Andrey Plitko was sentenced to cut wood in a strict regime.
The former vice-governor of the region received an 11-year prison sentence from the Leninsky District Court of Kirov on Wednesday. Andrey Plitko was sentenced to prison for accepting bribes as part of a criminal group involved in selling timber and leasing forests, as reported by a TASS correspondent from the courtroom.
Plitko's relatives revealed the verdict in court on Tuesday, while Plitko himself accepted the verdict calmly. He was taken into custody right after the hearing. When asked about appealing the verdict, Plitko responded, 'Of course, we will appeal.'
The court found the ex-director of 'Kirovgosleskhoz' and the former deputy director of Kirov State Forestry Agency guilty of accepting bribes. Tuev was sentenced to four years in a strict regime colony, while Ushnurtsev received 3.5 years in prison and a ban on holding civil service positions for five years. Additionally, every two days of house arrest will count as one day in the colony. Andrey Tuev Andrey Tuev (left) and Alexey Ushnurtsev
During the trial, Plitko attempted to shift blame to the already convicted ex-minister Shurgin, claiming that he had falsely accused him. He also insisted that he had not engaged in any negotiations or promises of promotion with Shurgin, denied knowing him, and stated that he had not organized any criminal activities. He asserted that Shurgin had initiated the creation of 'Kirovgosleskhoz' and was responsible for the criminal group. Plitko believed that Shurgin organized the criminal group, and he did not receive money from anyone or assign roles. Alexey Shurginwho was also part of an organized group.
The bribery case
In the spring of 2020, the Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Kirov Region opened a case based on the materials of the Federal Security Service of Russia for the Kirov Region against Plitko. The investigators came to the conclusion that in 2018, Plitko and interested parties created a criminal group and arranged to receive bribes from entrepreneurs for concluding timber purchase and sale agreements with the Kirov State Forestry Institution. When receiving part of the bribe from the regional Minister of Forestry Alexei Shurgin in the amount of 3.4 million rubles, Plitko was detained, he was given a preventive measure in the form of a ban on certain actions. Shugin was also detained.
In total, the investigation established 18 episodes of receiving bribes from entrepreneurs for a total amount of more than 23 million rubles.
Plitko, who held the position of vice-governor of the Kirov region since March 2019, as well as Shurgin, were fired in April 2020.
