The Russians have jailed the former head of Crimea's judicial department

Photo: Screenshot from a video of the court hearing

In Russia, sentences have been handed down to those involved in a corruption case within the judicial system of occupied Crimea. Among those convicted are Kerim Akuev, the former head of the Russian Judicial Department on the peninsula, and his former subordinates.

According to "Krym.Realii," the decision was handed down by the Temryuk District Court of the Krasnodar Krai in Russia.

What were the officials charged with?

According to the Russian investigation, one of the schemes involved the renovation of the Sevastopol Garrison Military Court building.

In 2019, a contract worth 9 million rubles was signed for roof repairs. However, the contractor actually performed work worth only 3.6 million rubles. Despite this, the company was paid the full contract amount. The budget losses were estimated at 5.4 million rubles.

Another incident involved a bribe of 2 million rubles.

According to the court, in 2021, the money was allegedly transferred to a representative of the Russian-controlled Supreme Court of Crimea to overturn a decision by the Yalta City Court in a civil case. The investigation identified Kerim Akuev as the intermediary in the transfer of funds.

New Contracts in Exchange for Bribes

The case also involves the renovation of the Krasnoperekopsk District Court building.

The investigation claims that in late 2021 and early 2022, Kerim Akuev, through his subordinate Andrey Sedegov, received 3.7 million rubles from a representative of a construction company for facilitating the conclusion of a state contract worth 24.4 million rubles.

In addition, according to the prosecution, the parties agreed on further cooperation. The size of the bribes was to amount to 15% of the value of future contracts.

Separately, the investigation mentions another case in which Andrey Sedegov allegedly received over 700,000 rubles for helping to secure a contract to renovate the premises of the Russian-controlled Supreme Court of Crimea.

What sentences did the court hand down?

The harshest punishment was handed down to the former head of the judicial department, Kerim Akuev.

The court sentenced him to:

14 years of imprisonment;
a fine of 40 million rubles;
a ban on holding public office for 11 years.

The other defendants in the case received the following sentences:

Tagir Ramazanov —7 years in a maximum-security prison;
Andrey Sedegov – 9 years in a penal colony, a fine of 39 million rubles, and a ban on holding public office for 8 years;
Oleg Sergienko – 9 years in a penal colony and a fine of 37.8 million rubles;
Alexei Goloshchapov – 8 years in a penal colony and a fine of 7.27 million rubles.

The verdict has not yet become final. No comments from the defendants or their representatives are publicly available.

Андрій Колісніченко

Krim corruption court