The Moscow Region Main Investigations Directorate of the Russia’s Investigative Committee has finished investigating a criminal case against Anna Shcherba, former head of Istra District. She is charged with a crime under part 2 of article 286 of the RF Penal Code (exceeding authority).
According to investigators, in 2008, Shcherba illegally signed resolutions under which 4 pieces of land with a total area of over 88 thousand square meters in the east of the town of Istra in the Moscow Region were withdrawn from federal ownership to municipal one. Shcherba realized that the said properties were settlement lands in constant (unlimited) use by EH Bolshevik of the Russian Agricultural Academy and she had no legal right to dispose of them. After that the official organized sale of all the said properties. They went sold at the understate price or 560 thousand rubles though their market value was over 6.5 million rubles. Despite the fact that in 2009 an official of Istra District administration reported to Shcherba in written form that it was necessary to cancel those illegal resolutions, she did not do that.
Besides, in February 2012, the head of Istra District acting in the interests of OOO Tri Kita provided in private ownership a piece of land in the second sanitary belt of the main source of drinking water for the city of Moscow – the Istra river. However, the official was aware that under the law she had not right to make the property private ownership as it was limited in circulation. Since the property was let into private ownership under article 36 of the Land Code of the Russian Federation, its price was determined as equal to a tenfold rate of land tax for a unit of area, which is over 5.5 million rubles, with the cadaster cost of the property for the moment of transaction over 79 million rubles. The said actions of the head of Istra District entailed considerable violation of protected interests of society and state in the form of illegal removal of the land with cadaster value of over 79 million rubles from state ownership.
At present the investigators have enough evidence, so the criminal case with the approved indictment will soon be sent to court to be tried on the merits.
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