Corruption-related cases in Russian courts up by 50 per cent in 2012

(Interfax – Dec. 9) Criminal cases on more than 16,500 corruption-related crimes by Russian officials were passed on to courts in the first nine months of 2012.

“The number of corruption-related crimes committed by officials in the criminal cases passed on to courts is 16,603 (compared with 11,137 in 2011),” official spokesman for the Russian Investigations Committee (RIC) Vladimir Markin told Interfax on Sunday (9 December).

“Damage inflicted (as a result of corruption-related crime – Interfax) totalled R7.9bn (over 250m dollars), and R1.3bn has been repaid. Assets worth R1.2bn have been sequestrated,” he said.

In January-September, “4,365 criminal cases involving corrupt practices were sent to courts. These included 22 criminal cases against organized groups (against 29 in 2011) and four against criminal communities (criminal organizations) which committed corruption-related crimes (against one in 2011),” Markin said.

The RIC spokesman stressed that people who enjoyed a special legal status were among those prosecuted for corrupt practices. These included 13 deputies of legislative (representative) bodies of constituent parts of the Russian Federation (10 in 2011), 210 deputies of elected bodies of local government (200), 261 elected officials of local government bodies (head of municipal entities) (208), two judges (four), 19 members of election commissions (12), 19 prosecutors, deputy and assistant prosecutors (16), 31 RIC employees (nine), 56 heads, deputy heads and investigators of preliminary investigation bodies within the Russian Interior Ministry system (59), seven investigators of investigation bodies of the Federal Drug Control Service (eight) 39 defence lawyers (49).

Altogether, 33,595 reports of corrupt practices were received by RIC’s investigations bodies in the (first) nine months of 2012 (compared with 26,649 in the same period last year – an increase of 21 per cent); in 16,654 cases, it was decided to institute criminal proceedings (compared with 10,061 in 2001, or 42.4 per cent (as received)).

Markin stressed that “many criminal cases that are being investigated involve high-ranking officials”. Thus, according to him, “investigation has been completed in the criminal proceedings against former Tula Region governor Vyacheslav Dudka, who faces charges of receiving a multimillion bribe. The Penza Region court has sentenced the region’s former vice-premier Marat Faizov, who received over R30m in bribes from a businessman for help in concluding contracts with an agroindustrial firm. A Vologda court is hearing the criminal case in which former first deputy governor if Vologda Region Valentin Gorobtsov and his deputy, head of the housing and communal services directorate in the regional administration Viktor Kudryashov, face charges of abuse of office because of transgressions in concluding a state contract for the purchase of 37 flats in two blocks under construction in the town of Velikiy Ustyug for over R35m.”