A court has recognized the evidence gathered by Yaroslavl Region investigating bodies of the Russia’s Investigative Committee sufficient to convict former judge of the Yaroslavl Region commercial court Ivan Menko. He was found guilty of a crime under paragraph “c” of part 5 of article 290 of the RF Penal Code (bribery on a large scale) and part 6 of article 290 (bribery on a very large scale).
The court and investigators have found that Menko served as a judge in the Yaroslavl Region commercial court since November 2009, and was president of the first judicial assembly since January 2012. In June 2013, the accused received via a middleman a cash bribe of 5 thousand US dollars and a bottle of cognac worth 30 thousand rubles for taking in proceeding a case over declaring bankruptcy of a housing construction cooperative and finishing the case in the shortest possible time. In April 2014, Menko via an intermediary took a bribe of 2 million rubles from a local businessman Konstantin Sonin for refusing plaintiff’s claims made by a local company to Sonin and companies he controlled. In addition, the businessman gave the intermediary 400 thousand rubles as a fee for the job done.
The Yaroslavl Region qualification panel of judges dismissed Ivan Menko from his office on 15 May 2014. On 30 January 2015, the Russian Supreme Qualification Panel of Judges agreed on opening a criminal investigation against Menko. The Investigative Committee ordered the Head of the Yaroslavl Region Investigations Directorate to conduct the preliminary investigation.
The court sentenced Menko to 6.5 years to be served in a maximum-security penal colony and a fine of 4 million 100 thousand rubles.
Yaroslavl Region investigating bodies have almost finished investigating a criminal case against Konstantin Sonin. The businessman was charged with a crime under part 5 of article 291 of the RF Penal Code (giving a bribe to an official via a middleman on a very large scale).
At present the accused is reading the case files. When he is finished the investigators will review requests if there are any. Sonin was released on recognizance.
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