Russia jails ex-Defence Ministry colonel for 11 years in bribery case

The Moscow Garrison Military Court has found the former head of the Research Center for Topogeodetic and Navigation Support of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Colonel Igor Rutko, guilty of receiving bribes totalling 30.2 million rubles ($394,600) and of exceeding official authority as part of a group acting for personal gain.

“The court sentences Igor Rutko to 11 years in a strict-regime penal colony and imposes a fine of 20 million rubles,” the judge stated, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

The jufge added: "He is stripped of his military rank of colonel and the state award ‘For Merit to the Fatherland’ II degree, barred from holding government positions for eight years, and the amount of the bribe is to be confiscated."

According to the investigation, in 2014, Rutko issued an order to form a special team of institute employees to ensure the timely updating of electronic topographic maps and their delivery to India. The team included senior researcher Igor Bobrov, appointed as assistant to the head, and former chief researcher Evgeny Dolgov, who led the group.

The investigation claims that Bobrov devised a plan to commit corrupt acts and proposed to Rutko and Dolgov the creation of an organised criminal group. He selected employees willing to receive bribes, stimulating bonuses, and annual rewards for the leadership’s protection, while Dolgov signed documents approving the payments in coordination with Rutko. The size of the bribes depended on the amount of the monthly bonus.

By Khagan Isayev