Former officials of the Ministry of Culture received a term for the restoration of Solovki and were released

They have already served their sentences in pre-trial detention.

The petty-bourgeois court of the capital issued a verdict on officials of the Ministry of Culture and businessmen accused of embezzling funds allocated for the repair of the Solovetsky Monastery. However, none of them will go to jail.

A large amount was allocated for the restoration of the buildings of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Solovetsky Monastery, which is under the protection of UNESCO. However, in the fall of 2019, the Investigative Committee established the fact of embezzlement of money from five government contracts concluded between 2012 and 2016.

The defendants in the case were the head of the Department of State Protection of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture Vladimir Tsvetnov, his deputy Pavel Mosolov, businessmen Sergei Semikov and Tatiana Magdeeva. According to investigators, Tsvetnov, together with other defendants in the case, laundered budget money through unreasonably expensive historical and cultural expertise, proving that the buildings in the Solovetsky Monastery needed restoration (although many buildings did not need reconstruction). They cashed out capital with the help of Tatiana Magdeeva through shell companies. Under the guise of fake expertise, former representatives of the Ministry of Culture and businessmen deceived the state for 19 million rubles.

All were immediately arrested. Vladimir Tsvetnov and Sergei Semikov spent 2.5 years in the SIZO while the investigation was underway, while Pavel Mosolov and Tatiana Magdeeva spent three months. After – all were transferred under house arrest. While in the detention center, Tsvetnov and Semikov re-read the entire library, including non-fiction.

Before the trial, Vladimir Tsvetnov commented to MK: “We are accused of allegedly carrying out restoration work, but the functions of our department were not included in this. to the federal) historical and cultural significance of the object. And we have nothing to do with the restoration work. I do not admit guilt.”

All the defendants came to the court accompanied by their close relatives and with bags, thinking that they would receive a real sentence today. However, the gloomy forecast did not come true. Vladimir Tsvetnov received 4 years in prison and a fine of one million rubles, his deputy Mosolov – 2 years in prison and a fine of 700 thousand rubles, businessman Sergei Semikov – 3 years 10 months in prison and a fine of 600 thousand rubles, Tatyana Magdeeva – 2 years in prison freedom and a fine of 500 thousand rubles. But the court took into account the time the defendants were in the pre-trial detention center and under house arrest. As a result, all the convicts were released, as they had already served their sentences.

However, Vladimir Tsvetnov nevertheless announced his intention to file an appeal, since he does not agree with the very fact of bringing him to criminal responsibility.