The Moscow City Court found Vadim Belousov, a deputy of the Just Russia – Patriots – For Truth party, guilty of taking bribes of more than 3 billion rubles. and sentenced him to ten years in prison.
Belousov was also fined 500 million rubles. and the medal “For Services to the Fatherland” was taken away from him. In addition, he will not be able to hold organizational and administrative duties for three years.
“To recognize Belousov guilty of committing a crime in accordance with Part 6 of Art. 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (taking a bribe on a particularly large scale by an organized group). Give the accused ten years in prison to serve in a strict regime colony. Also, give him an additional penalty in the form of a fine of 500 million rubles,” he said.
Margarita Butakova, the mother-in-law of the original person involved and the former chief accountant of Chelyabinsk First Bakery, received 5 years probation with a fine of 500 million rubles for four years. The court took into account the age of the woman (80 years old), the presence of many chronic diseases and her mental state.
The court also decided to recover the amount of bribes from Belousov and Butakova – 3.25 billion rubles.
Belousov must serve his sentence in a strict regime colony. The judge wanted Belousov to be detained in the hall where the meeting was held, but they could not do this for an obvious reason: the parliamentarian did not appear there. His lawyer explained the defendant’s absence with “employment and pre-scheduled study meetings.”
Earlier, a written commitment not to leave Belousov was received from him, in the spring of 2019 the court in Yekaterinburg found no reason to arrest the politician.
The defense has already said it will try to appeal the decision. The state prosecutor’s office also expressed satisfaction with the sentence.
“Today the Moscow City Court completed the announcement of the verdict against Belousov and Butakova. The court correctly described the actions of the defendants, and also assigned conditions to them. We agree with their convictions, ”the prosecutor Yekaterina Frolova concluded.
Is it legal to prosecute an MP?
After announcing the verdict, the judge emphasized that the attorney could be placed on the wanted list if there are grounds: “If it is found that Belousov escaped punishment for a truly disrespectful reason, the bailiffs will put him on the wanted list. ”
According to the judge, permission from the State Duma is not required to detain Belousov. The deputy’s lawyer, Lyudmila Aivar, on the contrary, argues that the arrest is possible only after consideration of the issue by the State Duma.
“According to Russian legislation, it must be recognized that article 450 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation and article 107 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, which is connected with it, is not unconstitutional. Since the Russian Federation, in constitutional and legal terms, is in normative unity with article 108 of this Law, they imply the application of a preventive measure in the form of house arrest by the court to members of the Federation Council and deputies of the State Duma. By decision and consent of the Federation Council or the State Duma, respectively, ”Aivar said.
The head of the right-wing Russians group, Sergei Mironov, stressed that Belousov’s case was brought to court without the consent of the State Duma. “Yes, Belousov’s immunity was lifted at the end of 2018. However, the case was brought to court without the consent of the State Duma. And this is a direct violation of the federal law “On the status of a senator of the Russian Federation and the status of a deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation”. According to article 5 of this law “Let me remind you that a criminal case cannot be brought to court without the consent of the relevant chamber of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, according to the Russian Federation. Here this was not done.” TASS.
According to Mironov, law enforcement officials “treated this case unfairly” and the criminal procedure violations committed “raise doubts as to the validity of the charges against Belousov.”
“Belousov became a deputy of the State Duma of the VIII convocation in 2021. This means the mandatory submission of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation to the State Duma on the deprivation of parliamentary immunity of Belousov and the corresponding consent of the Duma. This has not been done,” he added.
bribery case
Belousov is a former co-owner and member of the board of directors of JSC Makfa (in the 1990s and early 2000s, the future governor of the Chelyabinsk region Mikhail Yurevich headed the board of directors), and a former partner – the owner of JSC Makfa, which is part of the holding and chairman of the board.First bakery.
As follows from the case file, from May 2010 to January 2014, Belousov, together with Yurevich, received more than 3.2 billion rubles from representatives of the road construction holding for patronage and ensuring the absence of competition.
In Chelyabinsk, Belousov’s mother-in-law took the money, and in Moscow the cash was put in a safe. About 10 million rubles were transferred monthly, for several years Belousov finally received 3.25 billion rubles as a bribe.
In September 2016, Belousov was elected to the State Duma of the 7th convocation as part of the list of candidates for A Just Russia.
In 2018, parliamentary immunity was lifted, and the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation was allowed to be brought to criminal responsibility. Despite the court case, in September 2021, Belousov was again elected to the State Duma of the Russian Federation on the Just Russia – For Truth party list.