MOSCOW, February 9 (RAPSI) – Moscow’s Babushkinsky District Court found ex-deputy chief of the Federal Agency for Special Construction (Spetsstroy) Alexander Mordovets guilty of bribery and abuse of office during the construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome and sentenced him to 13.5 year in high-security prison, RAPSI learnt in the Invesstigative Committee’s press service on Tuesday. 

Additionally, he was fined over 97 million rubles ($1.3 million), banned from holding state service posts for 6 years and deprived of his retired Colonel rank.

One more defendant, ex-CEO of Stroymonolit-14 company Oleg Shchurov received 13 years in prison and a fine of more than 97 million rubles.

The both persons were also ordered to compensate the Chief Military Construction Directorate N6 with more than 120 million rubles ($1.6 million).

According to the investigation, between January 2014 and 2017, Mordovets received more than 32 million rubles from one of the construction companies. However, the construction organization failed to work out prepaid expenses and was declared bankrupt that caused damage worth over 120 million rubles  to the state.

The construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome, due to become Russia's main launch site, began in 2012. The first launch vehicle operation was carried out on April 28, 2016. Dozens of cases over embezzlement during the space center’s construction have been launched in several Russian regions.