Former governor of Tula region sentenced to 9,5 years jail for bribery

The Sovetsky court in Tula has sentenced former governor of the Tula Region Vyacheslav Dudka to 9.5 years in a tough security penitentiary with a fine of 900,000 roubles for taking a big bribe. After the sentence is served, he will be banned to hold the public posts for next three years. Meanwhile, Dudka is stripped of the titles of honorary resident of the city Tula and honorary resident of the city Novomoskovsk and the Novomoskovsky district. Under the guilty verdict Dudka was taken in custody in the courtroom.  Vyacheslav Dudka earlier said that he is set to appeal the verdict. "When ‘a demonstrative term in prison’ is passed, our justice does not need any evidence, it is just enough to have one liar" Dudka’s lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov told Itar-Tass. The Sovetsky District Court of Tula found guilty former governor of the Tula Region Vyacheslav Dudka and former director of the regional department of proprietary and land relations Viktor Volkov in the criminal case of taking a bribe of 40 million roubles on Monday. Judge Igor Alifanov noted that the guilt of the defendants “was proved” in the trial. Viktor Volkov has been sentenced to 2.5 years behind bars on Monday. Criminal proceedings against Dudka were opened under Article 290, Part 4 of Russia's Criminal Code (taking a large bribe by a group of persons in collusion or organized group). It envisions a penalty of 7 to 12 years in jail, with a possible fine of up to one million roubles. The investigators said Dudka, together with the regional land and property department chief Viktor Volkov, passed a 2.5-hectare land plot to the GRINN corporation for the construction of a supermarket. The intermediary in taking the bribe from managing director of the GRINN Corporation private company Dmitry Dobrynin was Tula Parks state company director Andrei Stepanov. Dudka, a former troubleshooter at the site of the Chernobyl nuclear accident and a participant in designing and testing military equipment, was Tula region governor from April 29, 2005, through July 29, 2011. He replaced his predecessor Vasily Starodubtsev. On August 29, 2011, Dudka was expelled from the United Russia Party for "actions discrediting the Party and damaging its political interests," after he demanded compensation for his voluntary resignation.