The previous deputy mayor of Voronezh was given eight years in a strict prison colony
The court sentenced Alexei Antilikatorov, who used to be the youngest deputy mayor of Voronezh and worked in the government from 2014 to 2019, to a strict regime colony. He was guilty of taking a bribe of 1.5 million rubles to keep two fairs that were organized with rule violations.
The defense believes the punishment is too severe and plans to appeal. Larisa Morkhova, the judge of the Central District Court of Voronezh, sentenced 32-year-old Alexei Antilikatorov to eight years in a strict regime colony for taking a large bribe. He was also fined 1.5 million rubles and banned from holding public positions for eight years. The court also confiscated 2.9 million rubles seized from the ex-official during searches. Some of this money will be used to pay the fine, and the rest will be confiscated as a bribe.
The former official was taken into custody in the courtroom after a three-hour verdict was announced.
“I’m about to be torn to hell, let me go to the toilet,”— said the defendant to journalists who asked for a comment on the verdict.
When leaving the courtroom with an escort, Aleksey Antilikatorov did not return to the lawyers, his wife and journalists who were waiting for him. The bailiffs only brought back his phone and watch.
The regional department of the Investigative Committee of Russia launched a criminal case against the former deputy mayor in March 2020, based on materials from the FSB. According to the investigation and the court, in 2018, Alexei Antilikatorov received 1.5 million rubles from businessman Shamil Bitokov through First Vice Mayor Sergei Kurilo. The money was for preserving the fairs on Patriot Avenue, which were at risk of being demolished.
In Shamil Bitokov’s statement to the regional investigation department, he asked for Sergey Kurilo to be held accountable, as it was Kurilo who provided the 1.5 million rubles. The money was intended not only for Antilikatorov, but also for his successor as deputy mayor, Lyudmila Borodina. At the time of the alleged crime, Borodina was the head of the enterprise development department. She is known as the niece of the former regional prosecutor, who is now the Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, Nikolai Shishkin.
As explained by Shamil Bitokov, Sergei Kurilo claimed that the entire 1.5 million rubles were needed for Antilikatorov, without mentioning Borodina. “Kurilo wrote the required amount to me on paper in his office in the administration,” said businessman Bitokov. “He explained to me that the agreement would be on the terms of the city in order to preserve the honor of the uniform due to the fact that we went to court. The lawyer told me that the agreement was unfavorable for the fair and that if the mayor’s office objects, we have nowhere to go. I called Kurilo, he said: “You sign, we know.”
After the businessman gave the official money, a settlement agreement was reached, but the administration still did not agree on a new layout of the fairs. Currently, Bitokov’s facilities worth 35 million rubles are being taken apart. Before writing a statement to the investigative committee, Bitokov asked Kurilo to return the money.
Additionally, the defendant explained why he helped Kurilo. First, he wanted to assist a colleague with whom he had a good working relationship, and second, to comply with the administration’s unofficial policy of peacefully resolving issues with entrepreneurs.
Another former vice-mayor emphasized that his aim was to deceive Kurilo and the businessman: supposedly, he could not influence the decision on the fair. Antilikatorov assured the judge that he could not change the map-scheme of the fair, for which the merchant paid him, as this matter is decided by the interdepartmental commission under the regional government with the participation of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the police and other departments.
Furthermore, according to the defendant, the businessman’s idea to change the map-scheme of the fair with an increase in the number of trading places was destined to fail from the beginning. The approved 2016 scheme did not meet fire requirements according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and the territory is located on heat and water supply networks, which is unacceptable. These factors, according to the former official, made his hypothetical efforts to resolve the issue pointless.
Kurilo left City Hall on June 1, 2018. He was deputy chairman of the project management committee under the mayor of the city. Deputies of the Voronezh City Duma approved Sergei Kurilo for office in 2013, and he started his career in the administration in 2002.
Sergei Kurilo
Last year, the fairs were still dismantled due to non-fulfillment of the contract terms with the authorities. Sergei Kurilo was released from criminal liability. During the investigation, Aleksey Antilikatorov spent a year under house arrest, which was counted as part of the sentence. Immediately after the arrest, Aleksey Antilikatorov partially admitted his guilt.
Both during the investigation and at the beginning of the trial, he claimed that he had received only 750 thousand rubles from his colleague.
Based on Antilikatorov's final version, as expressed on February 4, “in the early spring of 2018, Kurilo, with my consent, took 1.5 million rubles from the entrepreneur for resolving the issue of concluding settlement agreements with fairs controlled by the businessman. Kurilo, as an intermediary, received 750 thousand from my knowledge and in the city administration building he handed over to me 750 thousand, which were intended for me.
So, Alexei Antilikatorov changed his story again. Specifically on December 18, he stated in the Central District Court that he received the money from Sergey Kurilo not at the city hall, but at the house on Dachny Poselok Street in Voronezh in early June 2018, and not in April, as stated in the indictment.
But most importantly, Antilikatorov presented a video that he allegedly made for his wife visiting Kurilo after getting the money. In a short video, the defendant shows the situation at his colleague’s house, introducing himself as an employee of the Navalny Foundation, recognized as an extremist organization in the Russian Federation, and says, “We are against corruption! Sergey Grigoryevich, tell me, please, how did you earn money for the salary of the first vice-mayor (at home. – ed.)”. “Pizdit, and everything is fine!” – is heard in response.
And it's worth noting that the sources of Four Feathers in law enforcement agencies at the very beginning of the criminal prosecution of Antilikatorov in March 2020 claimed that the transfer of money was carried out in the city hall building on Plekhanovskaya.
The former official believed that his actions should be categorized as fraud. He claimed that he deceived the entrepreneur, promising him to influence the decision to preserve the fairs, although he could not do this.
In the debate, Aleksey Antilikatorov changed his position and fully admitted guilt to a particularly large bribe. Judge Larisa Morkhova was critical of the initial testimony, establishing the correctness of the qualification of the actions by the investigation. In the verdict, she indicated that the bribe is considered completed from the moment the official receives at least part of the illegal reward. In imposing punishment, the judge took into account a number of circumstances: the presence of two young children, volunteer and charitable activities, and positive references from high-ranking officials. However, the court did not find any exceptional circumstances significantly mitigating the degree of public danger of the crime. The court found that the deed of the convict was directed against the normal work of the apparatus of public power, which was in the interests of society.
Before sentencing, Aleksey Antilikatorov criticized the position of the prosecution, who proposed sending him to a colony for nine years.
“The state is ready to feed and protect me for so many years, spending money. I would rather work and be useful.”said the former official.
He noted that he could have escaped more than once, as the FSIN officers forgot to put a bracelet on him after being placed under house arrest.
“It would be better if the state used me in a different way. As in the Great Patriotic War, I would have redeemed with blood… Today, when a special military operation is being carried out in Ukraine, I could be useful there. I am sincerely ready to do so.– Antilikatorov said in court.
The lawyer of the convict, Dmitry Rezvykh, in a conversation with the editors, called the sentence excessively harsh and promised to appeal it.
