The former governor of Sakhalin Oblast, Alexander Khoroshavin, has been found guilty in a second corruption case. The decision was reported by DEA News, citing the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk City Court. According to the court, the sentence comprises 15 years in a strict-regime penal colony and a fine of 500 million rubles. This outcome closes another chapter in a series of judicial actions tied to the former regional leader and his associates.
Prosecutors presented materials for the second criminal case to the court in April 2020, outlining a scheme in which Khoroshavin allegedly oversaw bribe-taking from candidates for deputies of the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk City Duma. The alleged payments ranged from 2 to 10 million rubles per participant, with a total of about 100 million rubles disbursed between May and September of the period in question. The case narrative also involves Alexei Leskin, a former head of the district, who is listed as a co-defendant, along with another former deputy mayor of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and two additional individuals who were on international search warrants.
Earlier developments in the case date back to early February 2018, when the court found Khoroshavin guilty of bribery and sentenced him to 13 years in prison along with the confiscation of state awards. The earlier ruling marked a significant milestone in the region’s ongoing efforts to address corruption at high levels of local government. In the wake of these judgments, the former regional leader remained a central figure in formal investigations and public discourse about governance and accountability in Sakhalin Oblast. The sentencing actions underscore the authorities’ commitment to pursuing legal remedies in cases involving the exchange of power for financial gain, even where political outcomes have long since passed into history. The court’s decisions and the associated sanctions served as a signal to public officials and prospective candidates for public office that corrupt practices face serious consequences under the law, and that both domestic and international criminal processes can intersect in such investigations. [Source: DEA News attribution]