A midshipman appointed to a position on a fake diploma will not be punished again

The Supreme Court ruled not to recover from him the difference in salary

The former senior midshipman of the Pacific Fleet will not have to pay the difference between the salary received over several years and the monetary reward, to which he seemed not to have the right. This decision was made by the Supreme Court of Russia.

The story began in December 2013, when Nikolai (his name has been changed), then a senior sailor, submitted documents to the personnel department, on the basis of which he was soon appointed to the position of a radio engineering unit and communications technician of a submarine with the title of midshipman. In 2018, “for special personal merits, achieving high performance in combat training, exemplary service and strengthening military discipline,” he was awarded the title of “senior midshipman.” This is one step above the rank provided by the state for his position. However, without wearing shoulder straps for even six months, Nikolai was fired, and soon brought to trial: during the prosecutor’s check, it turned out that the diploma presented to the staff turned out to be fake. As a result, the sailor was sentenced to a fine of 40 thousand rubles. In addition, the serviceman was deprived of the ranks of “midshipman” and “senior midshipman” were canceled. This gave the military grounds for going to court with a request to recover 300 thousand rubles from Nikolai. – the difference between the official salaries of a senior sailor and midshipman from 2014 to 2019. The military court of first instance did not satisfy the claim: after the award of the ranks, Nikolai performed his duties in full, which means that he deserved this money. However, in the appellate and cassation instances, they came to the conclusion that it was necessary to recover money from the deceiver, since as a result of the unlawful actions of the senior sailor, damage was caused, namely, an overpayment.

The dispute was settled by the Supreme Court. In his ruling, he indicated that, while performing military service under a contract, Nikolai conscientiously performed his duties as a serviceman, participated in combat training activities, and performed tasks associated with a risk to life and health. For this command, he was repeatedly encouraged by both the payment of monthly allowances and the assignment of the title of “senior midshipman”. “In this regard, the fact that the defendant caused material damage to the state has not been established,” the court ruling says. And for a fake diploma, the sailor has already been punished.