, February 18 (RAPSI) – The Zavodskoy District Court of Kemerovo is to examine a case over bribery during reconstruction of Zimnyaya Vishnya (Winter Cherry) shopping mall’s building, that became a site of deadly fire killing 60 people in March 2018, the press service of Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office informs on Tuesday.

The defendant in the case are Nikita Cherednichenko, CEO of ISK Resource company, the regional construction inspection’s chief Tanzilia Komkova, her son Eduard Komkov, and the head of a department of the said regional construction inspection Svetlana Shengerei.

According to investigators, in 2013-2014, head manager of Kemerovo confectionery factory Vyacheslav Vishnevsky through the mediation of Viktor Yefimkin gave a 7-million-ruble bribe (about $110,500 at the present exchange rate) to Komkova, her son Eduard and Cherednichenko. The bribe was allegedly designated for help in favor of Vishnevsky.  Komkova, her son and Cherednichenko have been put in detention.

In total, there are 15 defendants in the case over the deadly fire. Depending on their alleged role, they are charged with negligent homicide, fire safety breach resulted in multiple deaths, provision of substandard services and negligence.