Ashot Yeghiazaryan will sit in a Russian prison for seven years

If he returns from the US back. While the former State Duma deputy and criminal businessman was convicted in absentia.
01.06.2018
Kommersant
Origin source
By the age of seven years in a general-regime colony, Moscow's Zamoskvoretsky court sentenced former State Duma deputy Ashot Yeghiazaryan in absentia. He and three of his accomplices, including the brother of an ex-deputy, who have lived abroad for many years, have been found guilty of embezzling the shares of the SEC "Europark" on Rublevskoe Highway worth $ 30 million.

The trial of the fraud case (Part 4, Article 159 of the Criminal Code) against former State Duma deputy Ashot Yeghiazaryan, his brother Artem, the CEO of Centurion Alliance, Maxim Klochin, and the CEO of Konk, Vitaly Gogokhia, began at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow in April last year. He was held in absentia, as all the defendants about ten years ago fled from the investigative authorities, and now three live in the US, and another - in Georgia.
As a result, the maximum term - seven years in a general-regime colony with a fine of 700 thousand rubles - was received by Ashot Yeghiazaryan, his brother was sentenced to six years, and a fine of 600 thousand rubles.

The remaining two were sentenced to four years imprisonment and a fine of 400 thousand rubles. to each. The term of punishment will be calculated from the moment of detention of any of the defendants in Russia or the moment of his extradition.

The court also decided not to remove the arrest from real estate, money, shares of the defendants, the shopping center "Europark" and 100% of the shares of CJSC "Centurion Alliance".

All persons involved in the case were found guilty of the theft of a 20% stake in Zenturion Alliance, which owns one of the largest metropolitan shopping centers Europark (Rublevskoye shosse, 62). Their cost in 2010, when a criminal case was opened, was estimated at $ 30 million. The investigation was initiated by a former business partner of ex-deputy Vitaly Smagin (in 2006 Mr. Smagin owned a 20% stake in ZAO Centurion Alliance , the rest belonged to the structures controlled by Ashot Yeghiazaryan).

As it follows from the testimony of the applicant Smagin, his shares were needed by Mr. Yeghiazaryan for provision as a pledge in Deutsche Bank, where one of the deputy's firms was allegedly prepared to lend $ 100 million for the reconstruction of the Moscow hotel. At the same time Ashot Yeghiazaryan promised that if the project does not take place, then he will give the partner the right to sell 73% of his own shares, the value of which exceeded the loan amount.

However, in 2009, when a scandal broke with the theft of money allocated for the reconstruction of "Moscow", and the German bank demanded to return the loan, Mr. Smagin learned that he did not have the rights to the shares of Ashot Yeghiazaryan, since they did not receive confirmation at Deutsche Bank documentation.

The investigation found that Mr. Smagin was the victim of a fraudulent operation.

Criminal prosecution of Mr. Yeghiazaryan became possible only in October 2010, after the State Duma gave the majority of votes to the Chairman of the Investigative Committee (Investigative Committee at the Prosecutor's Office, now the Investigation Committee) Alexander Bastrykin to bring a case against a colleague from the LDPR faction. A few days later, by the same majority of votes, the parliamentarians approved the proposal of Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika and removed immunity from Mr Yeghiazaryan.

In court, the injured Vitaly Smagin refused to participate in the debate. In addition, he did not support a civil claim, since in November 2014 he already won a dispute with Ashot Yeghiazaryan in the London Arbitration Court. Togo was ordered to pay $ 83 million to the plaintiff.

Recall also that the international wanted Ashot Yeghiazaryan is a figurant of another criminal case: he is accused of embezzling 550 million rubles. the former deputy head of RFFI, Mikhail Ananiev.

Ashot Yeghiazaryan himself did not admit guilt in the crimes he accused, and explained his departure to the US not with the intention of escaping the investigation, but with fears for his life.

Crime

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