MOSCOW, July 12 (RAPSI) – The Leninsky District Court of Russia’s Vladivostok has sentenced the former city’s mayor Igor Pushkarev to 5 years of imprisonment for abuse of office, the Primorsky Krai prosecutor’s office reports.

The former official has been also banned from holding public authority positions in state and municipal bodies for 2 years. 

According to the investigation, from 2009 to 2017, Pushkarev ignoring anti-corruption legislative bans and restrictions transferred his share in a commercial firm’s authorized capital to his close relatives. Moreover, he also used his job position to restrict operation of several passenger shipping companies. As a result of his actions, two municipal transport enterprises received a renewed bus fleet and illegally took the passenger traffic market dominance.

During the probe, the defendant pleaded guilty and compensated material damage to the Vladivostok City District estimated at more than 33 million rubles (about $540,000).

In April 2019, Moscow’s Tverskoy District Court sentenced Pushkarev to 15 years in high security prison for commercial bribery, abuse of office and taking bribes on a large scale. Additionally, he was fined 500 million rubles ($8 million). The court also prohibited him from holding public posts for 10 years.

Moreover, the court collected 143 million rubles  in favor “Roads of Vladivostok” granting the company’s suit.

The court also sentenced Andrey Lushnikov, head of “Roads of Vladivostok”, to 10 years behind bars. Pushkarev’s brother Andrey Pushkarev, head of “Vostokcement” group, received an 8-year suspended term. They also were fined 500 million rubles each.

Prosecutors earlier asked the court to give Pushkarev 17 years in high security prison with a 500-million-ruble fine. The court was also asked to sentence Pushkerev’s brother and Lushnikov to 8 and 14 years respectively.