The prosecutor's office achieved a real sentence for the ex-head of the Emelyanovsky forestry

In the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the prosecutor's office succeeded in getting the court to replace the former head of the Emelyanovsky forestry with a real one.

The supervisory agency recalled that in April 2022, the official was approached by an entrepreneur who wanted to create the appearance of legal logging: through local residents, draw up fictitious contracts for the purchase of forests, and then independently harvest the wood and sell it. The head of the forestry agreed to help.

“The payment for this was not long in coming. For assistance in concluding contracts and ensuring the allotment of forest plots, he received a gasoline generator worth 40 thousand rubles and garden furniture – a table and two benches worth 40 thousand rubles, and also previously – timber worth about 90 thousand rubles. All this became the subject of a bribe, disguised as economic needs and “help” to the institution,” the press service said.

Six months later, the head of the forestry deprived another entrepreneur of the right to conclude a purchase and sale agreement for forest plantations. He demanded to pay 200 thousand rubles for the allotment and allocation of a forest plot.

A criminal case was opened against the official for fraud, taking a bribe and exceeding official powers (Part 3 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Part 3 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and Part 1 of Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). However, the court chose too lenient a punishment: 4 years of suspended imprisonment and another 3 years of a ban on activities related to forestry and logging. Additionally, he had to pay a fine of 600 thousand rubles.

“The prosecutor’s office did not agree with this outcome. In the appeal submission, the prosecutor pointed out the injustice of the imposed punishment, its lenity and the court's unfounded conclusion about the possibility of reforming the convicted person without real isolation from society. Separately, the exceptionally high public danger of the crimes committed, the undermining of trust in forestry authorities and the formation of an idea among citizens about the permissibility of bribing officials to resolve their issues were noted,” the prosecutor’s office explained.

The higher court supported this position and changed the sentence. The suspended sentence was replaced by real imprisonment for a period of 4 years, to be served in a general regime correctional colony. The convict was taken into custody in the courtroom, and the bribe items – timber, garden furniture and a gasoline generator – were confiscated to the state as property obtained by crime.