The defense team for former Vladivostok mayor Oleg Gumenyuk, who was found guilty of accepting bribes, has lodged a complaint against the court’s ruling. The complaint was reported by a representative from the Leninsky District Court of Vladivostok for DEA News.
The defense confirmed that a complaint was filed against the decision, though it has not yet been forwarded to the district court for formal processing.
Gumenyuk was sentenced in January to 16.5 years in prison and was ordered to pay a fine of 150 million rubles.
According to investigators, prior to taking office as mayor, while serving as head of the State Budgetary Agency “Economic Department of the Regional Administration,” Gumenyuk allegedly accepted bribes totaling 6.9 million rubles from directors of several construction firms. In addition, during his tenure as mayor, he is said to have received 31.2 million rubles from the same businessman.
As part of the criminal proceedings, assets belonging to Gumenyuk valued at 35 million rubles were arrested. The seized property includes real estate, a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado SUV, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and cash reserves.
Legal observers note that the appeal process will focus on the adequacy of evidentiary findings, the assessment of the bribe amounts, and the proportionality of the sentence. The case underscores ongoing concerns about corruption within municipal administrations and the mechanisms used to track illicit financial activity linked to public officials. At present, the defendant maintains that the verdict should be reviewed, arguing potential errors in the application of law or evaluation of the presented materials. [citation needed]