Three Russian judges convicted of fraud
25/07/2005 - 08:35:18Russia’s Supreme Court today convicted three federal judges of fraud for a series of illegal real estate deals, news reports said.
The high court found Vasily Savelyuka, Nina Ivchenko and Nina Mishina guilty of being members of a criminal gang and using their official positions to steal apartments between 1996 and 1998, Russian media reported.
State-run Rossiya television said the three illegally expropriated at least 110 apartments in the Moscow region.
Prosecutors were requesting prison sentences of at least 12 years for the three, who worked in two federal district courts in Moscow, Russian news agencies said.
Court officials could not be reached immediately to confirm the reports.
Russia’s court system is widely considered to be plagued by corruption.
