The evidence gathered by the Investigative Committee of Russia was found by the court to be sufficient to issue a verdict against a number of defendants in the criminal case concerning the tragedy at the Zimnyaya Vishnya shopping and entertainment center in March 2018. As a result of the fire 60 people, including children, died and 147 more people were injured. According to the court decision eight defendants in the criminal case, depending on the degree and role of participation of each, were found guilty of committing crimes under Paragraph 3 of Article 238, Paragraph 3 of Article 219 and Article 293 of the Criminal Code (provision of services that do not meet safety requirements, resulting in death of two or more persons; violation of fire safety, resulting in death of two or more persons by negligence; negligence, resulting in death of two or more persons).

Among them: Nadezhda Suddenok, general director of Zimnyaya Vishnya, Igor Polozinenko, head of the company Systemny Integrator, Alexander Nikitin, employee of the same company - fire system engineer, a cook by training, Sergey Antyushin, employee of a private security company, Sergey Genin, chief of the guard of fire and rescue unit No 2; Technical Director of Kemerovsky Konditersky Kombinat Georgi Sobolev, General Director of the plant Yulia Bogdanova, head of fire-fighting service of the 1st Kemerovo fire department Andrey Bursin.

During the preliminary investigation, a team of more than one hundred investigators reconstructed the events of March 25, 2018 minute by minute, found out the reasons that led to dozens of victims, and gathered evidence to support the versions put forward by the investigation. The main purpose of the investigation was to identify all the persons involved, including those who contributed to the tragic consequences.

More than 450 people were recognized as victims in the criminal case and questioned, of whom 83 were relatives of those who died in the fire. A set of investigative experiments was conducted. In one of them, statists, technicians, expert psychologists, and sonographers were placed in a similar auditorium under similar conditions. Based on this experiment, the necessary expert studies were conducted to assess the level of viewers' perception of evacuation information.

More than 400 forensic, molecular-genetic, fire-technical and other examinations were carried out. Thus, within the framework of the legal examination, normative legal acts related to fire safety issues were investigated. Its conclusion made it possible to determine that legal relations in this area are regulated in detail. On this basis, in conjunction with other evidence, the investigation established specific flaws in the rescue operation by some firefighters, as well as the fact that the leadership of the regional Ministry of Emergency Situations did not conduct checks on compliance with fire safety and operation of the facility with a mass presence of people, and gave their actions a legal assessment.

As a result of a thorough analysis of all the circumstances of the incident, investigators identified the circle of persons whose wrong actions and incompetent decisions led to the death of people. Obviously, when conducting inspections and issuing documents confirming the compliance of the reconstructed building with construction rules and regulations, Gosstroinadzor officials have turned a blind eye to many things.

By the verdict of the Zavodsky district court of Kemerovo Bogdanova, Suddenok and Sobolev were found guilty of committing crimes under Part 3 of Article 238, Part 3 of Article 219 of the Criminal Code. Bogdanova was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in a penal colony of general regime with deprivation of the right to practice certain activities for 2.5 years, Suddenok to 13.5 years imprisonment and 2 years deprivation of the right to practice certain activities, Sobolev - to 11 years imprisonment and deprivation of the right to practice certain activities for 2 years.

Polozinenko and Nikitin were found guilty of committing a crime under Part 3 of Article 219 of the Criminal Code. They were sentenced to 6.5 and 5.5 years in prison, respectively. In addition, Polzinenko was deprived of the right to engage in services for 2 years, and Nikitin was deprived of the right to engage in services for 1.5 years.

Antyushin was found guilty of committing a crime under Part 3 of Article 238 of the Criminal Code and sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment, to be served in a general regime penal colony, and to be deprived of the right to practice certain activities for a period of 2 years.

Genin and Bursin were found guilty of committing a crime under Part 3 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code. They were sentenced to five and six years of imprisonment, respectively. They are both deprived of the right to engage in certain activities for two years.

In addition, earlier the Investigative Committee completed its investigation of other criminal cases related to the tragedy. Thus, the court considers criminal cases against the General Director of OJSC Kemerovsky Konditersky Kombinat Vyacheslav Vishnevsky, accused under Part 5 of Article 291 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation; the head of the inspection of the State Construction Supervision of the Kemerovo region Tanzila Komkova and her son; the deputy head of the inspection of the State Construction Supervision of the Kemerovo region Svetlana Shengerey, accused under Part 5 of Article 291 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and CEO of LLC ISK Resours Nikita Cherednichenko, head of the Main Department of the Emergency Ministry of Russia for Kemerovo region Alexander Mamontov and head of the territorial department of supervision activity and preventive work of the regional EMERCOM Grigory Terentyev. Depending on the role of each of them, they are charged with committing crimes under Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code, Part 3 of Article 285 of the Criminal Code, Paragraph B of Part 4, Article 174.1 of the Criminal Code (bribery, abuse of power, legalization of money or other property obtained by a person as a result of committing a crime).

Having investigated these criminal cases, the Investigative Committee has brought to criminal responsibility all the individuals whose actions or inactions predetermined the tragedy in Zimnaya Vishnya, and are also causally linked to the consequences of this fire.

Official spokesperson for the Investigative Committee of Russia S. Petrenko