MOSCOW, February 4 (RAPSI) – Ex-head of the Moscow Region’s Serpukhov District Alexander Shestun has filed an appeal against his 15-year prison sentence for fraud, bribery, money laundering and illegal business running, according to information on the Moscow Regional Court’s website.

The appeal is set for February 18.

A court in the town of Podolsk near Moscow convicted and sentenced Shestun to 15 years in high-security prison. In addition to the prison term, he was fined 49 million rubles and prohibited from holding administrative posts for 8 years. 

Other defendants Boris Krivodubsky and Sergey Samsonov are on the international wanted list.

Earlier, a prosecutor demanded a 20-year penal colony sentence for Shestun, a 50 million-ruble fine (over $650,000) and recovery of 64 million rubles (over $840,000) from him.

According to investigators, acting as a head of the Moscow Region’s Serpukhov District, from 2003 to 2018, Shestun created 43 commercial organizations through his trustees and ran them. Profits he used for purchasing municipal land plots at bargain prices.

Moreover, between 2008 and 2011, Shestun along with his business partners Boris Krivodubsky and Sergey Samsonov illegally acquired title to four land plots with an area of 10 hectares through affiliated firms and therefore caused damage worth over 64.5 million rubles to the budget. In total, the accomplices sold illegally acquired plots for 160 million rubles. Initially, they bought the land for 628, 000 rubles, the case papers read.

One more charge count is related to a bribe worth 9.9 million rubles Shestun allegedly received from an employee of a district administration for the common protection. He pleads not guilty.