The brother of the head of Ingushetia pleaded not guilty to embezzlement from the Pension Fund
The Cherkessk City Court of Karachay-Cherkessia has begun a hearing in the case of the theft of 519 million rubles from the Russian Pension Fund by an organized crime group. Among the 29 defendants are former heads of the Ingush postal service, Magomed-Bashir Kalimatov (brother of the republic's head, Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov) and Kambulat Sukiyev. Both of them, like the other 27 defendants, have pleaded not guilty.
As a reminder, Kalimatov, Sukiyev, Islam Seinaroyev, and the others are charged with creating a criminal organization (Parts 1 and 3 of Article 210 of the Russian Criminal Code) and fraud committed by a group of persons (Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code). They face up to 20 years in prison. Unlike most of the defendants, Ashat Bogatyreva fully admitted her guilt, while Maryam Kuzgova only partially did so. The defense called the charges "vague" and "baseless," while the prosecutor maintains they contain all the necessary details. Hearings in the case will be held twice a week.
